Soberanes Fire, Day 6, 7/27/16 – Official Notices & Maps

8:00 pm – tonight’s facts sheet (ED NOTE: Lots of changes)

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3:00 pm from USFS:
Tim Bills commented on Soberanes Fire, Day 6, 7/27/16 – Expanded Evacuation Orders

Clare Long, Public Information Officer for the US Forest Service, will be available to the public at the Big Sur Station (Multi-Agency Facility) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, July 28 and Friday, July 29.
She will provide updates and information on the Soberanes Fire. We will also have large scale maps displayed at the station of the impact of the fire and operations to contain it.

Noon – image

8:20 am-

“I am saddened to report the death of a private dozer operator overnight on the Soberanes fire.

Details will be made available as next of kin are notified and as the Serious Accident Review Process is completed.

Please keep your situational awareness sharp as we head into what is shaping up to be yet another significantly challenging year for wildfires.

Chief Ken Pimlott
CAL FIRE Director”

Note the extended containment date? Over a month. No official word yet re dozer operator.

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11 thoughts on “Soberanes Fire, Day 6, 7/27/16 – Official Notices & Maps”

  1. Dreadful news about the brave dozer driver, I’m so sorry to hear this. Might they let us know if his family needs help.
    Thank you Kate.

  2. For any wondering…. I called Big Sur Campground to check on Don McQueen, as I’d been told he’s been on his dozer (of course). He is fine.

  3. This country is so steep every time I fire up our dozer I have to remind myself to stay focused and pay attention. To the operators family my condolences, and to the rest of you please be safe.

  4. I am bummed, I will add to my comment to those operators that come here to help us in our hour of need, if you come from a gentler more forgiving land be aware that our land can be harsh, steep and unforgiving, again please be aware and stay safe. Thank you All.

  5. Quite a morning on King Road off Garrapata- 4:00 AM confronted by a 200 foot long 2-6 foot high wall of flames about 10 feet behind my garage and guest house. I was able to get a private fire foaming crew and Mike & Co from Santa Barbara FD up there and we saved everything, foaming the buildings for the second time. We had a similar scenario yesterday-only the fire was 50 feet away… I hired a private crew to foam buildings and standby. It is worth it if fire is imminent…They were able to get Calfire to send up a crew yesterday to clear some hand lines at the perimeter of the burn area, but they didn’t close the lines, and didn’t stay, so the fire burned thru and around this morning…Jeez!
    After we got things somewhat under control, I went to Firehouse and asked IC for help on King Road-he said they are planning to have crew there today to complete the line. That would save a lot of houses on King and Garrapatos so I hope Cheryl & Co. that you can make sure this happens. So far no structures lost on King Road or Garrapatos as far as I could tell. Not sure about beyond the bridge on the Creek. If they don’t cut the hand line and make sure it holds, the fire just slowly burns up everything in its path. I do not see enough concerted efforts for containment in inhabited areas…So far it is staying out of the tree canopy, but not by much. If that happens-it is a whole big undefend-able mess again. Hopefully we get some solid air support today. I am in town now and can hear them flying around… Stay Safe everyone.

  8. I add again. You are filling a super vital service. Super Kudos to you. Public coverage of this catastrophic fire has been abysmal. It has been left up to individual communities to take care of themselves.

    I lived in the Highlands for nearly 30 years. They are not threatened. The parts of San Carlos Ranch that are threatened are not well delineated. Most likely nearest to the very northern reach of the Santa Lucia Range which is contiguous with Palo Corona and the very upper portion of the Highlands.

    Even the Sheriffs have scant knowledge of the areas they are “protecting.”

    I was an ER doc, a trustee of the Carmel Highlands fire department, and intimately involved in EMS (emergency medical services) and disaster preparedness. I can only surmise how the IC command structure has quickly solidified. One month containment does not now surprise me.

    I still think this will be the most catastrophic fire in Big Sur history — a place we all love so intimately

  9. Philip, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I must say, I’ve learned more about the geography of this area in the last 6 days then I learned in my 31 years of living here. I didn’t know San Carlos or White Rock, only a vague idea of where the Preserve is, but I studied the topos I found and now can see a much bigger picture of how all our communities are so connected.

    bigsurkate

  10. You get an A+ for efforts and achievements, Kate. Everyone thinks of Big Sur as Nepenthe and Little River Inn and Big Sur Inn etc. Big Sur is BIG. It actually starts at the northern end of the Santa Lucia Range (San Carlos Ranch) extending way beyond Nacimiento Road including Cone Peak. I have traveled to all reaches of Big Sur including Tasajara Ridge. It is true wilderness — Ventana Wilderness with the Santa Lucia Range part of Los Padres National Forest. Therein lies the geography and the start of the “who is in charge here?” The extended IC command flows from these jurisdictions. [practically speaking, Big Sur starts south of Mal Paso Creek]

    Now, what would be so helpful is to be able to overlay the fire on Google Earth maps so we could zoom in and out in relation to known areas. The current maps are topos and USGS maps.

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