1:30 pm – Firing Operation resumes today, still in Cold Springs area. Photo by Jeffrey Carmichael.
8:00 am –
Soberanes Fire
Los Padres National Forest Service
August 23, 2016
DAILY UPDATE
Fire Information Phone (831)204-0446
Media Line: (831)484-9647
Email: soberanesfire2016@gmail.com
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4888/
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/1348
Incident: The Soberanes Fire was started by an Illegal campfire on the morning of July 22, 2016, in the Garrapta State Park. The fire is burning in areas of previous large fires including the Basin Complex in 2008 and the Marble-Cone Fire in 1977.
Location: Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness, Monterey County, CA
Agency Jurisdiction: CAL FIRE San Benito-Monterey Unit/Los Padres National Forest
Current Size: 87,316 acres (50,122 CA-LPF, 37,194 CAL FIRE,) Containment: 60% Cause: Illegal campfire
Injuries: 1 fatality, 4 injuries Structures Destroyed: 57 homes, 11 outbuildings Structures Threatened: 410
Current Resources: Crews: 32 Engines: 60 Helicopters: 12 Dozers: 27 Water Tenders: 45
Total Personnel: 1,988
Community Meeting: A community meeting will be held at the Cachagua General Store, located at 18840 Cachagua Road, Carmel Valley, CA on Thursday, August 25, 2016 at 6:00 P.M.
Current Situation: The fire continues to slowly move south and east of Miller Mountain in Hiding Camp Canyon, and farther south near the Ventana Cones. Fire behavior remains a slow backing and flanking fire through an eight year old fuel bed of grass, brush and timber litter. Near the coast range, the fire continues to flank southward in the Big Sur drainage below Mount Olmstead. Aircraft was utilized yesterday to cool and slow the southward progression of the fire. At present, there is no threat to the completed indirect containment lines along Tassajara Road to the east nor along Coast Ridge Road to the west.
Firing operations have not occurred for several days. The fire’s slow progress southward around Logwood Ridge is allowing firefighters to delay their tactical firing operations. These firing operations allow firefighters safer conditions while creating containment lines east of Coast Ridge Road. Firing operations are only conducted when weather and conditions allow for safe and effective operations. Firefighters continue to widen and improve indirect containment lines east from Anderson peak to Santa Lucia Memorial Park and northward to Arroyo Seco. These indirect lines are built on the ridges that stopped the Basin Complex of 2008.
California Interagency Incident Management Team Three, CAL FIRE and cooperators wish to thank the California National Guard for their contributions and support of the team efforts on the Soberanes Fire.
Wilderness Tactics: To reduce the impacts associated with fire suppression activities in wilderness areas, fire managers and firefighting crews continue using Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics as much as possible. The steep, rugged terrain of the Ventana Wilderness is inherently treacherous to firefighters. Most direct fireline is being constructed near the perimeter in areas that have been pretreated and supported by aircraft. The inaccessibility into the Ventana Wilderness along much of the fire’s east side continually requires patience, and slow and steady hard work from the crews, as they look for options to construct direct line.
The fire was caused by an illegal, unattended campfire on the Soberanes Canyon trail in the Garrapata State Park. Anyone with information is asked to call the CAL FIRE Tip Line at: (800) 468-4408. Fire managers want to remind the public that human caused fires are preventable. Please be aware of current fire restrictions and be careful with anything that could spark a fire.
US Forest Service Road and Trail Closures: A forest closure order has been implemented to close the trails and roads within the Los Padres National Forest, Monterey Ranger District pursuant to USC 551 and 36 CFR 261.50(a). The order prohibits going into or being upon National Forest System lands within the Soberanes Fire area. For a complete list of closures please visit: http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf . The following sites are open: Pfeiffer Beach Day Use, Mill Creek Day Use, Willow Creek Day Use, Sand Dollar Day Use, Kirk Creek Campground, Nacimiento Campground, Ponderosa Campground and Plaskett Creek Campground.
California State Park Closures: All California State Parks from Garrapata State Park through Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park are closed until further notice; this includes Point Sur State Historic Park (Lighthouse), Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park Campground and Day Use.
Evacuation Orders: An evacuation ORDER remains in effect for Coast Ridge Rd. from mile marker 1.5 to Marble Peak at the end of the road.
Evacuation Warnings: A WARNING remains for Tassajara Road from Carmel Valley Road to the Tassajara Hot Springs Zen Center. This area includes all roads that lead from the above described roads.
Donations: Local relief efforts to the fire victims have been provided by the Coast Property Owners Association (CPOA) and the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Donations can be made to the CPOA at Coast Property Owners Association, PO Box 59, Big Sur, CA 93920 or the Community Foundation for Monterey County, 2354 Garden Road, Monterey, CA 93940 (831)375-9712.
The Red Cross prepares for, responds to, and helps people recover from disasters big and small. To donate, people can visit redcross.org/donate/, call 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767), or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. For any unmet disaster related needs, please call their 24 hour hotline at 1.866.272.2237.
Additional Cooperating and Assisting Organizations: California State Parks and Recreation, California Highway Patrol California Office of Emergency Services , California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, California National Guard, Big Sur Land Trust, California Department of Transportation, California National Guard, California Fish & Wildlife, Coast Property Owners Association (CPOA), Community Foundation for Monterey County, Bureau of Land Management, American Red Cross, County of Monterey, Pacific Gas and Electric, Carmel Highlands F.P.D., Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District, Mid Coast Volunteer Fire Brigade, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade and the Cachagua Fire Protection District.
This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
7:15 am – John Chesnut’s Map:
7:00 am – Here is a aborted water drop last night near Lower Stone Ridge after a bucket at Rancho Grande, Photo by Jane Magida (the bucket got tangled in the pick up)
6:30 am – Here are a couple of the maps and their links:
Good Morning Kate,
Continuing to appreciate the maps, they tell a lot. Looks like the populace is starting to take these fires for granted. Not me since we are still waiting on Tassajara Road. Do you know anyone who is up for taking pictures of the Los Padres Lake – Chews Ridge dozer line? I hear it is verrrryyyy wide and verrryyy pink! I imagine one might think it’s a hallucination. Is it true that there is an uninterrupted fire hose between those two points?
Also, do you know what the small black dots on the OPS Maps are?
Take care,
Regine
Thanks for all the info you send out to us – I’m in Cambria. And thanks for the photo of the ‘weeping’ bucket – not a photo that ones sees very often, kudos to Jane Magida. Elaine Beckham
Sent from my iPad
>
Meal circulated by CACHAGUA CERT:
“Ok !
We have a plan !
After much discussion, emailing, etc. the consensus is a) meeting should be prior to Thursday’s town hall b) late afternoon Wednesday (tomorrow) will work (folks at jobs may be able to leave work early, but evening won’t work for majority(.
Ok ! 4:00 Wednesday August 24th at the Jamesburg School.
Spread the word !
Community Fire Meeting
Everyone affected is invited.
Thanks ……Susan”
Correction to above post Meal = email = food for thought!
For those of you wondering, there was a post, since removed, and comments left here re that post, which were causing anxiety. Since it turned out to be of no concern, I removed all to prevent further anxiety. It really wasn’t worth reporting, or I would have left it.