Okay, I admit…I took the day off. Two of my girlfriends were back in town, and I hadn’t seen one in a year and a half, another in over 6 months. I did my best to stay off line, and did a damn fine job … But now I have to catch up.
The USFS closed the forest down here, sometime between 3-6 pm. Despite the closure, I had to stop and ask one group to put out their camp fire. They were very cooperative. I had to stop and tell 3 other groups the forest was closed and suggested they drink all the beer they wanted tonight, forego coffee in the am, and leave as soon as they got up and packed. 
Here is the official notice:
Notice anything “odd” about the above map? This puts “Gorda” where Pacific Valley is – north of Plaskett Creek Campground. In reality, Gorda is 5 miles south of the campground.
I have to say, I am so happy to see that you kept up the information flow and posted comments, and information while I was gone today. I have been asked to be interviewed by a number of magazines and radio shows that express their awe of what this Big Sur Community is about. They get it. It is not me … It is us. We work together, we help each other, we keep one another informed. Bigsurkate is a community effort, and no one “gets that” more than I do. I feel so honored to be a part of this wonderful network. We are setting an example for so many people, agencies, and organizations. I hope you are all proud of us. I am.
And here is an impressive plume from behind Partington, taken by Marcus Foster this afternoon:
Hope you enjoyed your day – gotta take care of business before you can take care of business! And not surprised about the interview requests. You will be a great representative of the Big Sur community. Go get ’em!
Thanks again Kate..for all you are doing..on the road and on the net.
During my town run north this afternoon, I saw the intense boiling smoke plumes, behind Partington, wind-driven southward. A thick band of smoke paralleled the coast all the way past the school. The sun was a red ball in the haze. North of Molera, were large convoys of reinforcements, engines, busses loaded with Hot Shots. A pressure gradient along the coast will keep the gusty northwest winds around through the weekend. In response to the heroism of the firefighters up there in the peaks, our students will be painting a 5″ x 15″ “Thank You” mural. Today, I sketched out the full design on the big canvas, in my classroom. Each student will be given a space on the canvas to express a message or feeling of gratitude, will decorate the lettering, and add their own words. When finished, the mural will be scanned and made into an edition of thank-you cards, which we want to distribute to all the F.F. units involved. I’ll photograph a series of the mural’s stages of development from sketch to completion. Their grueling hard, dangerous work by the valiant firefighters will not be forgotten!
How close is Soberanes fire to Big Creek property?
Denise, per my Nat Geo Topo, it is a little over 6 miles from Anderson Peak to the northern edge of the Big Creek Preserve and the fire has not yet reached Anderson Peak, but should be there within the next few days, if the burn out operation continues along as planned.
I was at Safeway at Crossroads yesterday.? Saw a pickup truck loaded to the gills with bikes, surfboards, camping equipment, etc. said to the two middle aged men, and their pre teen sons, “Off on an adventure?” One guy said, “Yup!!! Headed to Big Sur”. Ummmmmm…you know it’s burning….right???? Hope they’re having fun driving home and unpacking. Seriously…WTF?????
Am so pleased that you spent some down-time with your friends yesterday, Kate. And that you’ll be prepping for the magazine and radio interviews. As soon as you have done a few of them, please post that information on your blog. The CNN Hero Judges will undoubtedly be reading your posts soon, and the more information they have, the better!!!
Damn lot of acres consumed in this thing, the count still rising (and heroic 60% contained) I can’t believe how close so many came or so many escaped harm. I still tear over Palo families and homes, I hope they’re okay, managing life. I pray the remaining fire is put out soon for good.
We’re a stoic bunch, really. We lost our summer to ash and courageous face-offs, red-orange hilltops at night, rising and falling winds, roaring helicopters in day, and the world’s most superb fire fighting teams.
For the past full week now I’ve seen the starry starry Milky Way. Pretty sweet. Best of all reading the steady, encouraging, up to date, accurate Kate Reports. Thanks again, from all your friends and fans.
wow – another Denise – that threw me for a minute! lol
Kate – was looking for the older posts (previous Soberanes Fires days). Could you please “remind” me. Thanks
Denise – on the right is a sort of “tool chest” if you scroll down on that, you will see a “search” box. You can enter any terms you want, just like a Google search and find what you are looking for. If you know the specific day or date you want, enter that. Otherwise if you just want to go through older posts, just scroll and continue to scroll until you get to the area you want. Easy peasy.
bigsurkate
Thanks. Went right past 2 search options. >_< And while I could "blame" aliens 😉 and my eye site, and getting side tracked by non-fire posts. … I think it has more to do with the fact that I missed out/will miss out on a couple plans to get to a "happy place"… Big Sur during the Indian Summer, after the summer crowds, being one of them. Guess it's high time I acknowledge and adjust… Maybe this spring… until then – enjoy the poppies that have taken over my garden while drinking a nice French Roast or sipping a smooth red… usually in that order. lol Plus I need to work on my Fantasy Football… so I can lovingly kick my son's butt! 🙂
Thanks again to all involved!