Day: September 27, 2016

Welcome new Cal Trans Supervisors!

From Cal Trans: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Pryor as the new Maintenance Supervisor for the Willow Springs Maintenance crew effective October 1, 2016. Scott is currently the Leadworker in King City. Scott is a local King City resident. He and his family are looking forward to his new adventures on the Big Sur coast.”

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“Also, we are pleased to announce the appointment of Heath Johnston as the new Maintenance Supervisor for Big Sur effective October 1, 2016. Heath is currently the Leadworker for Big Sur Maintenance and is enjoying his new life on the coast with his gal Meg and Dog Blaze.”

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Welcome to the coast, Scott, and welcome to your new position, Heath. Look forward to working with both of you this winter to keep travelers aware of any issues with our Highway.
 

Loma Fire, 9/27/16

6:30 pm report (posted at 7, I was busy with the fur kids_

September 27, 2016 6:30 pm
Date/Time Started: September 26,2016 3:06 pm
Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit
County: Santa Clara County
Location: off Loma Prieta Rd and Loma Chiquita Rd 10 miles NW of Morgan Hill
Acres Burned – Containment: 2,250 acres – 10% contained
Structures Threatened: 300
Structures Destroyed: 1 single residence and 6 outbuildings destroyed, 1 single residence damaged
Evacuations: Mandatory evacuation orders for the Loma Prieta ridgeline area including all tributary roads along Summit Road from Soquel San Jose Road to Ormsby Fire Station. This includes Uvas Canyon County Park, Loma Chiquita, Casa Loma, Loma Prieta Way, Highland Road and Mount Bache Road. Portions of Croy Road are under an evacuation warning.
Reverse 911 calls have also been sent to residents using Alert SCC. If you have not already signed up for AlertSCC visit http://www.sccgov.org/sites/alertscc/Pages/home.aspx.

Evacuation Centers: Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville (large animals welcome)
Jewish Community Center of Silicon Valley, 14855 Oka Road, Los Gatos
Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church, 16970 De Witt Avenue, Morgan Hill

8:45 am – estimate is 1500 acres with 5% containment. (Estimate is way too high, Cal Fire reports 1085 acres)  Here is a good link for info:

Cal Fire incident

John Chesnut did up a “bonus” map for us of the Loma Fire, in addition to the Soberanes Fire. Note on this one that North has been rotated in order to provide a regional frame of reference:

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While I won’t be following this fire as I have the Soberanes, I will put up this new post for others to share information in the comments section. The following photo is by Cal Fire PIO, and is a very sad testament to this fire’s destruction.

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Soberanes Fire, Day 68, 9/27/16

John Chesnut Map:

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So now we watch two fires, but first our long-standing one, Soberanes. Here are the maps, interestingly, the IR Topo Map does not include a total acreage, for the first time … And I read that a new team comes in on the 29th, a type 2 team from Arroyo. (Type 2 is less complex than the Type 1 we have had since almost the beginning.)

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IR Topo Map in PDF

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Briefing Map in PDF

Fire Behavior (only East Side) and Weather Predictions (Combined):

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