This dovetails quite nicely with the video posted yesterday.

We got as far North as the Lopez Point house one dark night and worked in the dark with chainsaws cutting a break around the cabin. We hit an old barbed wire fence that ran in the brush we were trying to cut that caused us all sorts of problems. Another incident I remember is coming on to Lucia worker’s housing and finding that the employees had started a back fire not knowing what they were doing. We had to put it out and I saw that the grass around their cabin had been cut but not raked and the main fire was getting close. I asked the workers to pick up a couple of McClouds and rake off their yard. They refused, saying they only worked there and it wasn’t their job. I looked at PB and he looked at me and I yelled out to everyone to load up, that we were going back to Gorda for hot showers and cold beer since these assholes didn’t want to help us save their belongings.—They changed their minds!

Then we went up to John Harlan’s place where his son Keith had cut a two blade line around the home. Aunt LuLu’s place was burning but it looked like John’s was defendable when some unique winds came down on the fire. It spread the fire and actually caused some small tornado like action of the fire which scared the heck out of me! I’d never seen fire do that! —- I asked John Moltini what he would do if he was responsible for a bunch of untrained folk and he said he would leave. He didn’t have to say it twice!—-We left but those that stayed were able to save John’s home.

At one point we were on Gorda Mountain and the fire was on the ridge above it to the North . Joe Cicoski had a secret cabin on the lower part of the Mt. and he asked if I could help him do some fire clearance around it after dark one night. Jim Cook (Captain Cook) and I had been working with Joe one day a week clearing an old access road on the bottom of his property. The County would not allow him to use equipment to do the job but said it was OK if we did it by hand. Since Joe didn’t want anyone to know about his secret cabin I grabbed Jim and Tall Cliff to help clear and save the cabin. It was after midnight when we heard the clank clank of a Big piece of equipment down by the highway. Joe said he was going to check it out and we just kept working. The clank clank got louder and louder and soon here come Joe leading a D-9 up the hill. He got his road and his clearance in less than an hour that night. —for free!

We got up to the Withrow place (Nacarubi) but I don’t remember doing much up there but since it was last on the list and I was pretty worn out. I’m sure I’m forgetting something or other. —-Things calmed down and we went back to normal and I started to pump gas at Gorda again, my normal job besides my Jade Shop.—- When we were fighting fire I asked the guys to respect the fact that I had signed for the equipment and was responsible to return it. I also had encouraged them to pick up any available tool when we packed up and went to our next location.——Mike Pressmeyer, a Forest Service Law Enforcement guy came by one day while I was pumping gas with several sheets of paper in his hand. He said I was responsible for all the tools on his list and where were they? I told him they were in the back room of the station house and that I was busy but to help himself. He looked confused after awhile and asked what was up? He said,” You signed out for 6 McClouds and you have 9, signed out for 7 polaski’s and you have 10, he went on and on. I’m pretty sure he thought we would not have what we had signed out for, let alone more.—-He then did a really nice thing and told me that he would only take back what we had signed for and anything extra could go to help start our South Coast part of the Big Sur Brigade—-and it did!  —–k.c.

I know I’ve forgotten a bunch and I am sorry to those who I did not remember but I know that most of what I said here has a semblance of truth—-take it for what it is worth—-it’s been 33 years and I lost my notes.—-k.c.

NO CAMPFIRES OR OPEN FLAMES ANYWHERE – INCLUDING CAMPGROUNDS UNTIL THE END OF FIRE SEASON!

GOLETA, Calif. – Due to extremely dry vegetation and an increasing fire danger, Los Padres National Forest officials today announced that additional fire restrictions will go into effect beginning tomorrow, August 9, 2018. The following restrictions will be rigorously enforced until the end of the declared fire season:

• Wood and charcoal fires are prohibited in all areas of Los Padres National Forest including designated Campfire Use sites; however persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are allowed to use portable stoves and lanterns using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel within the designated Campfire Use Sites only. You must clear all flammable material for a distance of five feet in all directions from your camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times when it is in use. California Campfire Permits are available for free download from the Los Padres National Forest website (http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf) as well as at all Forest Service offices.
• Recreational target shooting is prohibited in all areas of the National Forest unless specifically authorized by a special use permit with the Forest; however, hunting with a valid State of California hunting license during open hunting season is exempt from this restriction.
• Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the national forest except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or designated Campfire Use Site.
• Fireworks are prohibited at all times and in all locations within Los Padres National Forest.
• Operating or using any internal or external combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order on roads and trails specifically designated for such use. This restriction is in effect year-round.

Violators are subject to a $5,000 fine and/or six months in jail, and could be liable for the full cost of any fire suppression activities that result from their actions. For further information regarding current conditions as well as safety tips, contact your nearest Forest Service office or visit the Los Padres National Forest website athttp://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf.

This restriction will remain in effect until the end of fire season.

So what is sustainable tourism? The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (www.unwto.org) has defined sustainable tourism as an enterprise that achieves a balance between the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development so as to guarantee long-term benefits to recipient communities. According to UNWTO, it should:

• Make optimal use of environmental resources, maintaining essential ecosystems and helping conserve biodiversity

• Respect socio-cultural authenticity, conserve built and living cultural heritage, and contribute to cross-cultural understanding and tolerance

• Ensure long-term socio-economic benefits, fairly distributed to all community stakeholders, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities, social services, and poverty alleviation

This is commonly called the triple bottom line for sustainable development: environmental, economic, and cultural returns on investment. Some identify a fourth benefit of well-managed tourism: public education for both visitors and residents to deepen understanding of cultures and ecosystems, though this is also a cultural benefit.

A lot depends on the situation in which a destination finds itself. How wealthy or poor is the region? How well do locals understand and support the characteristics that make their place attractive to tourists? How vulnerable are those assets? Which type of potential tourist is most appropriate? How many tourists come, what do they do, and who gets their money?

When an attraction such as a popular national park or renowned cultural monument is involved, impacts depend a lot on tourist interaction with neighboring towns, called gateway communities. So good management means thinking about the destination as a whole — not just the protected site, but also its human, natural, and cultural settings.

From 2004 through 2010, National Geographic Traveler (http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/11/destinations-rated/intro-text) has published global “destination stewardship” surveys of expert opinion about the sustainability and quality of whole places. To capture the entire tourism experience and its impact, expert panelists consider six criteria — environment, cultural integrity, built heritage, aesthetics, tourism management, and overall trend — and submit a combined score for each destination.

Responses have shown remarkable consistency over the years. Top-scoring places often escape heavy tourism traffic, such as Norway’s Western Fjords (an excellent 87 out of 100), Portugal’s Douro Valley (76), and Palawan in the Philippines (72). But some very popular places, such as Alhambra/Granada (81) in Spain, still rate well. More often, though, tourist overcrowding, misuse, and crass commercialization along the periphery of the site can lower a score, as it does in Angkor in Cambodia (48) or in the Great Smoky Mountains (49) in the U.S.

(To be continued)

Cooper, the 6-month old miniature Australian Sheppard lost in Carmel Valley was found in one of the vineyards, and has been reunited with his owner! YAY!

As of 3:40 pm, 2225 acres, 60% contained, forward motion stopped. Releasing aircraft.

2:30 pm – UPDATE: up to 600 acres. 5 tankers and dangerous rate of spread.

1:20 pm –  vegetation fire is approx. 100 acres with potential to 1,000

1:15 pm – All I have is a tweet moments ago from Cal Fire SLO, even BEU hasn’t tweeted about it yet, so not sure of exact location. I do have a mutual aid request to SLO which includes two tankers and air attack aircraft out of Paso. I will add more when I know more.

CAL FIRE/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department sending personnel and equipment to assist with a reported vegetation fire off Turkey Flat Road within southern Monterey County.