Evening briefing. Let me add mine. Somewhere between 7:30 and 8 the was a major wind shift to coming out of the N-NE. It was pretty sudden and I was engulfed in smoke so bad my eyes are burning. USDS fire forecasters say 3-6 on ridge tops with gusts to 10.

August 29, 2020 Evening
Public Information Phone: (831)272-0222	Los Padres National Forest: www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf
Media Information Phone: (831)272-0221	Facebook: facebook.com/lospadresnationalforest
Incident E-mail: 2020.Dolan@firenet.gov	Twitter: twitter.com/LosPadresNF
Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018	Big Sur FD: https://bigsurfire.org/

Incident Information: 

Start / Report Date: Aug. 18, 2020 
Size: 25,587 
Containment: 25% Cause: Unknown 
Location: Hwy 1(MM32.20) N of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles S of Big Sur 
Injuries: 0 

Fuels Involved: Chaparral, Brush, Timber understory 

Resources: 

Hand Crews: 17 

Engines: 89 

Dozers: 10 

Helicopters: 8 

Water Tenders: 29 

Total Personnel: 1,055 

Current Situation: 

In the north, along McWay Ridge, firefighters made good headway connecting open lines from the top and the bottom in very steep terrain. Some patches and lines of unburnt vegetation remain and threaten the containment line. Crews will keep a close eye on fire activity and work on the area throughout the night. The east perimeter progressed today, traveling further into the Ventana Wilderness. 

In the southeast, the fire began to move down Twin Peak Ridge. Crews are working to keep that area in check and are evaluating how to best contain that edge. Firefighters are working on a line southeast of Cone Peak to stop the fire as it advances. They continue to monitor the fire behavior around Twin and Cone Peaks and will attack direct if the opportunity presents itself. They have also scouted Nacimiento-Fergusson Road and will begin tomorrow to prepare the road as a potential fireline. 

Crews will patrol Highway 1 overnight and work to contain the perimeter along the highway. The fire still threatens to burn towards the west side of the highway via drainages and underpasses. Rolling materials pose a risk to roll onto or over the highway to the west side and could spark flames.  

Fire activity along the western edge will likely subside early in the early morning as the marine layer comes in. The east perimeter is expected to travel east overnight. The fire on the north side is predicted to become more active tonight and crews are working hard in the area to maintain the perimeter.  

The fire poses a risk to multiple businesses, parks, recreational sites, and communication infrastructure as well as the communities of Hermitage and Lucia in the south, and Partington Ridge in the north. Among natural resources threatened are the Ventana Wilderness, coastal watershed, and habitat for threatened and endangered species, including the California condor.  

Fire activity in the western United States has caused a high demand for fire personnel and equipment. The nation is at the highest level, Preparedness Level 5 (PL5). In PL5 over 80% of the nation’s incident management teams and wildland firefighting personnel are committed to incidents. Currently, there are 77 large uncontained fires nationwide. Fires have burned over 3.9 million acres with over 1.2 million acres burned in California alone. Resource orders are being prioritized to fires across the west. Acreage reported here is an estimate and will be updated when IR images are available. 

Dolan Fire 

California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 

Public Information Phone: 831-272-0222 

Media Information Phone: 831-272-0221 

Incident E-mail: 2020.Dolan@firenet.gov 

Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018

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And here we have John Chesnut’s super helpful heat map. Grown a lot in east and southern portions since the IR flight last night. This will really show you where I was shooting today.

This afternoon I watched a single spot double in size in an hour. It might be a firing operation to protect the Hermitage. I’ll get confirmation — one way or another — on that later tonight.The rest of the fire is well established on the south side of Stone Ridge and Twin Peaks. Can’t see Cone Peak through the smoke. Here is a map for orientation:

6:30 am — I got up an hour ago to go to the bathroom and this is what I saw. I decided to stay awake and watch Dolan and the rest of the coast wake up. Scroll down for more recent photos of the fire today.

Please check back throughout the day for update, or refresh your browser window if you are keeping it open.

DOLAN PUBLIC FIRE INFORMATION SOURCES:
Public Information Phone: (831) 272-0222

Incident E-mail: 2020.Dolan@firenet.gov

Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018

This is the link for the county created interactive evacuations map for all three fires. You can enter an address and find out the status. Nice job MoCo! Thank you. https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/administrative-office/office-of-emergency-services/response/2020-fires

***********************************************************************

August 29, 2020 Morning
Public Information Phone: (831)272-0222	Los Padres National Forest: www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf
Media Information Phone: (831)272-0221	Facebook: facebook.com/lospadresnationalforest
Incident E-mail: 2020.Dolan@firenet.gov	Twitter: twitter.com/LosPadresNF
Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018	Big Sur FD: https://bigsurfire.org/

Incident Information: 

Start / Report Date: Aug. 18, 2020 
Cause: Unknown 

Fuels Involved: Chaparral, Brush, Timber understory 
Size: 25,587 
Location: Hwy 1(MM32.20) N of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles S of Big Sur 
Containment: 20% 
Injuries: 0 

Resources:

Hand Crews: 16 

Engines: 84 

Dozers: 10
Helicopters: 8 

Water Tenders: 31 

Total Personnel: 1,019 

  Current Situation: 

Crews have made good progress along the north, west, and south perimeters and the fire activity in those sections was relatively calm overnight. Good progress was made along McWay Ridge, including along the spot that had escaped the perimeter yesterday, and crews are cautiously optimistic that the line will hold.  

The fire held around the Twin Peak area on the southeast edge. Firefighters continue to assess Cone Peak and will be analyzing the fire behavior to determine how they will attack the fire on that southeast edge. The east perimeter grew overnight and progressed over Lost Valley Creek. 

Crews will patrol Highway 1 and work to contain more of the perimeter along the highway. The fire still threatens to burn towards the west side of the highway via drainages and underpasses. Rolling materials also pose a risk to roll onto or over the highway to the west side and could spark flames. Patrolling and working the fire along the highway remains a priority. The other priority is to protect the local communities in the north and south and crews will be actively working in those areas.  

Fire activity will pick up around midmorning when the marine layer lifts. Smoke and fire impacts may be visible, especially in the afternoon. Expect the east perimeter of the fire to move east throughout the day.  

The fire poses a risk to multiple businesses, parks, recreational sites, and communication infrastructure as well as the communities of Hermitage and Lucia in the south, and Partington Ridge in the north. Among natural resources threatened are the Ventana Wilderness, coastal watershed, and habitat for threatened and endangered species, including the California condor.  

Fire activity in the western United States has caused a high demand for fire personnel and equipment. The nation is at the highest level, Preparedness Level 5 (PL5). In PL5 over 80% of the nation’s incident management teams and wildland firefighting personnel are committed to incidents. Currently, there are 77 large uncontained fires nationwide. Fires have burned over 3.9 million acres with over 1.2 million acres burned in California alone. Resource orders are being prioritized to fires across the west. Acreage reported here is an estimate and will be updated when IR images are available. 

Dolan Fire 

California Interagency Incident Management Team 2 

Public Information Phone: 831-272-0222 

Incident E-mail: 2020.Dolan@firenet.gov 

Incident Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018

***********************************************************************

John Chesnut’s heat maps. We had an IR flight last night, so we can get more accurate data. Two maps — north and south.

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Here are some taken about 4 pm this afternoon. If you zoom in on the single column photo, you can see the flames at the bottom of the column and the USFS trucks to the right.

Photos taken between 9 and the last one is at 11:45 am

And as I wake up, so does the fire…

And now, time to put the coffee on and start my day. Lady needs me to throw her ball.