I can see why ancient sacred traditions view fire as a divinity. So powerful in its destruction, so beautiful as it filters/intensifies sunlight and casts hazy undulations of smoke against the great cones. Beautiful photography!
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Thank you!
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It’s nice to see some beauty in all of this! Thank you.
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Tragic beauty. Praying for y’all.
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Yesterday evening photographs provide an eerie perspective. Just saying, as you are documenting quite the personal experience. Thank you for sharing.
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More great photos! I’m comparing these with mine from San Martin Top in which I see Willow Creek Ridge (does it have another name?) and then your ridge, Plaskett with the other ridges too snugged in to see much of. So are you looking across at Home Ridge (below which I used to live)? And then, what? Alms Ridge? Just curious. Gonna drag out the topo maps tomorrow but on-the-ground observer identification most helpful. I fought my way through spell check to get this out.
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I don’t envy enduring the smoke, but it sure makes some spectacular scenes. Thinking of you often during these hot and fraught days. Simply lovely visuals!
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Thank you, Gunta every day is a different challenge
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Hi Kate and All,
Gonna cut to the chase on this one. We are possibly watching another failure of fire (Dolan) management unfold if the weather pattern plays out like what im observing on the global sattelite across the entire Northern Hemispheric Planetary waves (deep low pressure troughing over intermountain west with amplifying ridge or high pressure over east Pacific and referred to as a warm cold dipole). In other words a weather pattern that can experience quasi resonance amplification or a ” locked” in weather pattern condusive for a very dry hot windy prolonged period that could i dare say last into mid October or even November! This Dolan fire should have ZERO tolerance to burn due to human caused arson! What i mean by that is regardless of structure threat it should be treated as a fire burning within a crowded forested community of homes like Partington. What is playing out in terms of a healthy fire regime in our Santa Lucia is a destructive dis equilibrium that is causing great harm to ecosystem quasi equilibrium and to specific species like Steelhead, Red Legged frogs, Western Pond Turtles, etc. In order to create and manage a better balanced forest any human caused fire needs very pronounced verbage that signifies its a “zero tolerance burn” and put out instantly. The Soberanes fire was an example of this poor response that allowed the fire to burn out of lines and was then energized by very predictable “sun downer” winds that the weather service forecasted a whole day earlier! My point is the only way we are going to find a true balanced healthy and safe wild forested land to hike and live within is to let lightning based fires burn and even if homes are in danger the fire should be managed to burn around them. This management would entail 200- 300 feet clearances around homes depending on fire proneness. These perimeter clearing ideally would be performed by homeowners but Cal Fire should have a very accessable program for people ( disabled, older, injured etc..) to have a crew (maybe very low risk prison inmates nearing release or community service individuals could participate in the program?) come clear around homes and structures so the natural lightning based fire can burn through, diminish fuel loads, replenish nutrients, and ultimately re-establish an equilibrium within that particular region and all without puting fire fighters health and safety at risk. The homes in the fire areas should be built very fire proof with thick stucco, concrete walkways, gravel, exterior sprinkler systems with high heat temperature switches on the roofs with pneumatic timers (go off for five minutes every 25 minutes). Whereas any human caused fire like Soberanes, Indians, Pheiffer Ridge (this one bit of exception cause the fire was hit very hard by firecrews but logistics made tough to put out any quicker than they could) , and Dolan should be put out immediately and revenue based incentives for fighting should be iniated to put out quickly and not the other way around (salaries with specific bonuses depending on fire being fought might solve the problem of dragging out fire for monetary gains)! Lastly i do hope the lines hold on the Dolan fire because if they dont we could see a very destructive fire with horrible mudslides next winter with areas of our back country being burned so often it will never return to what it was!
I can see why ancient sacred traditions view fire as a divinity. So powerful in its destruction, so beautiful as it filters/intensifies sunlight and casts hazy undulations of smoke against the great cones. Beautiful photography!
Thank you!
It’s nice to see some beauty in all of this! Thank you.
Tragic beauty. Praying for y’all.
Yesterday evening photographs provide an eerie perspective. Just saying, as you are documenting quite the personal experience. Thank you for sharing.
More great photos! I’m comparing these with mine from San Martin Top in which I see Willow Creek Ridge (does it have another name?) and then your ridge, Plaskett with the other ridges too snugged in to see much of. So are you looking across at Home Ridge (below which I used to live)? And then, what? Alms Ridge? Just curious. Gonna drag out the topo maps tomorrow but on-the-ground observer identification most helpful. I fought my way through spell check to get this out.
I don’t envy enduring the smoke, but it sure makes some spectacular scenes. Thinking of you often during these hot and fraught days. Simply lovely visuals!
Thank you, Gunta every day is a different challenge
Hi Kate and All,
Gonna cut to the chase on this one. We are possibly watching another failure of fire (Dolan) management unfold if the weather pattern plays out like what im observing on the global sattelite across the entire Northern Hemispheric Planetary waves (deep low pressure troughing over intermountain west with amplifying ridge or high pressure over east Pacific and referred to as a warm cold dipole). In other words a weather pattern that can experience quasi resonance amplification or a ” locked” in weather pattern condusive for a very dry hot windy prolonged period that could i dare say last into mid October or even November! This Dolan fire should have ZERO tolerance to burn due to human caused arson! What i mean by that is regardless of structure threat it should be treated as a fire burning within a crowded forested community of homes like Partington. What is playing out in terms of a healthy fire regime in our Santa Lucia is a destructive dis equilibrium that is causing great harm to ecosystem quasi equilibrium and to specific species like Steelhead, Red Legged frogs, Western Pond Turtles, etc. In order to create and manage a better balanced forest any human caused fire needs very pronounced verbage that signifies its a “zero tolerance burn” and put out instantly. The Soberanes fire was an example of this poor response that allowed the fire to burn out of lines and was then energized by very predictable “sun downer” winds that the weather service forecasted a whole day earlier! My point is the only way we are going to find a true balanced healthy and safe wild forested land to hike and live within is to let lightning based fires burn and even if homes are in danger the fire should be managed to burn around them. This management would entail 200- 300 feet clearances around homes depending on fire proneness. These perimeter clearing ideally would be performed by homeowners but Cal Fire should have a very accessable program for people ( disabled, older, injured etc..) to have a crew (maybe very low risk prison inmates nearing release or community service individuals could participate in the program?) come clear around homes and structures so the natural lightning based fire can burn through, diminish fuel loads, replenish nutrients, and ultimately re-establish an equilibrium within that particular region and all without puting fire fighters health and safety at risk. The homes in the fire areas should be built very fire proof with thick stucco, concrete walkways, gravel, exterior sprinkler systems with high heat temperature switches on the roofs with pneumatic timers (go off for five minutes every 25 minutes). Whereas any human caused fire like Soberanes, Indians, Pheiffer Ridge (this one bit of exception cause the fire was hit very hard by firecrews but logistics made tough to put out any quicker than they could) , and Dolan should be put out immediately and revenue based incentives for fighting should be iniated to put out quickly and not the other way around (salaries with specific bonuses depending on fire being fought might solve the problem of dragging out fire for monetary gains)! Lastly i do hope the lines hold on the Dolan fire because if they dont we could see a very destructive fire with horrible mudslides next winter with areas of our back country being burned so often it will never return to what it was!