From Scott Bogen:
I think it is important to keep in mind how crucial this mop up effort is. Even a small wind event could cause a small smouldering area to ignite.
There are a number of hot spots that keep burning. It is whack-a-mole by helicopter. Thos guys are really good. I watched one circle a few times and hit the spot dead on. I talked to one of the pilots the other day, Dennis Smith from the Hollister Hellcats. Super nice guy. All of their drops are visual. They do not use any nor do they have heat sensing equipment. They will be starting to fly at night perhaps late spring and their night vision goggles will provide some heat sensing. That will be brilliant when they do start flying at night. Though they wouldn’t have been able to for the start of this fire due to high winds.
My guess on filling up there, versus ocean, is to keep clear of PG&E helicopter.
The current forecast has no rain through the end of the first week of February. There is a possibility of off-shore winds next week. With that said, we need to be vigilant as this fire will not truly be over until we have some good soaking rains. If you see something flare up, especially night owls, please call 911 asap and report.
Crossing fingers for some good soaking rains soon but no downpours.
From Mike Doig:
From Martha Diehl: ”we had heat under the redwoods by the creek just west of Hainses yesterday; hand crews were accessing from above & below, plan at that time was for helicopter to deliver pump for creek.”
From Cal Fire, official info:
My sons went down the coast from Monterey to watch the helicopters work. One of my boys is in the fire academy in Monterey so it was like a field trip.
I don’t recommend that civilians and other greenhorn flatlanders get near any smokes or hot spots in the black. Some fool assigned me and a timber-management (not fire) buddy to mop up with five gallon backpack gear. We boldly walked about fifty feet from the road into the black. I came up short just in time, staring down into the pits of a hell hole big enough to swallow me down to about eight feet. The remains of the big pine stump root (the stump was long gone) were glowing red, not smoking. Next time I’ll look sideways for heat waves. We said to hell with this and went for a beer like everybody else. I don’t know whether or no that’s how they still initiate greenhorns or not, but be VERY cautious in post-burn areas, even long after the fire is out and cold, cold, cold. Even then use a long hiking staff to probe for hollow spots underground (or open). Just stay out.
Spent most of the day walking our property. Areas like Westmere, you couldn’t even tell there was a fire, but others in back of the PG&E substation burnt clean. PG&E were working hard replacing poles along the ridgelines. Alot of crews still mopping up, Thery were very welcoming and polite. I told them how much we appreciate them. It appears the only damage beside PG&E poles was to some of the water systems.
Thank you Kate, Mike Doig, Martha Diehl, and Cal Fire! As a community, we so appreciate the “on the ground” updates. Be safe and well!
Unbelievable effort expended for this fire – gratefully so. It truly highlights how terrain can impact even relatively small fires. Thanks to all who’ve worked so hard 👍