Author: bigsurkate

Appointed appellate counsel for indigent defendants (retired.) I have lived in Big Sur since 1984, first on the north coast, and on the South Coast since 1989.

Firescape Workshop

ESCAPE MONTEREY
http://firescape.ning.com/

YOU’RE INVITED & SAVE THE DATES FOR WORKSHOP #8

What: FireScape Monterey Workshop #8: Strategies and Getting to Action
Where: Santa Lucia Preserve (Directions Provided on Page 2)
When: July 26 & 27, 2013
RSVP: Please RSVP by July 22, 2013 by sending an e-mail to FireScapeNow@gmail.com

Agenda:
July 26 – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Meeting at Event Barn)
1. Welcome by the Preserve
2. Presentation of Strategies, Getting to Action
3. Breakout Session
4. Lunch – Please bring $5.00 for Pizza & Drink
5. Group Discussion led by US Forest Service
a. What happens after wildfire starts?
b. Community Fuelbreak Improvement Project status
6. Closing

July 27th Field Trip – 9:00 a.m. (sharp!) – 12:30 p.m. (Meet at Parking Lot to Carpool)
Please bring water & snack for the field trip
1. Sudden Oak Death & shaded fuel breaks
2. Conservation cattle grazing, prescribed fire & weed management
3. Defensible space around residential structures
4. Roadside fuel management through chaparral

Directions to Event Barn for July 26th
• From Highway 1 in Carmel, drive east on Carmel Valley Road for 2.0 miles to the stoplight at Rancho San Carlos Road.
• At the stoplight, turn right and drive south on Rancho San Carlos Road for about 1.0 mile to the Santa Lucia Preserve gatehouse.
• At the Santa Lucia Preserve gatehouse, tell the gate attendant that you are attending the FireScape Workshop at the “Event Barn”.
• The gatehouse attendant will direct you to proceed about 8.5 miles up Rancho San Carlos Road, where the road will enter a small cluster of buildings.
• Among the cluster of buildings, between the second and third speed bump, there is a large wooden barn on the left side of the road, the Event Barn.
• Turn left immediately after passing the Event Barn, and park in the gravel lot on the north or northeast side of the barn. The main entrance is on the north side.

Directions to Parking Lot for July 27th
• From Highway 1 in Carmel, drive east on Carmel Valley Road for 2.0 miles to the stoplight at Rancho San Carlos Road.
• At the stoplight, turn right and drive south on Rancho San Carlos Road for about 1.0 mile to the Santa Lucia Preserve gatehouse.
• At the Santa Lucia Preserve gatehouse, tell the gate attendant that you are attending the FireScape Workshop at the “Event Barn”.
• The gatehouse attendant will direct you to proceed through the gate, then take an immediate left turn onto Chamisal Pass road.
• About 100 yards up that road, meet the rest of the tour participants in a small gravel parking lot on the right side of the road.
• Tour participants will be asked to carpool, and any vehicles that are not used in the tour can be parked in the back side of the gravel lot.

Tassajara Fire, day two

1:00 pm – posted on wildlandfire, Cal Fire is being released, must not be any structure threats.

10:00 – acreage mapped at 169. 0% containment. Crews being flown in for direct attack. The smoke I have been watching all morning is quite dark. Still less than yesterday.

6:30 am – USFS is saying the forward motion of the fire has stopped, but it is still shaky. Today will tell the tale.

From here, the smoke is much less this am than it was last night.

Fire in Tassajara?

8:00 pm – the USFS lowered their estimate to 200-250 acres, per inciweb. If you know how to use inciweb, this is incident 3522.

5:00 pm – per USFS, 500 acres and 0% containment. I have a satellite map sent to me by
Kelly O’Brien of KUSP, and a resident of Jamesburg. It is about 1/3 of the way from the Zen Center to Chews Ridge, which is where my reader’s photo was taken. For perspective, itis about 12 miles due East of Big Sur’s Ventana Inn. IF my Internet ever cooperates tonight, I will get them up.

4:00 pm – major smoke visible behind Cone Peak. I have a photo, as well as a photo from a reader who is closer, but haven’t been able to either download or upload. Having trouble with my email, for some reason, natch. Not happy!

3:15 pm – smoke visible in Salinas Valley, per one commentator below. As he says, not a good sign.

2:45 pm – it is just north of the Zen Center and only 5 acres at this point, but trying to keep out of the river bed. If it gets into the river bed greater potential to spread, per Cal Fire. Aircraft are on it.

2:30 – LPNF WildCAD posted this, then stopped working at 1:38 –

07/17/2013 13:09 LPF-2176 Tassajara Smoke Check Tassajara Hot Springs . 7EDW1 BC11LPF CRW1LPF CRW4LPF DIV1LPF E16LPF 4X4 E17LPF E19LPF E338LPF 4X E37LPF E41LPF HEL527LPF HEL528LPF PAT17LPF F PAT18LPF F WT4LPF . . .

So the helicopters I heard might have been theirs. This indicates a “smoke check.” I have inquiries out, so will see what info I can get. As we are so aware, from the Basin Complex of 2008, Tassajara is Big Sur’s backyard.

2:00 pm – scanner traffic indicating a fire in Tassajara, and fire trucks from Big Sur seen heading out. I can hear helicopters, but don’t know if it is connected. Will continue to try to find additional Information.

Black Bear Study on Central Coast

From the California Department of Fish and Game:

Black Bear Study Underway Along Central Coast

JULY 12, 2013 BY JANICEMACKEY
Media Contact: Janice Mackey, CDFW Communications, (916) 322-8908
Scientists Splitting Hairs to Estimate Population and Breeding Patterns

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is conducting a multi-year population study on black bears in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.

CDFW researchers are collecting bear hair this summer in San Luis Obispo County with non-invasive hair snags. DNA from the hair will be analyzed in a laboratory.

“With residential development encroaching further into bear habitat, it’s critical that we gain some scientific insight into California’s black bear population,” said CDFW state bear program coordinator, Marc Kenyon. “Understanding this expanding population will help us make informed planning decisions that are in the best interest of the bears.”

Samples are collected with hair snags: small barbwire corrals with non-consumable bait placed in the middle. As the bear passes through the wire to investigate the bait made from fermented fish and steer blood, the barbed wire gently pulls hair samples.
Scientists check and re-bait traps on a weekly basis, collecting hair specimens and sending them to the UC Davis Wildlife Genetics and Population Health Lab for testing and analysis.
“Extracting DNA from hair follicles allows us to identify unique individual profiles of bears, explore familial relations, breeding trends as well as gain insight into black bear movement patterns,” said UC Davis associate professor Holly Ernest.
U
Hair sampling is one of the most cost-effective and increasingly common methods of estimating abundance and density of bears on local scales. The method, known as capture–mark-recapture, is commonly used to estimate population sizes of wildlife, particularly when a complete head count is not possible.

Population size is estimated when a portion of the population is “captured” via a hair snag, “marked” by a DNA profile and “recaptured” when hair from the same animal is collected again. By evaluating the proportion of bears whose hair is collected repeatedly to the total number of bears sampled, scientists can estimate population size and identify general trends.
CDFW researchers plan to continue collecting hair samples into August and then will move operations north to Monterey County this fall.

Two Fires in last 1/2 hour

First, about 1/2 hour ago, at the corner of Templeton and Palomar, about 12 acres and 75% contained right now.

2nd one, just started, Highway One, just across from CMC. hopefully they will pick up this one fast, too. Downed power lines here.

Wildfire in Paso and a second near Bradley

5:00 pm – units being released from Adelaide both due to forward rate stopped, and resources needed for a fire off the 101 near Bradley. No further at this time on the MoCo fire.

2:30 pm – a wildfire at Adelaide and Vineyard, on the west side of Paso, about a mile past the cemetery started a bit ago. Four air tankers have already checked in at the Paso Airport, and numerous engines are either there or on their way. Originally estimated at 5 acres, but just reported at 60. Here is a photo taken by the initial A/A. I will continue to follow this this afternoon, but I am having Internet issues. I have a great overhead shot of this fire, but unable to upload at this time. Will continue to try throughout the evening.

Five years blogging

Wow, bigsurkate turns 5 today. What a ride it has been for all of us. This blog started because I was pissed off at the Sheriff at the time, and decided my anger could motivate me to create something positive. I think I met my goal. In the last five years, this blog has grown way beyond anything I expected when I spent the night (ALL night) of July Fourth teaching myself how to blog. Lots of learning twix then and now. Lots of technical changes, too. The blog’s readership has grown until now between blog subscribers, twitter followers and FB, over 1000 people follow this blog from all over the world, and it has been viewed over 672,000 times. Who knew?

Now, so many people contribute information, photos, and comments, that it is truly a community effort. Here’s to another five years of serving this community that is our family. Blessings to all.

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Happy Fourth!

Today’s holiday is marred by the loss of 19 firefighters. Lets not mar it further by irresponsibility in any manner, particularly if your behavior can harm yourself or others. Be safe and sane today. I’ll be enjoying a BBQ with friends today!

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Pinnacles Fire

1:45 pm – There is a wildfire 6 miles south of Pinnacles on Highway 25.
From IC: Approx 40 acres & holding. Should be able to handle with additional eng. enroute and be able to get around most of it with bulldozer. May reduce crew needs from 2 to 1.

Fourth of July in the Los Padres National Forest

Los Padres Urges Fourth of July Visitors to Exercise Caution

GOLETA, CA…Los Padres National Forest officials are reminding Fourth of July visitors that the possession or use of fireworks—including the “safe and sane” variety—is strictly prohibited in the forest at all times. Rangers and law enforcement officers patrolling the forest will be strictly enforcing the ban on July 4 and throughout the long weekend.
With the forest in Level III Fire Restrictions, recreational target shooting is also prohibited unless specifically authorized under a special use permit. Under current fire restrictions, campfires are permitted in Campfire Use Sites only. Campfires must be attended at all times by a responsible adult with a shovel and adequate supply of water to douse the fire. Forest officials strongly encourage visitors to take into account local weather conditions when deciding whether to have a campfire. A cooking fire within a day-use site on the Santa Barbara Ranger District caused the White Fire on Memorial Day when variable winds increased and pushed embers from the barbeque into nearby dry grass.

“We all have a responsibility when visiting the forest to take the appropriate steps to avoid a wildfire,” said Los Padres Forest Supervisor Peggy Hernandez. “This year has been extremely dry, and with hot temperatures in the forecast it is prudent to consider leaving the campfires for another time.”

Lanterns and portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel are permitted outside of Campfire Use Sites, but only with a valid California Campfire Permit. Permits are available free-of-charge at any Forest Service office or online at http://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf . All flammable materials within a distance of five feet from camp stoves must be cleared and a responsible person with a shovel must attend the stove at all times while it is in use.
Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the national forest except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or designated Campfire Use Site. Operating internal or external combustion engines requires a properly installed spark arrester, maintained. Avoid parking vehicles on grass as hot engines can ignite dry vegetation.

Know Before You Go by contacting the nearest Ranger Station for the latest conditions and updates.