And, tonight, this:

08/14/2010 17:12

LPF-2508

(New)

Wildfire

Prewitt Ridge

I just looked across at Prewitt, and I don’t see any smoke. I am guessing this was a illegal campfire. I will definitely be watching closely for the next hour.

From earlier today:

Whatever this was, nothing ever came from it.

From LPNF WildCAD link:

08/14/2010 12:16 LPF-2498 (New) Wildfire Nacimento Road 1mi west or Ponderosa CG

LPNF WildCAD is reporting this: 08/14/2010 11:36 LPF-2494 (New) Wildfire Nacimiento Road 3 mi inside the boundry

I do not know if these are related, if it is one and the same with a more accurate location, or ???

I have not found any additional details, I do not see any column or smoke drift, so I am NOT concerned.

6:30 pm – I just spoke with Sherry Tune of the USFS and we discussed the problems with the brush work. She informed me that the contract provides for chipping up all the material left. She is aware of the problems created by this work and is addressing them. One of those problems is drainage. That’s one of the things I like about Sherry. She is accessible, and she really cares about being a good neighbor.

I have some photos I will be posting later today of the work that has been going on. I am going to avoid any editorial comments about the work, and let readers reach their own conclusions. I have no idea if a clean-up is planned, or not. Check back later this afternoon. I have a few things to do before I can upload the photos.

Here is one of the two mowers. I have a number of photos to upload, so will be posting one or two throughout the day, as time and internet allow.




Okay, the photo above, and the next few require explanation, so you know what you are seeing. This is the source of a spring along side the road. It is just above the end of the county portion of the road, and the road is not currently maintained by the USFS (it was last graded 10 years ago.) This spring, during the winter has a habit of breaking out over the road, and we have almost lost the ocean-side edge a number of times. Rock Knocker and others have done work to keep that edge as in tack as possible.

Locals did some road work here, and hand dug a trench, with a berm, to keep the water flowing on the inside of the road, and not across it, both above and below the spring. This is necessary to keep the water from scattering, going down the road and across it, causing erosion to the outside edge. That trench is now filled with debris, which must be removed before the first rains.

The photo above shows more of the trench and the debris filling it up.

This is what it looks like now:

A bit closer:

And even closer still:

That is fog, not smoke at the western black line.

12:30 am – from 2 separate reliable sources, I have now heard that the final acreage was 75 acres.

CAL FIRE reports:
Last Updated: August 4, 2010 7:30 am
Date/Time Started: August 3, 2010 4:00 pm
Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE San Benito-Monterey Unit
County: Monterey County
Location: Near the Little Sur River and Old Coast Rd near the El Sur Ranch
Acres Burned:
Containment 35 acres – 100% contained

I’m taking the rest of the day off from blogging. I’ve got a job that needs my attention.

8:15 pm – CAL FIRE reports: The Green Fire is now 50% contained at 35 acres. YAY!!!

CAL FIRE reported around 7:30 this evening: “CAL FIRE has responded with 13 fire engines, including 2 from the U.S. Forest Service. CAL FIRE has also brought in 3 helicopters and 4 airtankers.

CAL FIRE says they expect to stay on scene throughout the night and have plans to have crews on a dayshift there tomorrow.”

Taken just before 8 pm:

7:15 pm – Water tender being cancelled, so maybe CAL-Fire is getting a handle on this. Also heard a LPF crew is going out of service at 2100 hours. A comment below indicates that all air support has been cancelled due to fog.

Meredith Gafill (note one “f” not two, as I put on the caption), sent me this photo of the helicopter working the fire.

And Dan Danbom sent me these. Thanks, both of you!

This is the view at 6:40. Judge for yourself if the smoke is increasing or decreasing.

6:30 pm – “LPF crew 3 arroyo grande hotshots is driving through Monterey headed to the green fire”
Here is a view taken at 5:52 of the smoke visible from my place:

Remember, I am quite a ways south of this fire. Read the comments below for a description of where it is by someone who can see it.

From the CHP website: “5:43PM ONLY RESIDENTS AND FIRE PERSONEL.” This is Old Coast Rd.

5:30 pm – no updates on acreage or resources, yet. For those readers who are out of the area, this fire is burning north of the where the Basin Fire burned in 2008. If it heads north and/or east of there, that area has not burned in quite a while.

5:00 pm – two more Gabilan crews ordered.

4:30 pm – They are reporting it at 15 – 20 acres now. windy conditions.

4:20 pm – Per AA (Air Attack) 10-15 acres in grass backing down hill. Slow RS (rate of spread). Just heard the bomber say it was burning from Serra Hill down towards Little Sur River. East side of Old Coast Road. On the fog line, ordering two additional tankers.

4:10 pm – Fire called Green. 4.5 mile marker on Old Coast Road. Flames being seen from Green Ridge. Conflicting reports about the reasons for the power outage, and whether there is any relationship to the fire.

4 pm – Smoke is visible as one crosses the bridge on the Little Sur River. Details are sketchy right now. Someone from Greenridge called in the smoke check originally, but one driver said he could see the smoke from the bridge at Little Sur. Further, around 3 pm, the power went out to Big Sur. The two obviously could be connected, as I said, details are sketchy.

BEU just dispatched to Green Ridge & Palo Colorado Road<<<BC 4611 and 4609<>AT’s 80 and 81 4engines << 2 Dozers <>2 engines from CZU (Santa Cruz) and The LPF also<< responding. (LPF dispatch site has been down since yesterday morning)

I will keep everyone informed as details and information comes in.

While I keep an eye on the Rocky (Butte) Fire near Cambria, and post updates on the Rocky Fire immediately below, I will begin to upload some great shots from yesterday’s 46 Fire. This is truly a photographic study of the Anatomy of a Grass Fire. All photos by Rock Knocker.

This Fire and how fast it was knocked down was greatly influenced by the convergence of a number of very lucky incidences. First, Rock Knocker doesn’t miss a thing. He saw this almost the moment it was started and called it in. Second, there was cell phone service from the site. Third, the AA are out of Paso, only moments away. Fourth, CAL-Fire is close by. Lastly, the possible arsonists were clearly uninformed about all of this

Okay, I published this by accident, I did not mean for it to go live until this evening, but now that it is, I will continue to upload the other 5 photos I had planned for this series.

5:30 pm – per WLF, Gabilan just sent 2 crews to the fire.

4:30 pm – reports are indicating that it is 20 acres, other outbuildings lost, and more resources being sent, specifically another water tender. However, all indicates are that it is slowing down, and well on the path to containment.

For those of you unfamiliar with the area, the Rocky Butte area is up near the top of the ridge behind Hearst Castle and there is a truck trail up there. Last year, exactly one year ago tomorrow on Day 2 of the Sam Jones, a reader sent me a photo of the Sam Jones Fire taken from Rocky Butte Truck Trail. You can see it here:

3:30 pm – tanker 78 also assigned. Scanner reveals possibly only one engine, as at least one engine was diverted to a structure fire and a separate vehicle fire in Paso.

2:45 pm – tanker 80 and chopper 345 are now on the fire as well.

2:15 pm – Chopper 406 and dozer 3441 are in the area going to the fire per scanner traffic. AA (Air Attack) ordered additional resources. Tanker 75 has also been added.

2:00 pm – A new fire near Rocky Butte. Resources sent include: Tanker 74 and one helo, I think.

I need to thank my incredible source in Paso Robles, a retired FF of 33 years. He lives near the airport and is completely tuned into to the sound of the tankers taking off! Thanks, Ray!

I have little additional info at this time. But will hope they get this one under control as fast as they did the 46 fire yesterday. Have some great photos from Rock Knocker to upload in a bit.

Saturday night there was an illegal campfire on South Coast Ridge Rd. USFS Law Enforcement was dispatched, and gave the offenders a “warning.” I wish they would have given them a ticket, instead.

Sunday afternoon, a wildfire broke out at the summit of HIghway 46 between Paso Robles and Cambria. It was only one and 1/2 acres, and resources were dispatched quickly, including hand crews and a helicopter, and it was knocked down in record time. Turns out, Rock Knocker was one of the first people to pull over after the fire started and is bringing me photos. If any came out, I’ll post them later today. He says the bombers were there before Cal Fire was!

Other areas of the state have not been so lucky, including the Kern County area both near Tehachapi and Kernville, the Palmdale area, Lassen County, and currently, east of Ukiah.