Category: Fire Season

Dawn on August 3, 2009 Fires

3:30 pm update: Here is a link to the “raws” of temp/RH/fuel temps, etc.

http://raws.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/roman/meso_base.cgi?stn=FHLC1
11:50 Ponderosa Fire News Release posted under USFS Press Releases to the right.

11:00 am updates on Sam Jones & Ponderosa, my time. Fire time is 8:00 am. Sorry, my sources were late.

Sam Jones Fire:
Name: Sam Jones Fire
County: Monterey County
Location: Fort Hunter Leggitt Training Area 27
Administrative Unit: Army at Fort Hunter Liggett
Status/Notes: 2,500 acres – Unknown containment
Date Started: August 2, 2009 4:30 pm
Last update: August 3, 2009 8:00 am

08/03 @ 0800 (North Ops)
Ponderosa CA-LPF-2563, 350 acres, 0% containment. Central Coast Type -2 ICT (Smith) has been in briefed on the fire and has tentative transition scheduled for 0600 hour today is and team evaluating Unified Command with Fort Hunter Liggett. The fire is burning in grass and chaparral in steep inaccessible terrain in the Ventana Wilderness and may have the potential to burn 3,000 to 5,000 acres. 97 CALFIRE personnel are assigned adding to a total of 429 altogether.

9:00 am report. Sam Jones is looking pretty good. No plumes, just drift. Still plume for Ponderosa, but tremendous resources available and working it. According to one of my sources, Nacimiento Rd. is closed, but the fire hasn’t made it to the road, yet, just close. There are many, many fire resources using the road. It is in an area that did not burn during the Indians Fire. I have some photos of this morning’s drift from both fires, but no plumes.
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Smoke from the Sam Jones this morning, around 7:30 am.
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Drift from he Ponderosa this morning, around 7:45 am.

Only 5:30 am, but the dawn is beginning to show, and with it the smoke to the south east — a glow from the Sam Jones. Sometimes the atmospheric conditions from fires are so beautiful! My posts will be scattered throughout the day, as I have business to take care of, but will post as I obtain information about both the Ponderosa and the Sam Jones Fires.

Strike Teams are coming in from LA Co. FD today, as well as all the others that are already here and/or coming.

Jim Smith’s Type II IMT takes over the Ponderosa at 7 am this morning. What I like about this assignment is that Smith’s team was IMT for both the Indians Fire (June 2008) and the Chalk Fire (9-10/2009) so he knows this area quite well. Welcome, Jim!

Be safe out there!

Sam Jones Fire on Ft. Hunter-Liggett

7:00 pm – just got back from scoping both this fire, and the Ponderosa, with photos, of course. Wow, the Sam Jones Fire put up some amazing smoke today. Here are a couple of the Sam Jones:

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I have confirmed with the District Ranger that there IS a new fire east of the Ponderosa. It is being aggressively attacked at this moment. It was originally posted to WildCAD at 16:01 pm. Per visuals and thermals, this new fire is way south, and is east of Ponderosa. Plume is HUGE! Going to get photos.

I have also confirmed, with two separate reliable sources (BSVFB and USFS) that the report of a fire 16 miles south of Nepenthe was found to be NOT true. It was a fog bank, that got dark, and looked to the RP to be fire.

So, with our first real major fire of the season, it is very important to check information, probably more than once, to make sure it is accurate. We are all on edge here, folks.

I’ll post more when I know more.

Ponderosa Fire, 8/2/09

8:30 pm – reports are that Ponderosa has reached 500 acres. Sam Jones is 600 and moving north across containment lines. Here is a last look at the Ponderosa fire tonight. This photo is not as spectacular as the plumes from earlier, but what it shows is fire in an east west Canyon, moving in both directions. This canyon is north of the McKern Rd. firebreak, which I drove on today. It is wide, and it is clear, so it would be hard for the fire to cross that. And if this canyon fire does move west, as it appears, it will run into the footprint of the Chalk Fire.

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You can see the smoke all the way down the canyon, behind the trees and the bushes. It actually goes even further west, but that is not visible in the photograph. This is shot looking north north-east, so west would be off the left side.

News release just came in at 2:56 pm. See USFS page to the right for the entire missive.

2:00 pm update:Jim Smith’s Type II Incident team will be in command. You can find information about the team here: http://ccimt7.imtcenter.net/main/index.aspx

Spoke with District Ranger Tune and the press release is being prepared. At this point they are calling it 200 plus. She said when the team comes in at 1700 (Smith’s Type II IT) then it is her understanding that the Ponderosa will be put up on inciweb. I would imagine that might not happen until tomorrow morning.

WildlandFire posted this: “Per Southops: Ponderosa CA-LPF-2563, The fire has burned 250 acres with a potential to triple in size. Ponderosa and Nacimiento Campgrounds have been evacuated. The Nacimiento-Ferguson Road has been closed. Smith’s Type II Incident Management Team has been assigned to the fire.”

More photos from late this morning to follow here:

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This was was taken at 11:04 am, and clearly shows the McKern Rd. firebreak.

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These people snuck through before the signs were posted on Highway One, but were turned around. This is the intersection of South Coast Ridge Rd. and Nacimiento.

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This photograph shows the burn from the Chalk Fire, with the Madrone regrowth and the Ponderosa Fire in the background.
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You tired of these plumes, yet? I have a couple more showing the progression of the north flank, then I am finished until this evening, when I will go shoot some more photos.
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Here’s the last one this afternoon, showing the progression of the north flank.

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When I know more, I will post more.

1:30 pm. These photos were taken starting at 10:50 am from various places along South Coast Ridge Rd. This first one is from 10:50 am from about 1/2 mile south of Plaskett intersection.

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I took a series of shots in 2 minutes from this spot, and it is interesting to watch the progression. I’ll post 4 here.

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And now, a short break in the photo show, so that I might bring some information to my readers in the 2:00 pm update above.

12:30 pm. Just got back from my field trip. Photos and more photos up shortly. Impressive plumes. Fire south of N-F Rd., and north of the McKern Rd/firebreak. Lots of air attack. 3-4 miles, maybe 5, from me. Spotters up on South Coast Ridge Rd just north of McKern. N-F Rd. closed. Sheriff on top. Locals can go west. Now, to sort and post some photos.

Ponderosa Fire

10:30 am – “Radio traffic has it at 150 acres, Header can be seen for miles.” Now, I am really going to take a look. Back before noon, I hope. Will have phone, but there are many “dead zones” out there.

10:00 am – going off line for a bit to check on things in the back country. Call, if needed. Otherwise, back before 11 with a report. Oh, plume visible, but not particularly close. Don’t know direction of spread, but we have the old Chalk Fire between us and it, for the most part.

9:30 am – hearing lots of low-flying aircraft. I’ll be going out to open gate and go check the rear. Will take phone, but not computer, and will report back if I can see anything. From FHL-Capt. “75 acers 0% containment. Large orders for crews and aircraft. Steep and rugged terrain. Just outside Chalk Fire Burn from last year in Negro drainage.” (I think this had another name in the old days.)

9:15 am – Los Olivos Engine arrived at 7:30 am. Also, “Must have something going. Aircraft assigned to the incident: Bravo 2, AA502, T74, T75, C406, Helitanker706, C528, 3 AT on order.
Air tactics 166.675. Air to ground 170.000.”

9:00 am – found out what “cover” is. Ordered resources to come cover the two stations where the engines were from. E16 & E17. Also the exact coordinates of the fire are only near the Ponderosa campground. The exact lat & long is: 35 59 430 X 121 23 504

5:45 am – At 1:22 am, per WildCAD-LPNF, a resource order was issued for “Ponderosa Cover.” I have attempted to find out what that means, but have not been successful. It may mean simply an order for a PIO for this morning’s press release. I have found no other reports on this fire, which is a good thing. Inciweb is not reporting this fire. It has actually been quite chilly up here this am, also a good thing. The lack of available information supports a theory that the fire remained small and is under control. So, going back to sleep. Blessings, bigsurkate

Fire at Ponderosa Campground

Midnight – nothing being reported, significant or otherwise, so I’ll be signing off until morning. Blessings, bigsurkate

11:00 pm – no significant events being reported, so maybe the USFS will have a handle on it by the morning and we will all wake up to it being “old news.”

10:00 pm – I received a call from the new District Ranger, Sherry Tune, whom I just met yesterday, to give me a “heads-up” about this fire. It may have grown a little since initial reporting, but it is difficult to tell at night. She will be issuing a press release tomorrow morning, probably not until around 10 am. She will fax me a copy, which I will post here. She hasn’t been assigned a PIO, yet. She is brand-new, and only about 2 weeks into the job. It is her intention to keep locals fully informed. As a side note, I like her and others who have met her like her as well. It is a helluva welcome to the neighborhood, and she is literally being tested by fire.

9:30 pm – It began around 8:15 pm this evening, August 1st. It is approximately 4-6 acres, with a slow rate of spread. Two USFS Engines are on it right now. Ponderosa Campground, for those unfamiliar with the area, is several miles down from the summit, east on Nacimiento Rd. in the flats, by the river before one enters Ft. Hunter-Leggett.

Check back in in a couple of hours. I’ll try to report one more time, somewhere between 11 and midnight. Phone will be working all night. If necessary, I will start the gennie and stay online on and off throughout the evening.

Meeting Reports

Wednesday night’s CWPP meeting was very productive, per the attendees. I will expand on that this weekend. Today, Friday, is the BSMAAC meeting, which I will also report on this weekend, both here, in this post.

COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN

Turn out was decent, for the South Coast. We did have representation from Gorda Mtn., Willow Creek, Plaskett Ridge, Pacific Valley, and Alm’s Ridge. Noticeably lacking was any representation from the Lucia/Harlan/Hermitage section of the South Coast, or Big Creek, which was represented in the last meeting.

One suggestion that Steve Daus seems to be considering is splitting off the South Coast from the North Coast Plan. I did not get a feel for whether that is feasible. One question, of course, is where to divide the coast. One suggestion was N-F Rd. and southward. Of course, that leaves out our Lopez Point and Big Creek neighbors. I would think south of Dolan Ridge might be the answer, but really unsure. Betty, Katee, and I have all sent additional suggestions to Steve via email regarding the draft plan.

Other discussions included the ratings given to different areas based on population densities, ridges, roads, fuel loads (and types) as well as other considerations. Equipping our South Coast fire brigade also was discussed.

Steve also mentioned he wanted to find the previous dozer line maps from the USFS, but was not having much luck. So, I sent him the photos I had taken of the ones I had seen.

iPhoto Library
Chalk Fire

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Basin Fire

Hey, Steve — what can Big Sur Locals do that USFS cannot? Supply you with dozer maps!

It is hard to summarize a two-hour meeting in just a few paragraphs, but these are the main points, from my perspective.

The Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council Meeting covered much more ground and time, lasting about 3 hours. I will report on that separately this weekend.

Pacheco Fire

Coming home today, around 3 pm, we saw the Pacheco Fire. We had split from the 152 WB to the 156 WB, which was a good thing, as WB 152 was closed due to the fire.

Here is a shot of it:
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Last word was air attack was canceled at 4:30 pm, but units on stand-by.
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I have also been following the Knight Fire along the Stanislaus River, north of Twain Harte. (750 acres, 0% contained as of 7 pm 7/28/09.) The Monterey Hotshots were just assigned to this fire this afternoon. I am following it because I am interested, and there is a connection to Monterey County but, I will not generally be posting about it.

Busy week — cooler temps

That just about says it all.

And today, Tom Marovich went home. There are some real tear-jerking testimonials.

See this link:

http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?p=45553#post45553

Death of a Firefighter

Today, flags fly at half-mast for a firefighter lost on Tuesday.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following statement regarding the death of U.S. Forest Service Firefighter Thomas Marovich of Hayward:

“Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our deep sadness over the passing of U.S. Forest Service Firefighter Thomas Marovich. Thomas selflessly dedicated his life to protecting our communities and saving lives and we are forever indebted to his service. Our hearts go out to Thomas’ family, friends and fellow firefighters as they mourn this terrible loss.”

Marovich, 20, died July 21 as a result of injuries sustained while performing routine rappel proficiency skill training at the Backbone Helibase in Willow Creek. Marovich was a second-year apprentice with the U.S. Forest Service at the Modoc National Forest and was working with the Chester Helitack Crew from the Lassen National Forest which was assigned to the Backbone Fire at the time of the accident.

In honor of Firefighter Marovich, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.

BSVFB Muster Photos

I’m sitting in cool, wonderful Morro Bay, where not only is it cool, but the internet is SOO much faster. I remembered I owed you some muster photos, so without further ado … (no comments, or names, just photos. Okay, a few silly comments.)
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Okay, so the internet is only a little faster, and I don’t have time to load a whole bunch, so a few more now, and a few more later.
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And no editing on any of these. What you see is what you get. Some of us have to work for a living.
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We all know this guy, don’t we? He’s the guy behind our new fire chief.
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And here’s to the woman behind our retiring chief (not the one above, he’s got another fabulous woman behind him!)
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There she is, on the left.
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And food. Did I mention the food? Lots and lots of food.
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The man of the hour — giving an interview.
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That’s the line for the food. A long, l-o-n-g line. There were lots of us.
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And what’s a muster, without some mustering?
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Go to it, boys!!

I’ve got lots more photos, but I rarely seem to get around to Round 2. There are always other things to report, other photos to take. But I’ll try. No promises, but I’ll try.
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A group shot I meant to include. Photographers shooting photographers, again.
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Those of you who know me, know I am a hat lady. I cannot resist a good hat, or a photo of it.
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And red hats are my favorites!

I shot in both jpg and raw. Those close-ups of people in jpg were too saturated, and the skin tones not right, so I posted the raw ones. Of groups or the muster, the saturation was just about right, so I used the jpg ones. You can tell the differences. As I said, these are straight out of the camera, I didn’t have time for editing, and one can tell. I am always learning.