And  I will leave you with this gorgeous shot by SLOStringer.

Tassajara has retardant on the flanks, and from here,  it looks like it is laying down. We will know for sure in the morning, but for now, I am signing off.

oh here’s the photo from Joel DeMaria, as promised. BTW, you can listen to scanner feeds on broadcastify. You must join, but it is free. I can’t hear well enough to make use of it, thus far, but I try.

The one below is by Ernest A Long, taken from the baseball fields in Carmel Valley. Thank you Earnest

The first one is from my house on the South Coast, probably both fires.

i also have a great one by Joel DeMaria I will try and upload … Which is so easy with my new internet, although I can see I am going to be WAY over my data limit!

Also, a serious fire on 68. Highway closed in both direction and evacuations taking place. There is a possible third fire, but it could be from the Santa Lucia Preserve Fire (Cachagua and Tassajara) Large plume per reporting party. And finally, the River Fire at 17 and Pine Canyon. Whew. Will take me a while to dig up more details on the two major ones.

Wildfire in Tassajara & Cachagua

SLU sent 5 units to assist. The South Coast Ridge Rd is probably a campfire.

09/19/2015 15:06 LPF-3009
New Wildfire Tassajara Rd @ Cachagua ( Carmel River Vly) . 7EDW1 BC12LPF E18LPF E31LPF 4X4 PAT19ALPF . . . 36.390 x 121.596
09/19/2015 14:40 LPF-3008
New Wildfire so coast ridge rd . . . . . 36.004 x 121.447

I am a happy blogger. I have my new satellite installed, got my new AirPort Extreme for wireless, and I am really up and running, now.

Given my internet challenges have been resolved, I am now free to upload more than one photo and to receivephotos for posting from readers. An amazing lack of frustration here. I do have to watch my data useage, as I got the middle plan, or 15 GB per month. I’m probably using that, too, as I have been catching up with upgrades and doing things I squally wait to do with a town run.

I had actually picked about 6 to upload, but some of them seem to be stored in the cloud … Or something. All these bird shots are from my Africa trip last year. 😉

10:30 am – Cone Peak is now visible. Still a hazy kind of effect, but given the Rough, Butte, and Valley Fire east and north, I would expect that.

7:30 am – first thing I noticed when I woke a bit ago was the smoke obliterating Cone Peak…literally can’t see it. First thing I checked was WildCAD where I found this:

09/12/2015 18:21 LPF-2929
New Wildfire Jolon and Mission . . . . . 35.962 x 121.165

Couldnt see it last night, so based on what I’m seeing, it looks to have gotten rather large. Given the horrific fire in Lake County yesterday and how fast it grew in just a few hours, it is not surprising. “CAL Fire updated acreage to 40,000 on their website 22 minutes ago…. Let that sink in, it went from from dispatch to 40k in probably less then 15 hours.” (From Wildland Fire)

I will be keeping my eyes open, both in the physical world outside, and the cyber one online for additional information, but CHP reported a traffic hazard on 101 in San Ardo after 9 pm, but no details as to what that hazard was. Given proximity, it COULD be smoke.

Remember, this Saturday is the challenge. It will start on Carmel Valley Rd. at 7 am. CVR will have restricted traffic until 8 am. They will proceed to Carmel Ranch Rd, to Rio Rd. then south on Highway One thru Big Sur. Expect delays. There will be additional starts at the Big Sur Ranger Station, Sand Dollar Beach, and Ragged Point. Use caution in these areas.

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if the BSVFB charges each and every idiot that starts a fire for the costs of fighting said fire, and the USFS issues tickets with hefty fines for each and every illegal campfire, and warnings re same, and publicizes all, including names of those cited and fined … Then, and only then … Will we see a change in the behavior of our visitors. I urge each and every one of my readers to write to our representatives – federal, state, and county (listed in the column to the right with links). You don’t need to be a resident, just a lover of Big Sur, and who isn’t?
09/03/2015 16:36 LPF-2753
abandon camp fire Miscellaneous plaskett ridge road . . . . . 35.904 x 121.414
09/03/2015 16:36 LPF-2752
abandon camp fire Miscellaneous plaskett ridge road . . . . . 35.904 x 121.414
09/03/2015 16:36 LPF-2751
Illegal camp fire Miscellaneous Plaskett ridge rd . . . . . 35.904 x 121.414
09/03/2015 16:35 LPF-2750
Illegal Camp fire Miscellaneous Los Berros road . . . . . 35.917 x 121.214

i think the latter is Los Burros, based on lat/long aka WIllow Creek Rd.

Today’s Date: Thursday, September 3, 2015
District: 05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa
Cruz Counties
Contact: Jim Shivers or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3237 or (805) 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VISTA POINT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT BEGINS NEXT WEEK ON THE CENTRAL COAST

CENTRAL COAST – A project to enhance vista points and install interpretive displays along the central coast will begin Tuesday, Sept. 8. The following vista points will be closed intermittently during construction:

· The Rancho Cielo Vista Point on State Route 154 and the Arroyo Hondo Vista Point on US Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County.
· The San Simeon Bay Vista Point and the Piedras Blancas Vista Point on State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County.
· The Big Creek Vista Point and the Julia Pfeiffer Burns Vista Point in on State Route 1 in Monterey County.
· The La Selva Vista Point on State Route 1 in Santa Cruz County. This location will remain closed 24/7 beginning Tuesday, Sept. 8 until all construction has been completed this fall.

“These vista point improvements and interpretive displays will enhance the visitor experience as they travel along the state highway system and enjoy the very best of what the central coast has to offer,” said Caltrans District 5 Director Tim Gubbins.

The contractor for this $699.000 Transportation Enhancement Project is RSB Group of Lake Forest, CA. This project is expected to be completed by late November.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through
highway construction zones.

For traffic updates on other state highways in San Luis Obispo County, motorists may call Caltrans
District 5 Public Affairs at 805-549-3318 or can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/road_information.htm.

Susana Z. Cruz
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer/
Portavoz de Relaciones Públicas
para Caltrans en el Distrito 5
805. 549.3138
805.549.3326–fax
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when we drove by PV Station at 9:30 am there were a sh**load of La Enforcement types from all sorts of agencies staging, along with a helicopter. There were even more F&G along the road at Mill Creek. Then tonight, on the way home, we saw a LE truck with a trailer loaded full of stuff covers with tarps heading north. Don’t know the details of the bust, but you can rest assured law enforcement will be touting their horns about how big it was, how much it weighed, how much it was worth. Look to local news sources tonight or tomorrow. If I hear. I will post an update.