Location: Hwy 1(MM32.20) N of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles S of Big Sur
Containment: 0
Injuries: 0
Resources:
Hand Crews: 6
Engines: 25
Dozers: 3
Helicopters: 4
Fixed wing: 1
Water Tenders: 3
Total Personnel: 400
Current Situation:The Dolan Fire was reported August 18, 2020, just after 8:00 p.m. Active Fire behavior was observed with long range spotting, uphill runs, flanking and backing fire. California Interagency Incident Management Team 2, under the command of Mike Minton entered into unified command with Big Sur Fire this morning at 6:00 a.m.
Today priorities focused on the preparation and protection of structures on the north and south ends of the fire. On the north end, in the Partington Ridge area, an Evacuation Warning was upgraded to an Evacuation Order. Firefighters are prepping for structure protection and building fire line around an area that burnt across the North Coast Ridge Road yesterday. This fire is burning in the Sobranes Fire scar. Confidence that this fire will be caught is high.
The fire was active today in the area of Hermitage. Bulldozers were used to build a protection line to the north of threatened structures and firefighters prepped around the structures in the area. The dozer line is expected to be challenged by the fire again tomorrow. The primary fire spread today was to the south.
Firefighters will also be working in the area of Anderson Peak. Communications infrastructure for multiple agencies is threatened. Crews will be removing vegetation and cutting lines around this site.
A layer of smoke remained over most of the fire area again today making it difficult to ascertain the exact location of the fire’s perimeter. One big concern is San Vicente Creek on the south end. This information is important in planning the strategy for control of the south end. The current control objectives are to keep the fire south of Partington Ridge, north of Nacimiento Fergusson Road, east of Highway 1, and west of Coast Ridge Road.
The fire is threatening the communities of Partington Ridge, Big Sur and Lucia. Multiple businesses, communications sites, parks and recreational sites are also threatened. Among natural resources threatened are the Ventana Wilderness and coastal watershed and habitat for threatened and endangered species, including the California condor.
Fire activity in the western United States has caused a high demand for fire personnel and equipment. The nation is in Preparedness Level 5 (PL5), the highest level. In PL5 over 80% of the nation’s incident management teams and wildland firefighting personnel are committed to incidents. Resource orders are being prioritized to fires across California and the west.
Updates and Meetings: Fire Information is producing two daily written updates. To request an update email 2020.dolan@firenet.gov and provide your email. A daily video update will be posted to the Los Padres National Forest Facebook page and Inciweb (See links in header). Additionally, a live online community meeting will be held on the Los Padres National Forest Facebook page tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.
Weather: Tomorrow clouds from former Hurricane Genevieve are expected to move over the fire area in the afternoon. Saturday night through Sunday morning there is a slight chance of dry thunderstorms. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued from Sunday at 11:00 a.m. through Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. due to a potential for Thunderstorms.
Evacuations / Closures:Click here for an interactive map of Monterey County evacuations.
The Partington Ridge community Evacuation Warning was upgraded to an Evacuation Order this morning. Though the order was in effect immediately, residents will have until 9:00 a.m. on Saturday to move belongings from their property.
The closure of Highway 1 has changed. The highway is now closed near mile marker 38/Troy Canyon on the north and Hermitage on the south.
Smoke: The Monterey Bay Air Resources District has issued a Wildfire Air Quality Advisory. When the concentration of smoke has reached UNHEALTHY levels of the AQI, residents should limit their activity by staying indoors with the doors and windows closed to avoid breathing smoke. Updates on the current air quality forecast and Air Monitoring data can be found at http://air.mbard.org/.
Alert Monterey County:To receive emergency notifications regarding evacuations and critical events in Monterey County please sign up for A!ert Monterey County at the following website.https://member.everbridge.net/453003085611217/login
Cooperating and Assisting Organizations: National Weather Service, California Highway Patrol, Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, Big Sur Volunteers, Cal Trans, California State Parks, OES, Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Safety Message:Area residents are encouraged to prepare for the approach of fire in advance. Go to https://www.ready.gov/wildfires to learn how to prepare.
Mandatory evacuation order in place for the following area:HWY 1 @ Nacimiento Ferguson Rd. (Post mile 19)North to:HWY 1 @ Torre Canyon (Post mile 39)West of hwy 1 to Pacific OceanEast Hwy 1 to North Coast Ridge Rd./Cone Peak Rd. To include Partington Ridge Road..
From MCOES:
8-21-2020/1130 hrs Mandatory evacuation order is in place for the following area:
HWY 1 @ Anderson Canyon (Post mile 35)
North to:
HWY 1 @ Torre Canyon (Post mile 39)
West of hwy 1 to Pacific Ocean
East Hwy 1 to North Coast Ridge Rd.
To include Partington Ridge Road.
While the satellite maps belong show that the fire has crossed coast road, those who are up there are saying they are seeing no fire. Heat detections can be inaccurate and give false readings. On the other hand, during the day, fires may be in low areas that are not seen. The good news for Partington is that the winds are predicted to start blowing to the south about 6 pm.
Dolan Fire, 8/21/20
12:30 pm — From the Ventana Wilderness Society’s FB page:
“The Dolan Fire in Big Sur, California burned through the Condor Sanctuary jeopardizing the Ventana Wildlife Society’s recovery effort. Two live cameras, operated by Explore.org, recorded the devastation. The nest cam, where baby condor “Iniko” is being raised by wild parents Redwood Queen and Kingpin, was lost on the evening of August 20, 2020 and the Sanctuary Cam, with an overview of the release area, was burned over at around 3:45AM on the 21st. Our release pen was engulfed in flames just before the feed cut out. As condors and their chicks have survived wildfire in the past, there is still hope for Iniko and the others. Once it is clear, we will rebuild as nothing will get in our way of restoring this magnificent species back to nature!“
11:45 am — Jon Knight informs he is at Anderson Canyon, and so far they have been able to hold it to the South side. Firefighters are at the (very wide) dozer line back behind the Hermitage preparing to make their stand. The next few hours will give us a better idea of what this fire wants to do.
10:15 — I can’t upload video here because I don’t think I paid the extra fees wordpress wanted, and they do take up so much storage space, but Jon Knight did send me a video of the fire on the east side of the highway burning in Anderson Canyon, almost real time. I can take a screen shot and post that.
This morning’s map from John Chesnut. He added MM to make it easier for all us neophytes.
9:30 am — Serge Withrow and Billy Volpe meeting with structure protection coordinator at Gamboa Point.
Structure Protection
And just for grins, here is an old postcard Rhea found when she was packing up. The Withrows caretake the property most of us will always remember as Don Harlan’s, the original road warrior, place, where he grew up and worked on the road as the Supervisor for Willow Springs for years, if not decades.
Location: 6 miles N. of Lime Kiln State Park. 10 miles S. of Big Sur
Containment: 0
Injuries: 0
Resources:
Hand Crews: 6
Engines: 20
Dozers: 2
Helicopters: 4
Fixed wing: 1
Water Tenders: 2
Total Personnel: 335
Current Situation:The Dolan Fire was reported August 18, 2020, just after 8:00 p.m. Active Fire behavior was observed with long range spotting, uphill runs, flanking and backing fire. The fire was initially managed by local resources but due to the extensive history of large fires in the area, statewide resource issues and a high degree of complexity, a decision was quickly made to request a Type 1 incident management team. California Interagency Incident Management Team 2, under the command of Mike Minton entered into unified command with Big Sur Fire this morning at 6:00 a.m.
The fire is burning on private, state and federal lands, including the Ventana Wilderness. Fire behavior is expected to be much the same as it was yesterday. An inversion shaded the fire and limited fire growth but fire behavior was still active on peaks above the inversion. Due to the inversion, the helicopters assigned to the incident were unable to fly on the Dolan Fire yesterday. They were able to provide some assistance to the Carmel Fire.
Firefighters will take advantage of these weather conditions today as they continue their physical assessment of the fire area. Firefighters on scene will be using infrared imagery and physically scouting the area to locate the fire’s edge and barriers that could potentially be used as fire control line. The current control objectives are to keep the fire south of Partington Ridge, north of Nacimiento Fergusson Road, east of Highway 1, and west of Coast Ridge Road.
The fire is threatening the communities of Partington Ridge, Big Sur and Lucia. Multiple businesses, communications sites, parks and recreational sites are also threatened. Among natural resources threatened are the Ventana Wilderness and coastal watershed and habitat for threatened and endangered species, including the California condor.
Fire activity in the western United States has caused a high demand for fire personnel and equipment. The nation is in Preparedness Level 5 (PL5), the highest level. In PL5 over 80% of the nation’s incident management teams and wildland firefighting personnel are committed to incidents.
Weather: A low pressure trough will hold the inversion over the area today. Fire behavior will be similar to Thursday. With the arrival of Hurricane Genevieve in the Eastern Pacific on Saturday humidity will increase and air will become unstable potentially leading to more active fire behavior.
Evacuations / Closures:Click here for an interactive map of Monterey County evacuations.
Highway 1 is closed between Pfeiffer State Park on the north and Lucia on the south.
Smoke: The Monterey Bay Air Resources District has issued a Wildfire Air Quality Advisory. When the concentration of smoke has reached UNHEALTHY levels of the AQI, residents should limit their activity by staying indoors with the doors and windows closed to avoid breathing smoke. Updates on the current air quality forecast and Air Monitoring data can be found at http://air.mbard.org/.
Alert Monterey County:To receive emergency notifications regarding evacuations and critical events in Monterey County please sign up for A!ert Monterey County at the following website.https://member.everbridge.net/453003085611217/login
Cooperating and Assisting Organizations: National Weather Service, California Highway Patrol, Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, Big Sur Volunteers, Cal Trans, California State Parks, OES, Ventana Wilderness Alliance
Safety Message: Area residents are encouraged to prepare for the approach of fire in advance. Go to https://www.ready.gov/wildfires to learn how to prepare.
Big Sur Fire Captain Marcus Foster says they had a big stop on this spot on the west side of the freeway and here is the photo that shows it:
Big Sur Fire doing what they do best
8:30 am — Dave Nelson confirms the fire crossed the highway at MM 30, between Dolan Point and Rat Creek. Here is one photo of it. He says they are trying to do a hand line. Damn steep.
7 am — I am still collecting information, even though I’ve been up since 5:30, but the first thing I gathered was from the CHP website which states that early this am, the fire “jumped” the highway. Where is a bit unclear, but somewhere between Dolan Rock at 29.5 mm (milemarker) and Santa Lucia Ranch at 32 mm. I do have a John Chesnut heat map for you, though. He says: “When dots are spread out usually indicates a smoke column heat signature, drew line out around them based on fire images you posted last night.Couple of hits just over the Coast Ridge Rd, these might be within the uncertainty footprint” Remember, these heat signature footprints have quite a margin for error. I view this as an approximation of where the fire is.
This is an 11:00 pm inciweb report. I will post the most recent am one on top when it is released.
The Dolan Fire started at 8:15pm on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. The location is approximately 6 miles north of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles south of Big Sur. Highway 1 is closed between Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and Ragged Point. The fire is burning in the Ventana Wilderness. It is currently at 6,780 acres and is 0 % Contained. The cause is under investigation. There are 355 personnel on the fire. There are (6) handcrews that include 3 hotshot crews, (4) helicopters, (20) engines and (2) water tenders.
Los Padres is in Unified Command with the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, California State Parks, California Office of Emergency Services, CalTtrans, California Highway Patrol, National Weather Service and the Ventana Wilderness Alliance.
Evacuations in progress for the community of Partington and an evacuation warning in place for Lucia and communities South of the fire.
Communities threated are Partington Ridge, Lucia, Limekiln State Park, Big Creek Reserve, Essalen, Big Creek Reserve, residences, resorts, Federal and State Recreational sites. Coastal watershed is being impacted. Critical habit for California Red-Legged Frog, Steelhead, California Tiger Salamander and California Condor.
Monterey County residents can sign up for the emergency alerts system. These systems help public safety officials to provide critical updates, such as evacuation notifications, as quickly as possible.
AlertMontereyCounty – Monterey County residents can sign up to receive emergency notifications about where they live or work. AlertMontereyCounty provides time-sensitive messages to wherever you specify, your home, mobile or business phones, email address, or text messages. Sign up, click here.
Nixle – To receive emergency information, including evacuation alerts, text MocoOES to 888777 and include any and all zip codes you want to be alerted for in your text. For daily fire updates for the River and Carmel fires text MCFIRES2020 to 888777.
211 – You can call or text 211. Operators can provide updated fire and evacuation information. You can also text “fire” or “wildfire” to 211-211, add your zip code and receive links to current information.
Incident Information
Basic Information
Current as of
8/20/2020, 11:04:05 PM
Incident Type
Wildfire
Cause
Unknown
Date of Origin
Tuesday August 18th, 2020 approx. 08:15 PM
Location
6 miles North of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles south of Big Sur
Incident Commander
Pete Harris,US Forest Service, Incident Commander
Incident Description
Wildfire
Coordinates
36.123 latitude, -121.602 longitude
Current Situation
Total Personnel
355
Size
6,780 Acres
Estimated Containment Date
Wednesday September 02nd, 2020 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved
Chaparral (6 feet)Brush (2 feet)Timber (Grass and Understory)
Significant Events
Fire continues to make active runs to the North, East and South. Fire activity forced evacuations to the community of Partington. Fire spread is likely to continue to spread in all directions.
Outlook
Planned Actions
Crew will scout for opportunities of primary and contingency lines.
Projected Incident Activity
Fire will continue to burn in the Ventana Wilderness. Fire is taking advantage of slope driven runs and dry fuel, moving up and down canyons, spotting and making erratic runs, fire movement in all directions, ie. west, south, north, and east. Area tends to burn actively in the evening hours driven by mid slope thermal weather activity. Concern that the smoke inversion will lift and the fire activity will increase.
Current Weather
Weather Concerns
Continued hot and dry weather pattern for the next 24 hours. Movement of Hurricane Genevieve is expected to arrive in the coastal communities on Saturday and increase humidities and generate showers and thunderstorms.
Carmel (Day 4) and River (Day 6) are combined into one post at the moment. Please click the title of the post to open a separate window, and refresh the page as the post will be updated throughout the day.
Carmel Incident Update:
River Incident Update:
3:39 PM: EVACUATION WARNING FOR ALL OF CARMEL VALLEY VILLAGE TO LAURELES GRADE
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Warning for all areas East of Carmel Valley Road, North to Laureless Grade, East of Laureless Grade to Highway 68 to include areas West of San Benancio Road and the Corral de Tierra community.
Zone 17: All areas south of Highway 68 from San Benancio Road to Laureles Grade. To include all roads east of Laureles Grade at La Rancheria Rd to the south, and all areas west of San Benancio Road. EVACUATION WARNING
Zone 18: We are extending the evacuation warning west on Carmel Valley road from Klondike Canyon Road to Laureles Grade, North on Laureles Grade from Carmel Valley Road to La Rancheria. This warning includes all communities North East of Carmel Valley Road, and all communities East of Laureles Grade to include Carmel Valley Road, Laureles Grade, La Rancheria and all tributary roads. EVACUATION WARNING
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Warning for areas west of Carmel Valley Road from Klondike Canyon Road to Pine Tree Lane extending south to Dormody Road and east to Hitchcock Canyon Road and San Clemente Drive. This Warning includes all communities on Carmel Valley Road and all communities south west of Carmel Valley Road between Klondike Canyon and Pine Tree Lane, including Carmel Valley Village, Robles Del Rio.
Weather Watch in effect from Sunday morning through Tuesday morning.
* AFFECTED AREA…Entire San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast. Areas of highest concern will be included in future updates. * WIND…Generally light onshore winds. However, erratic gusty winds 40 to 65 mph may accompany stronger thunderstorms. * THUNDERSTORMS…Isolated to scattered dry thunderstorms will develop Sunday afternoon and into Monday morning. An additional round of thunderstorms are expected to arrive later Monday into Tuesday. Dry thunderstorms may become wet as the event progresses. * IMPACTS…Lightning will likely spark new fires across the region, including remote areas. Wildfires in remote regions may not become apparent until warmer and drier conditions allow them to grow. Please report potential fires to local CALFIRE or SHERIFF offices. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.
7:00 AM: Carmel and River Fires Google Earth Image with VIIRS and MODIS Satellite and CDF Infrared Outline (from 08/19/20). Some of the latest satellite detections are 3:30 AM PT. Click this link to view larger image: Carmel_River_Fire_082120
I am going to be trying to sign out early tonight, as it has been a long 5 days for me since the River Fire stated. This is going to be another marathon, and while I am experienced in them by now, they do not get any easier. It will be a marathon for all of us.
We have always felt close to our neighbors in Tassajara, Cachagua, and Carmel Valley, but never more than during a fire when we realize how close we really are. This time, we have three separate fires going simultaneously on both sides of the Santa Lucias. I doubt that has ever happened before. Getting accurate information is more difficult and resources are stretched thin statewide. Patience, understanding, and a willingness to serve one another is critical toward getting us through this time.
Let us take Matt’s words to heart, especially those of being patient with one another. Let us continue to do what few other communities do as well as we do…work together to get us through yet another tense and stressful time, together, and in tact as a community. This community always represents the best of human nature in times of emergencies and it holds such love for each other and of this place that defines us. It is during these difficult times that those qualities of ours shine. Let us shine together for as long as it takes. Bless our firefighters, first responders, neighbors, family, and friends and hang tight everyone.
Dear Beloved Big Sur Residents and Friends,
Big Sur and its residents are no stranger to fire. We have faced many over the years and have always been strong and resilient as a community to overcome the challenges associated with them. Last week, California was bombarded with a lighting event resulting in well over 300 fires across the state, all needing attention and resources. Big Sur seemingly escaped unscathed that night and there was a sense of relief but also disbelief by many, myself included. Over the next few days, the heavy smoke generated from the nearby River and Carmel Fire’s coupled with the intense heat wave made it feel as if Big Sur was already burning.
When the call came in for a vegetation fire in the area of Dolan Ridge, we could only hope that it was just the glow emitting from one of the nearby fires. As more information came in, we learned that it was spotted by an infrared satellite mounted camera through the thick smoke and was estimated at 100 acres high up on the ridge. Big Sur Fire quickly mobilized with nearly every apparatus and 20 personnel. It became readily obvious we had a large fire from the intense crimson red glow filtering through the dark smoke and that it would likely become an extended incident. Crews immediately went into notification and evacuation mode of Dolan Ridge and surrounding residences and were successful in getting everyone out safely. Crews also worked tirelessly through the night preventing the fire from crossing Highway 1 from rollout of which there were over a dozen occurrences.
Big Sur has always been in focus when a fire starts and this time is no different however, we are seeing unprecedented need across the state for the exact same resources which leaves few to none for us here for the first time in recent memory. Our responding partners including the US Forest Service and CalFire were only able to send a few engines and hand crews to help because nearly all other resources were committed to other incidents. The thick smoke clinging to the coast has also shut down the use of air support short term which has made it even more apparent this will be a long duration incident.
Today, an Incident Management Team (CIIMT2) mobilized and will be assuming command of the Dolan Fire starting tomorrow morning. I have been involved in the transition and planning processes much to our benefit and stressed the importance of timely and accurate information getting out to our community. They are committed to that end and are committed to success with managing this incident which is now well of 8000 acres with multiple enclaves and structures threatened. The circumstances surrounding the start of this fire are unclear but certainly suspicious and are being fully investigated by a Federal Investigative Team that will generate official statements regarding it.
Big Sur Fire is very involved supplying firefighters with local knowledge, engines and water tenders and continue to collaborate at the management level ensuring our community priorities are heard and addressed. Current fire conditions, evacuation warnings and orders are being updated by the Incident Management Team and will be released first thing tomorrow morning by the Public Information Officers.
We must all remain patient with each other and the process and that we plan ahead as best as possible for imminent evacuations to both the north and south of the fire and that we also remain tight as a community as we have done so many times before.
Thank you all for your continued support and trust of Big Sur Fire, Sincerely,
RV and Tent Camping Vouchers Available for Fire Evacuees
Monterey County and Weather Tech Raceway management are joining together to offer space for fire evacuees who wish to shelter in their RVs or a tent at the Laguna Seca recreation area at no charge.
Evacuees with recreational vehicles, or who wish to tent camp, should come to the gatehouse at Laguna Seca, 1021 Monterey Salinas Highway, and ask for Monterey County staff.
To receive a voucher to stay at the RV area there at no charge, evacuees must be able to provide proof of an address that is in the fire evacuation zone, whether it is a current ID, bill, statement or vehicle registration.
Staff will be available to assist with vouchers during evacuation center hours: 8 am – 8 pm.
BTW, please be patient with me today, my MMM who has been helping me on the Carmel and River Fires evacuated his family yesterday, and today is packing up their camper and evacuating himself. Once he gets settled somewhere, I am sure I will hear from him. Keep lucasryancv (gave me permission to use that in addition to my mystery map maker) and his family in your thoughts along with all our family and friends.
LOL. Okay, maybe I am getting punch drunk but that title tickles me. This is a post that applies to ALL fires, not just a specific fire.
First, I have to thank my Mystery Map Maker. Those of you who followed me during the Soberanes Fire will remember him. He lives in Carmel Valley and jumped in and helped me on the Soberanes Fire reporting and saved my sanity and was able to help me provide more and timely information than I could alone. On the River Fire, he again did the same thing. When the Carmel Fire broke, he jumped in and took over that one, which was great, as later that night, the Dolan Fire broke, and I took that one. We have been working as a team for the last 5 days. Thank you, MMM, I couldn’t do it without you!
5 PM — I just got a call from one of the lead PIOs for the USFS Dolan Fire. His name is Michael Lindbery. He has been PIO here before, he was on the Kirk-Hare, the Basin, the Soberanes, and all those in between. He will be providing me, and others, with a daily update twice a day. They are also arranging to do live briefings on FB similar to what Cal Fire is doing on the River and the Carmel Fires. He also understands that live in person updates may be necessary for this community given our unique challenges. It will take a few days to get this all up and running, so be patient. I am very grateful he is reaching out to us community members to make sure we have the communication we need. I provided the email contact (I’ll have to find it and create a sticky post with all the contact info on it for Dolan, as there will also be a public phone number contact number two. Right now the team is coming on at 0600 hours. Logistics is looking at 3 different sites for a base camp and I will be notified when that happens. So stay tuned.
4:15 PM — Going door-to-door on Partington for mandatory evacuation. Dave Smiley says this is NOT happening. My source heard it on the scanner, so I don’t know.
Have heard from the Hermitage that the fire has jumped Vicente Creek now (which you can see it starting to do in this photo).And that the Hermitage is under mandatory evacuation now. Also heard Lucia is as well.
This taken Looking north at Gamboa ridge from south side of Vicente creek. “I am at the fire. We are calling it roughly 6,700 acres. It still hasn’t reached Coast Ridge Road, but mostly will today. A lot of effort is going in to protecting the structures and the Hermitage.” (A firefighter’s story and photo) Tim Short tells me we are transitioning to a Type 1 fire team.
Noon — new info on inciweb. First, Dolan is currently at 6,700 acres and is 0 % Contained.
Incident Information
Basic Information
Current as of
8/20/2020, 11:52:33 AM
Incident Type
Wildfire
Cause
Unknown
Date of Origin
Tuesday August 18th, 2020 approx. 08:15 PM
Location
6 miles North of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles south of Big Sur
Incident Commander
Pete Harris,US Forest Service, Incident Commander
Incident Description
Wildfire
Coordinates
36.123 latitude, -121.602 longitude
Current Situation
Total Personnel
232
Size
6,700 Acres
Estimated Containment Date
Wednesday September 02nd, 2020 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved
Chaparral (6 feet)Brush (2 feet)Timber (Grass and Understory)
Full suppresion and structure point protection. Build direct and indirect contingency line.
Projected Incident Activity
Fire is burning in the Ventana wilderness. Fire is moving up and down canyons, spotting and making erratic runs, evacuations with structure protection on the North and South of fire. Fire will continue to burn in the Ventana Wilderness. Area tends to burn actively in the evening hours driven by mid-slope thermal weather activity. Concern that the smoke inversion will lift and the fire activity will increase.Forestcast for hot and dry weather. Anticipate Fire to continue to actively burn, spot, run and increase in size.
Remarks
Smoke Inversion existed all day over the fire. Unable to fly Fixed or Rotor wing over the fire.Concern of fire movement to Highway 1. Presently Hwy. 1 is closed from Pfeiffer State Park at the North to Ragged Point at the South.Communities of Lucia, Partington Ridge, Big Creek Reserve and Camboa Point face potential evacuation.
Current Weather
Weather Concerns
Continued Hot and Dry weather pattern. Potential for previous days lightning to produce new starts in the area.
11:45 pm — Just received a text from Brendon that there is now a “suggested” evacuation of Lucia. I am going to venture a guess that this is an evacuation warning. I know Partington Ridge got one last night.
The USFS is back behind the Hermitage cutting a line all around us and Lucia. (From Brendon at the Hermitage.)
AKABoras from Castro SlopeAKABoras from Castro Slope this amDolan Fire from Gamboa Point by David Halterman about 10pm
8:00 am — this post will be updated through out the day. USFS managed fires are harder to get info on than Cal Fire ones, but here is what the USFS has posted, and where they post. It has not yet been updated since 10 pm last night. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7018/
The Dolan Fire started at 8:15pm on Tuesday, August 18, 2020. The location is approximately 6 miles north of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles south of Big Sur. The fire actively burned throughout the night, running through Hot Springs Canyon and is now burning in Big Creek Canyon.The east side of Dolan Canyon was evacuated. Highway 1 is closed between Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and Ragged Point. The fire is burning in the Ventana Wilderness. It is currently at 2,500 acres. The cause is unknown and under investigation. There are 232 personnel on the fire. There are (6) handcrews that include 3 hotshot crews, (1) Type 2 helicopter, (15) engines and (2) water tenders.
Incident Information
Basic Information
Current as of
8/19/2020, 10:02:54 PM
Incident Type
Wildfire
Cause
Unknown
Date of Origin
Tuesday August 18th, 2020 approx. 08:15 PM
Location
6 miles North of Limekiln State Park, 10 miles south of Big Sur
Incident Commander
Pete Harris,US Forest Service, Incident Commander
Incident Description
Wildfire
Coordinates
36.123 latitude, -121.602 longitude
Current Situation
Total Personnel
232
Size
2,500 Acres
Estimated Containment Date
Wednesday September 02nd, 2020 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved
Chaparral (6 feet)Brush (2 feet)Timber (Grass and Understory)
Full suppresion and structure point protection. Build direct and indirect contingency line.
Projected Incident Activity
Fire is burning in the Ventana wilderness. Fire is moving up and down canyons, spotting and making erratic runs, evacuations with structure protection on the North and South of fire. Fire will continue to burn in the Ventana Wilderness. Area tends to burn actively in the evening hours driven by mid-slope thermal weather activity. Concern that the smoke inversion will lift and the fire activity will increase.Forestcast for hot and dry weather. Anticipate Fire to continue to actively burn, spot, run and increase in size.
Remarks
Smoke Inversion existed all day over the fire. Unable to fly Fixed or Rotor wing over the fire.Concern of fire movement to Highway 1. Presently Hwy. 1 is closed from Pfeiffer State Park at the North to Ragged Point at the South.Communities of Lucia, Partington Ridge, Big Creek Reserve and Camboa Point face potential evacuation.
Current Weather
Weather Concerns
Continued Hot and Dry weather pattern. Potential for previous days lightning to produce new starts in the area.
The yellow dots are the oldest fire detections, the red, the newest. Remember there can be false readings, and other areas where fire is not detected. Use these for general information, not for a very specific spot.
John Chesnut’s map
Generally, John outlines the fire’s parameters, and like here, the 24 hour prior outline is in blue, and current is in red. Thank you, John.
Below photos by Jon Knight (and no, the fire is not on both sides of the road)
Report from Rhea this am: “Good morning, We just went up to Gamboa to have a look and we talked to the crew chief for a while. The fire wasn’t that active overnight, marks place on circle m was saved, it burned through most of whale point and it made a run up the ridge behind circle m, but it hit the grass line and slowed way down. It’s still trying to get back into devils, but the north west winds slowed it down a lot last night. The dozer crew is supposed to show up this morning and start opening up the road behind here. Surge also showed him the old line just south of Gamboa and he said he’d send hand crews up there today. He said that crews will start assessing homes and structures in Lucia today too. Tried to take some pics, but there wasn’t much to see.”
7:50 pm — Due to the River Fire encroaching on the command post located at Toro Park in Salinas, CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 has initiated plans to relocate all non-essential personnel. Essential personnel remain at the incident command post to manage the River and Carmel Fires.
We will be unable to host the Facebook Livestream Briefing event at 7p.m. tonight. Please continue to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for future updates.
River Fire – Evacuation Order for Corral De Tierra south to Tassajara Rd. 9:40 AM: The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Order for all areas south of Corral de Tierra Road and Underwood Road extending south to Tassajara Rd, not to include Corral de Tierra Road and Underwood Road.
River Fire – Zone 13 Evacuation Order Overnight 9:22 AM: Over night the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office deputies issued in person evacuation orders for areas West of River Road extending west to Carmel Valley Road. West of River Road south from Gonzales River Road to Puma Road. East of Carmel Valley Road from south of Tassajara Road to Finch Creek.
River Fire – Evacuation Warning from River Road to Arroyo Seco 9:02 AM: The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Warning for all areas east of Carmel Valley Road extending south from finch Creek to Arroyo Seco Rd. All areas west of River Road and For Romie Road and Arroyo Seco Road extending South to Elm Avenue and Arroyo Seco Rd.
11 am — from the office of Mary Adams:
Update #RiverFire – 33,653 Acres, 7% Containment
Fire continues to actively burn in all directions. Progression to the north impacted homes in the outlying communities of Salinas. The fire is making slope driven runs.
Firefighters continued their aggressive attack on the fire from the ground and the air. High temperatures, low humidity, topography influenced winds, steep mountainous terrain and difficult access continue to hamper firefighting efforts. Firefighters continue with 24 hour a day operations.
Wind patterns differ on each side of the fire, which contributes to the spread of the fire in multiple directions.
River and Carmel Fires Google Earth Image with VIIRS and MODIS Satellite and CDF Infrared combined. Some of the latest detections are from 10:48 UTC (3:48 AM PT, see Important caveats note below). Click this link to view larger image: River_Carmel_Fire_082020
CalFire’s Ready, Set, Go! Checklisthere (see page 9)
Important caveats: Please note that the squares on the heat detection maps represent the expected margin of error, not the size of the area burned. In other words, the detection could have come from anywhere within the square. Also be aware that false detections do sometimes occur. An outlying or “over the line” heat detection is not, by itself, a confirmation that there is fire in the area indicated. In addition, the satellites do not detect heat everywhere that fire exists. Creeping, backing or smoldering fire is often not detected. Finally, the detections are only snapshots of moments in time. Flare ups that occur before or after a satellite pass may be entirely missed.
Also be aware that yellow squares disappear from the map after 6 days. These are not maps of the area burned since the fire began, just maps of where heat has been detected during the past week.
7:50 pm — Due to the River Fire encroaching on the command post located at Toro Park in Salinas, CAL FIRE Incident Management Team 1 has initiated plans to relocate all non-essential personnel. Essential personnel remain at the incident command post to manage the River and Carmel Fires.
We will be unable to host the Facebook Livestream Briefing event at 7p.m. tonight. Please continue to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for future updates.
Report from above Stonepine 6:45 PM: This burning right up to the fire break at Sleepy Hollow. Dozers are on it.
7:00 PM : Fire coming right up to the break
Not to alarm people this fire is doing exactly what it should be doing, moving right into the break.
Google Earth Image with VIIRS and MODIS Satellite and CDF Infrared combined. Some of the latest detections are from 21:04 UTC (2:04 PM PT, see Important caveats note below). Click this link to view larger image: River_Carmel_Fire_Sleepy2_082020
8/20/20 Morning briefing for River and Carmel Fires 11:07 AM:
River Fire – Evacuation Order for Corral De Tierra south to Tassajara Rd. 9:40 AM: The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Order for all areas south of Corral de Tierra Road and Underwood Road extending south to Tassajara Rd, not to include Corral de Tierra Road and Underwood Road.
River Fire – Zone 13 Evacuation Order Overnight 9:22 AM: Over night the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office deputies issued in person evacuation orders for areas West of River Road extending west to Carmel Valley Road. West of River Road south from Gonzales River Road to Puma Road. East of Carmel Valley Road from south of Tassajara Road to Finch Creek.
River Fire – Evacuation Warning from River Road to Arroyo Seco 9:02 AM: The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Warning for all areas east of Carmel Valley Road extending south from finch Creek to Arroyo Seco Rd. All areas west of River Road and For Romie Road and Arroyo Seco Road extending South to Elm Avenue and Arroyo Seco Rd.
11:30 pm — from John Chesnut: “Cal Fire has released a “red blob” map of the Carmel and River incident. I redrew my VIIRs mash up to follow the “red blob” map. The Cal Fire indicates several of the suburban roads were effective firelines, and hence drawing the lines to reflect that success reduces the “fog of war” that over-estimates fire extent.
Attached is the Cal Fire released “red blob” map.
7:00 AM this page will be updated throughout the day. Check back for more updates.
River and Carmel Fires Google Earth Image with VIIRS and MODIS Satellite and CDF Infrared combined. Some of the latest detections are from 10:48 UTC (3:48 AM PT, see Important caveats note below). Click this link to view larger image: River_Carmel_Fire_082020
CalFire’s Ready, Set, Go! Checklisthere (see page 9)
Important caveats: Please note that the squares on the heat detection maps represent the expected margin of error, not the size of the area burned. In other words, the detection could have come from anywhere within the square. Also be aware that false detections do sometimes occur. An outlying or “over the line” heat detection is not, by itself, a confirmation that there is fire in the area indicated. In addition, the satellites do not detect heat everywhere that fire exists. Creeping, backing or smoldering fire is often not detected. Finally, the detections are only snapshots of moments in time. Flare ups that occur before or after a satellite pass may be entirely missed.
Also be aware that yellow squares disappear from the map after 6 days. These are not maps of the area burned since the fire began, just maps of where heat has been detected during the past week.
UPDATE: 8-19-2020 The fast-moving Dolan Ridge Fire located in the Big Sur Region has triggered road closures on Hwy 1, preventing access to many state parks in the Big Sur area. Due to the emergency situation caused by the fire and resulting concerns for the safety and health of our State Parks visitors, the following parks – including all campgrounds, day use areas, and hiking trails are being closed to visitors until further notice: • John Little State Natural Reserve• Limekiln State Park• Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park• Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park• Andrew Molera State Park• Point Sur State Historic Park• Garrapata State Park• Point Lobos State Natural Reserve Visitors to these Monterey District California State Parks are advised to respect the emergency services and public safety efforts in the area. Please check the park unit websites to find out when the Big Sur State Park units will re-open at a future time.
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