Tag: USFS

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.