Hello to those in Big Sur in Body or just in Spirit March 4, 2009

Hello! Now that the fire is over and I have not written in many months, I’m not sure if anyone reads this little old blog anymore, but in case you do and/or if you are looking for information about Big Sur, I am now (and have been) posting to www.surcats.org. This website has taken the place of www.surfire2008.org. We have a lot of good information up there, including current weather and road conditions. We also have a really big resources page with a lot of good links and info.

Here in Palo Colorado Canyon, we have been getting lots of rain and a few minor and typical winter slides, but as the fire was only close enough to feel the heat in our minds, we have been free from any major slides.

So far in  Big Sur Valley and to the South, the road has been closed and opened, closed and opened, but has not remained closed for too long at any one time. There was so much preparation and it seems everyone has their eye on the road. When there are slides, they are getting taken care of quickly, and  I am told that they are being taken care of faster than they have been in the past.

For anyone planning to visit Big Sur this Winter, Spring, or Summer, please know that you have the thanks of all of the businesses and residents, as Big Sur really needs your financial help. If you are coming this Winter, know that you are in for a treat, as Big Sur is so lush and green right now, but please drive carefully and expect to dodge a few rocks as you turn those corners on HWY 1. You can visit www.surcats.org to check the highway conditions, and if there is nothing listed, then the road is fine, except for a rock here or there.

Finally, if there is anyone reading this and you would like me to give a bit more of a narrative than you find on www.surcats.org, (which is good for the facts, but we leave it at that) leave me a comment and I will know there is someone reading and it will give me a good reason to write!

I will post up some stormy winter pictures soon. Now that all of the trees that could have fallen on my house already have, my view of the rain rolling in and out is even better!

Basin Complex East Information Links July 13, 2008

Hello! I have been doing some researching to find good sources of information on the Basin Complex East. Thank you to people who have sent me links. If you have any other links to good information, please send them along! This is what I have found at this point:

This is someone attending fire meetings and writing up summaries and giving first hand accounts of what it is like to be in Jamesburg right now. Definitely the most information about the East side of the fire that I have found so far.

http://thefirelane.blogspot.com/

A good standby

http://www.kusp.org/fire/sur.html

This is the official County of Monterey site. It gives good, brief, official information.

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/PR_OES/default.asp

This is a non-official, but more detailed site that gives timely information along with thermal maps:

http://xasauantoday.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/big-surventana-wilderness-fire-news/

This seems to be an official federal site. If you scroll down about 3/4 of the way on this one there is some good information.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/south/fwx/operations/osc-archive/sitreport.html

This is where I get my weather reports from. Go to the page, then type in your city and state in the box on the upper left hand side (not the right hand box, this does something else), and you can then narrow down your area. Then it will show you a map that you can click on to make your location and elevation even more accurate. Takes a bit of guess work with the elevation, but it works.

www.noaa.gov

Basin Complex East Information July 13, 2008

Hello! I know that people are looking for information about the East side of the Basin Complex Fire. I am too. I will post again when I have more information. Right now I am compiling a list of sites that have information on the active parts of the fire. If you know of any good sites, please contact me so I can include them in my list. I hate to say it, but the information I am finding is sparse.

I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for anyone on the East side of this fire. If there is anyone who is attending local fire meetings on the East side, I would implore you to write up the information that you are given for the benefit of others. If you need help setting up a blog to share this information, please contact me and I will help you.

Basin Complex East vs Basin Complex West July 12, 2008

I just received an angry comment from someone who was upset, thinking that I had said that the Evacuation Advisory was lifted for everyone. This is not the case. Many people are still under Evacuation Advisory that live in the area of the Basin Complex East. In Palo Colorado we live in the Basin Complex West, and our Evacuation Advisory was lifter at 6:00am today. I’m sorry if this caused any confusion for people on the Basin Complex East who are still feeling very tense and nervous, and who are still under Evacuation Advisory.

The number that I gave in the last post is for information on Basin Complex East. I gave this so that you can find out information, as we had out last fire meeting in Palo Colorado last night, because our Evacuation Advisory was lifted.

I appreciate comments and want to make sure that my information is accurate. I appreciate them even more if they are not stated in an angry, aggressive tone. I do everything I can to make sure that my information is correct, including fact checking them with fire officials and everyone on the neighborhood e-mail list.

July 11th Palo Colorado Fire Meeting Summary July 12, 2008

BIG NEWS!!!

As of 6:00 am tomorrow (July 12th) morning, our Evacuation Advisory will be lifted! Wahoo!!! Tonight was officially our last meeting. We can unpack and get some good sleep! Businesses are in the process of being inspected, roads are opening, Big Sur seems to be coming back!

There is a possibility of lighting this weekend, but if it comes, it is supposed to come with rain, so we should be okay. (See the bottom for full weather info.)

Today it was humid which kept the fire activity down. The RH (Relative Humidity) also kept back burning operations from moving very quickly. They have burned to Blue Rock Ridge. Fire fighters plan to back burn more tonight around 2:00 am when the RH should drop, allowing them to get a better burn.

The Basin Complex Fire is under Unified Command, with the Basin Complex Fire West under Cal Fire, Big Sur Brigade, and the Mid-Coast Brigade. The Basin Complex Fire East is under the control of Cal Fire and Cachagua Brigade. As the West side of the fire is contained, the camp at Molera State Park will be broken down, and engines will be de-mobilized.

To continue to be informed about the fire, you can call (831) 385-6954. Our Mid-Coast Brigade will also post up fire information at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon, the mailboxes at Garrapata, and at Bixby Canyon.

I will call the Basin Complex Fire East contact number and see if I can obtain enough information to write brief e-mails. I will post photos of the fire that I have not had time to post so far on tarawings.wordpress.com.

The Basin Complex Fire and the Indians Fire have officially burned into each other.

The fire burned through Tassajara, and we are told that two outbuildings were destroyed, but that the Zen Center is unharmed.

We were reminded to continue clearing. While the threat from the Basin Complex Fire has subsided, we are only at the beginning of fire season.

The county crew that was working so diligently on Palo Colorado Rd. was pulled by a higher up. They are the only crew for all of Monterey County. OES and others are working to get them back in, as they still have three miles of road to work on. The crew worked for four days, working in 12 hour shifts, and wanted to finish the job.

If they crew is not allowed to come back, we can start a phone calling and letter writing campaign. Let’s see if it can get worked out before it comes to that, but if not, we have all of the necessary information that we need to implore the county that our road needs to be made safe.

Tomorrow there will be another major clearing effort made on Greenridge. Please drive carefully and allow extra time. If you have any time or equipment, please come and help. If you live on Greenridge, please think about pitching in some money or help. They will need water, lunch, and ice cream never hurts.

On Sunday, the Farmer’s Market will run from 11:00-1:00 at Norm’s gate. Next week it will be back at it’s usually spot in front of the fire house.

If you have not yet paid you fire dues for the year, now is a great time. Each household is asked to contribute $200 a year.

Here is the latest on the weather, from NOAA:

Overnight: Widespread haze. Areas of smoke. Partly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 66. South wind around 8 mph.

Saturday: A chance of drizzle before 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 74. South southwest wind between 7 and 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 67. South southwest wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.

Sunday: A slight chance of thunderstorms. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming southwest between 4 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday Night: A slight chance of thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. West northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 77.

Monday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 61.

Tuesday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 77.

Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 59.

Wednesday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 76.

Wednesday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 59.

Thursday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 75.

Thursday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 59.

Friday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 75.

As the danger of fire recedes for us, it is both time to celebrate, and time to think of our neighbors to the East who are now experiencing what we have experienced for the last week and a half. Let’s think of our friends in Carmel Valley, Cachagua, and Tassajara, and stay informed on their situation.

For us, though, it is time to both celebrate and to rebuild. T-shirts can be purchased at the fire house and at Local Color that commemorate the fire and raise money for the volunteer fire brigades.

This Saturday an auction will be held at The Big Sur Gallery, proceeds going to the Big Sur Fire Relief Fund. Local Big Sur artists have donated their work which will be auctioned off at 5:00pm. From 3:00 to 8:00 there will be viewings and refreshments.

On July 27th there will be a benefit show at Monterey Live, line-up to be announced.

And, of course, donations can be made directly to the Big Sur Fire Fund by sending checks to:

Coast Property Owners Association (CPOA)
PO Box 59
Big Sur, CA 93920
(note “fire relief” on checks).

Contributions may also be wired to the CPOA Big Sur Fire Relief Fund. To wire funds, contact Pam Peck 831 624-5418.

Donations can be made for the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade by sending a check to:
Mid-Coast Fire Brigade
Palo Colorado
Carmel, CA 93923
Donations are 501C3 tax deductible

While I am not grateful for the fire, I am grateful for how it has allowed me to get to know all of you much more closely. I hope to be able to find out more information about the fire for you, and if I do, I will send it along.

I would love to continue getting to know all of you and becoming part of this community. If anyone is interested in starting a meditation group, I would love it. I would be happy to host it at my home. While I am in no means a teacher, I was raised Tibetan Buddhist and I deeply miss meditating with people in any meditation style. Please contact me if you are interested.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the Labor Day picnic!

Brief Local Update for July 11th July 11, 2008

Hello! I just got this from our local firefighter/tech wiz, Scott:

“Good Morning,
Got a good nights sleep last night thanks to fire fighter Nick going to 6 AM briefing this morning.  Just got off the phone with him.  Things appeared to be going well overnight.   The areas we refer to as Div. AA and BB (basically from Bottchers Gap to the coast) are holding well and now they are in pure mop up mode.  Div. CC, Bottchers to Big Pines has been back burned, there are concerns about unburnt islands of fuel in this area and I would be very surprised if we did not see some more big columns of smoke coming from that area today.  No new information on the continuing burn out operation between Big Pines and H-29 (sort of the center of Danish Creek), but no news usually is good news or at least not bad news.  The winds are set to shift today from NW to SW, though only 5-10 mph.  That should not be too bad for us.  We are not in the clear yet, there is still the possibility of one of these islands burning hot and causing spotting over the line, but I feel much, much better today than I have in the last week.  So stay prepared, but very optimistic as we move hopefully into the last few days of this fire posing a major risk to our little community.
Rested and smiling,

Scott”

July 10th Palo Colorado Fire Meeting Summary July 11, 2008

We continue to be under evacuation advisory with a soft close on our road.

Hello, Palo Colorado! Today was a particularly interesting day for me, as I spent it volunteering at the Mid-Coast Fire Station. I loved getting to know the fire fighters more closely, and at the meeting we all seemed to be feeling gratitude for their hard work. As Scott announced each of them, they received a hearty round of applause. The CPOA is looking into supporting the fire fighters who have all had to take leaves from their paid jobs to volunteer their time to protect us.

Again, I encourage everyone who can, to please donate money or volunteer time, and many of you have. Many of you have not, however, paid your fire dues for the year. We are all asked to pay $200 a year in fire dues. If you have not paid you dues, please do as soon as you can. To make donations, please send them to:

Mid-Coast Fire Brigade
Palo Colorado
Carmel, CA 93923
Donations are 501C3 tax deductible

Onto the real news:

Today we saw a large plume of smoke that emanated from “The Saddle” next to Devil’s Peak. While this was quite dramatic, it was inside of containment lines and is what they refer to as an “island.” The thought is that the heat that has been sitting there for so long finally dried out the materials and they all caught fire causing a large amount of burning.

This must have been quite dramatic in Carmel Valley and Cachagua. We were told that they are in the situation that we were in about a week ago, meaning that the fire is advancing in their direction, and they are racing to back burn before the fire advances too far. Back burning operations continue to go well, and they hope to finish before the fire meets the dozer lines.

Today they finished back burning to H-28 which is Big Pines. Tonight they plan to continue to back burn to H-29 which is about 2 miles East. This is difficult terrain, and a relatively dangerous burn for the fire fighters, as the fire is moving uphill in the area, which means it burns faster. The back burn will be handled by a hot shot crew.

Many of us saw helicopters today. They were being filling drop buckets by using a “pumpkin” which is a portable water basin. The pumpkin was located just behind the fire house, which is why so many people saw and heard the activity.

The fire moved through Tassajara today. There was no structural damage, and the fire burned around the Zen Center.

We continue to be in red flag warnings for weather. We hope to be out of the red flag warning soon, although this will probably hold for the higher elevations for a while. There is talk of thunderstorms. There is a 20% chance of storms here, but they would come from the East to the West, which is less of a threat.

Here is the weather outlook, courtesy of NOAA.

Overnight: Clear, with a steady temperature around 67. Southwest wind between 3 and 6 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Southwest wind between 6 and 9 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60. South southwest wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 76. South southwest wind between 5 and 8 mph.

Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 58. South wind between 3 and 8 mph.

Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 76.

Sunday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.

Monday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 74.

Monday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Tuesday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 71.

Tuesday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 54.

Wednesday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

Wednesday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 54.

Thursday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

We were told that the wilderness will be closed for quite a while. There is still fire activity, and we will continue to see hot spots and islands flare up for a while. The wilderness may not be able to re-open until it rains.

We were reminded that when this is all over, we will be a small island of fuel, and that we must continue to be diligent in our clearing and maintenance.

Phil Yenovkian of OES came and told us that the county crew that had been clearing the road was taken out as we are competing for resources, but that they will be back. OES is working to get grants to continue this clearing.

Jerri told us that the maps are looking good, and that she will be using a GPS device to mark the exact location of each of our homes. She will call ahead, but will need to come onto each of our properties to take the GPS reading. She will start on Greenridge and lower Greenridge. We are reminded that these maps will remain confidential.

Finally, we were told that once this fire merges with the Indians Fire (which it may have already) and all is said and done, they expect that 250,00 acres will have burned. This will be the largest fire in California’s history. That is a record I hope I never see broken.

DC-10 Dropping Fire Retardant Over Bixby Mountain July 11, 2008

July 5th, 2008

This is a larger scale version of the previously posted photo. Enjoy!

Photo by David Peasley

Support the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade July 11, 2008

I just got back from a day of volunteering with the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade. They have been doing amazing work, not only with the fire, but in building the fire house themselves. Yes, themselves. Today they were doing lots of wiring. When there is a fire, these brave men and women take a leave of absence from their full time jobs to come and protect us. When there is no fire, they come on their days off to build the fire house

There is still a lot of work to be done. The walls are not finished, the bathroom is not finished, there is no computer or internet, the list goes on and on. If you are able to send any money at all or if you know someone show can, please send funds to:

Mid-Coast Fire Brigade
Palo Colorado
Carmel, CA 93923

Donations are 501C3 tax deductible

Thank you!

Brief Fire Update from one of our local Fire Fighters July 10, 2008

“Went to 6 am briefing this morning and from all reports the containment line from Bottchers to Devils Peak held overnight and the fire did not make any extreme runs at the line.  Today will be a critical day of burn out operations and it looks like wind and air conditions will be favorable for this operation.  Not in the clear yet, but working steadily toward it.”