July 9th Palo Colorado Fire Meeting Summary July 10, 2008

July 9th Palo Colorado Fire Meeting Summary

We continue to be under and Evacuation Advisory.

From Palo Colorado to Lucia there is a soft close on the road and an Evacuation Advisory. Residents and workers with passes may enter this zone. Buildings and businesses are being inspected and we will soon hear when businesses plan to re-open to the public. They must first get road clearance, and because of fire equipment along the road and the potential for spot fires, we will have to wait a few more days at the least.

Today we woke to blue skies in Palo Colorado Canyon. The smoke that was lingering so heavily yesterday had cleared out, which made it possible for fire fighters to work more extensively and allowed for the use of air support. I was told that they were flying S2’s, C-130’s, MAFS (Modular Airborne Flying System), and the DC-10.

Fire crews worked to finish back burning on the North East containment lines. Crews back burned up to the summit of Devil’s Peak. While the plan is to back burn the entire perimeter of the fire along the dozer lines, the North flank of the fire is coming quite close to dozer lines that have not yet been back burned. It is expected that the fire will burn from Little Pines up to Big Pines either tonight or tomorrow. This means that the fire will be coming relatively close to parts of Carmel Valley and Cachagua. Therefore, crews may need to go direct on this section of the fire tonight or tomorrow.

While there is a possibility that the fire could jump the line near Big Pines, fire crews will try to hold the line there by going direct. If the fire were to spread, it could come around the containment lines to Palo Colorado’s North and hit us from the outside. Even if this were to occur, however, the fire would still be days away from us, as it would be advancing slowly.

Tonight could be an eventful night for this section of the fire. Fire fighters have noticed a pattern of fire activity particular to our location. As the marine layer comes in at night, it brings in humidity which reduces fire activity. However, between 1:00 and 3:00 am the this layer goes back out and humidity drops, resulting in faster burning and more fire activity.

We will need to wait and see what happens tonight, and will then know more about what to expect from the fire in coming days. Crews continue to work on contingency containment lines that go from White Rock into Garrapata Creek and just near the Devon Ranch. They could run dozers near Mt. Carmel.

Big Sur Valley looks to be in good shape. South of Big Sur Valley fire crews are working on back burning, but high humidity has kept the back burns from firing well.

Here is the latest weather report, courtesy of NOAA.

Overnight: Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 66. Light northeast wind.

Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming west southwest between 5 and 8 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. West southwest wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind between 6 and 8 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. West southwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming south southeast.

Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 80.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 75.

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

Monday: Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

Monday Night: Patchy fog after 11pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 52.

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

We were updated on the condition of the firefighter who was badly hurt while hiking during fire operation. She was part of the BLM Alaska Fire Service, and a Chena Hot Shot. We were encouraged to send cards and letters of support.

We were told that from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am the FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) flies looking for hot spots.

We were told that the Mid Coast Fire Brigade needs funds. A fund raiser is being set up by Mary Verigee, Rachel Muehler, and Pam Peck that will take place in mid November, around Thanksgiving.

One way to support the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade is by buying a t-shirt that will soon be available. The fire department needs people to answer the phones at least though Sunday. (I will be there tomorrow!)

Also, checks can be sent to:
Mid-Coast Fire Brigade
Palo Colorado
Carmel, CA 93923
Donations are 501C3 tax deductible.

We were told that the county crew that has been clearing the road has worked their way from Bottcher’s Gap to the Hoist. They will continue to HWY 1. There are only 4 guys clearing, which is the entire crew for the county of Monterey. They have been coming in early and staying late. As they are working on the road, residents should leave themselves extra time coming and going on the road.

We were also reminded of the Labor Day Picnic. Hopefully it will be a time for us to all come back together and celebrate making it through the fire safely.

Phil Yenovkian of the Office of Emergency Services (OES) came back to the meeting tonight with good news. After meeting with others at the OES, he thinks that he will be able to help us with some of our tree and brush issues. OES is not allowed to come onto private land, however, OES is working out a plan to dispose of tree limbs and brush if we can bring it to Palo Colorado’s main road. There will be designated days and designated drop off points. He will be able to bring in 3 or 4 chippers to help us. He said that he really wants to help us, and that at this point he is not saying no to anything, and will look into the feasibility of all requests.

We were told that Jerri has been working on the neighborhood maps and they are looking good. She wants to remind us that they are completely confidential and are only for the use of the Mid-Coast Fire Brigade. The maps will be labeled with everyone’s house number or name in the absence of a number. Then there will be a corresponding sheet which lists everyone on the property and where water and propane tanks are.

We were reminded to leave our gates open of to purchase a KNOX Lock. This is a system that works like a regular gate lock, but that has a universal key only held by fire departments. The key can not be duplicated and is kept inside to the fire truck to be used only for emergency purposes.

Lastly, this is a new website I just found. It does not have totally new information, but it is very official, and it always helps to read the same information put a different way. It is the “Daily Situation Report” from the Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center Intelligence:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/fire/south/fwx/operations/osc-archive/sitreport.html

I hope everyone is doing well. I look forward to the Labor Day Picnic celebration.

July 7th Fire Meeting Summary July 8, 2008

Hello, Palo Colorado! Tonight’s meeting brought good news for Big Sur.

As of 10:00 am July 8th, many of our friends to the South can go home. The evacuation from the mouth of our road to Julia Pfeiffer Burns will be changed from a Mandatory Evacuation to an Evacuation Advisory. In the same area, the hard road closure will become a soft road closure, meaning that residents presenting local ID or Big Sur Passes and emergency personnel are allowed on the road.

There is still a Mandatory Evacuation and hard road close from Julia Pfeiffer Burns to Lucia.

The next community meeting for Big Sur residents will occur at 7:00 pm back in the Multi Agency Facility. Our meetings continue to be held at the Mid Coast Fire Station.

Residents of Big Sur should still be advised that the evacuation could become mandatory if fire activity changes. It is not yet time to bring everything home and start unpacking. There is still fire activity, and if the area is deemed unsafe, the evacuation will become mandatory again. Let’s all hope that doesn’t happen.

I am not sure at this point what businesses and services will be opened or closed. Residents should check the “Notices” section of www.surfire2008.org to see what businesses have posted hours of operation.

We are all advised to be cautious while driving on the roads. Many animals are being displaced due to the fire, and there has been a lot of animal activity on the roads and on properties. With an influx of people back down South, everyone should drive with extreme caution to prevent and accident.

Also, please err on the side of caution when allowing household pets outside. (Personally, I only let my animals out in full sun, and at times of heavy animal activity, only on leash.)

Onto Palo Colorado News

In Palo Colorado, we continue to be under evacuation advisory with a soft close on the road. Emergency workers and residents with Palo Colorado ID’s, Special Permits issued by Cheryl, or any proof of residence such as a utility bill, tax form, rental agreement, etc. may access the road.

If you have a worker coming into Palo Colorado, you may meet them at the mouth of the road and escort them in.

We were told that we will still be under Evacuation Advisory until all dozer lines are in, all lines are back burned, and the winds are with us. Because each of those factors are contingent upon other outlying factors, at this point we can not know when we will be back to normal. For now and at least through the weekend, we must still be ready to evacuate.

Due to the heat and extreme conditions under which our brave women and men are fighting this fire, two fire fighters were effected by heat stroke and needed to be given medical attention. Our thoughts are with them, and we hope to get an update of their conditions tomorrow.

Jake detailed the back burning operation, which continued to go well and according to plan.  Fire fighters worked until 4:30 am. Due to good burning conditions, they were able to get a lot of black on the ground. There were various spot fires, but all were contained.  The fire made runs along (Old) Coast Rd and fire fighters had to fight to keep this under control, which they did.

The did not finish firing today, because the (Old) Coast Rd road gave them so much trouble. They will not put any more fire on the ground until this section of back burning is finished and the weather is with us. They were not able to use aerial support today because of the amount of smoke.

When they are able to begin more back burning, they will finish along Skinner Ridge and Devil’s Peak. At this point, there are two fixed observers with a dozer waiting and watching this part of the open line.

We were given a personalized weather report from Scott.  Beginning Tuesday morning, we are under a Red Flag Warning. This means that there will be extremely low relative humidity, high temperatures, winds, and dry fuels, all of which come together to be a hazardous situation for fire.

Now through Thursday they expect with N/NW winds. A high pressure system will move over the area bringing light, off shore winds, although we may see some gusts. This pressure system is expected to move out Friday or Saturday. They expect very hot temperatures through Friday. There is a 60% chance that on Friday or Saturday winds will shift and come from the South, although these winds are not supposed to be strong.

Scott expressed that it is very unlikely we will have thunderstorms, even though some news programs have had talk of thunderstorms. While they have occurred under these conditions in the past, this is a freak weather occurrence and is not likely.

We are reminded that it is hard to predict our weather and fire activity due to our many microclimates.  The way the fire moves will depend on if it is slope driven or driven by the weather.

Cheryl fielded questions from the community and talked about the contingency plans. A contingency plan continues to be worked out involving White Rock and Wild Cat.  I am not 100% clear on the details of this plan, and will report back tomorrow with specifics.

We were told that they think the fire will burn to containment lines. This means that they expect most of the forest to burn. They plan to defend Tassajara and will spot fire around it in preparation. They feel confident in being able to secure Tassajara.

We were told that when fire lines are made, the fire break cut by the dozer is two blades thick. When the area is back burned, they get it to at least 30 feet, then feed the fire into canyons and further along, getting as much black on the ground as possible, while still controlling the fire.

We were reminded that when all of this is over, we must be vigilant with our property and road clearance, and we must come together to work on the Mid Coast Fire Station. Right now, the Mid Coast Fire Station needs volunteers to answer the phones. Peter and Janie donated payers to the Mid Coast Fire Station. Any help is welcome.

We are reminded that while the back burning operation continues to go well, there are many dead trees and brush in the canyon which would pose a large threat if a fire were to reach the canyon. We are reminded that they hope this does not happen in relation to the Basin Complex Fire, but as we saw in October, a fire could happen in the canyon without warning at any time, and we must be ready.

We were joined by a local who is the Military and Veterans Affairs Commissioner for the 5th District. The 5th district includes Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel Valley, and Monterey. We were told that Dave Potter, the 5th District County Supervisor, is working with the rest of his office and the Coast Property Owners Association to plan for recovery when this is all over. They want to help and support us.

On Saturday there will be a benefit to support the fire relief fund being headed up by the CPOA. The benefit is on Saturday at The Big Sur Gallery in the Barnyard. There will be an auction of paintings and sculptures all created and donated by local Big Sur artists. From 3:00pm until 8:00pm there will be refreshments outside on the patio, weather permitting. The auction (officiated by Magnus of the Henry Miller Library) will begin at 5:00pm. You may also donate directly to the fire relief fund. For more information, please visit bigsurgallery.net or call 831-624-1172.

I hope you are all well and dreaming of rain.

Explanation of Fire Meeting Summaries on Surfire2008.org July 6, 2008

Hello! I hope everyone in the Big Sur community is staying safe and being vigilant. Thank you to everyone in the greater community for your interest and support.

My name is Tara Wings and I live in Palo Colorado Canyon. For those not from Big Sur, we are located on Highway 1, just North of where the Highway is (as this point) closed to all non-emergency traffic. Our road has a soft close on it, meaning that only Palo Colorado residents and emergency workers can come through. Please do not attempt to access the road if you do not live here, as you will not be allowed in without Palo Colorado ID or a special permit.

I have been writing summaries of the nightly Mid-Coast Fire meetings at our fire house in Palo Colorado and sending them to our neighborhood e-mail list. I thought that this information may be helpful for those in the greater community.

I do not have any special knowledge of fire activity or plans. I do not have any extra contacts with Unified Command. I merely take detailed notes during our meetings and attempt to rearticulate the information in an approachable and understandable way.

Please understand that I am new to this area and do not actually know first hand where many of the specific locations are that I am writing about, let alone how to spell them. I very well may get things wrong, but I always err on the side of leaving something out rather than putting up mis-information. Please write to the webmaster if you find an error. The entire point of this is to put out accurate information, and I would love your help in doing so.

The only reason that I am able to share this information with you is because of the wonderful, local Mid Coast Fire Brigade who has kept all operations and plans so transparent with us. They are part of our community and are fighting for us. They live here and are the reason that we in Palo Colorado have been allowed to stay for this long. We are trusting them with our homes, land, and lives, and I would not to put that trust in anyone other than the brave locals that make up the Mid Coast Brigade.

One more word on these summaries. I have originally written them for the residents of Palo Colorado Canyon and that is still their primary purpose. Throughout the post you will find references to phone numbers that are included at the bottom of the e-mail that I send to our neighborhood. These numbers will be deleted from the general post.

While I would love to have the time and energy to write a separate post just for this blog which could be more explanatory for those who do not live in Big Sur or the Canyon, I do not.

I hope this helps. Please consider donating to the Big Sur Fire Fund, by sending a check to 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.

There are many of us who are out of work, out of home, and out of luck. To everyone in Big Sur and the Canyon, my heart is with all of you!