The following are notes from the community meeting tonight at Carmel Middle School. About 200 people attended.
Notes by Linda Rowland-Jones.

There was an important meeting today involving the Monterey County Sheriff, BSVFB Chief Pinney, and representatives from county and state government including US Congressman Sam Farr, Supervisor Dave Potter as well as community leaders from Big Sur. The IC has re-evaluated mandatory evacuation orders.

There is an evacuation advisory still in effect for Palo Colorado Road.
The checkpoint at the intersection of Palo Colorado road and Highway One remains the same.
The mandatory evacuation from Palo Colorado road to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park will be downgraded to an advisory evacuation as of Tuesday July 8, at 10am.
This news was met with whoops and sobs from the crowd. After the meeting people embraced, laughed and cried. We get to go home!

Residents and critical service workers (PGE, phone etc.) will be allowed into Big Sur with proper identification. Passes for ridge road access for residents with local identification for (driver's license, utility bill, etc.) will be distributed at the Multi-agency Facility in Big Sur from 10am to noon Tuesday, July 8, 2008. This is not a re-entry, which involves implementing a lot of services completely. Fire activity could give cause for a return to mandatory evacuation at some point in time. It will be a give and take situation working with the firefighters and law enforcement, since the fire is still active up on the hills, which will be true for the next several weeks, possibly months.

The community will collaborate with firefighters and law enforcement to protect property, and there may be road closures in this process. There will be rocks, debris and fire crews on the road. It's important to drive safely and slowly. This is an adjustment in the operational plan, not full re-entry yet. There will be barricades on the east side of Highway One on the ridges. Law enforcement will work in partnership with the community, and they are working towards a reentry plan with other community agencies.

Serious public health and safety concerns still exist in Big Sur. With the advisory activation, the primary focus will be on those areas with known damage; and the OES will bring in every possible resource to fix those problems. They will establish a fire assistance center to respond to initial questions on repair services, etc., location to be determined. The next step will be to establish a full local assistance center, with different service agencies represented. This is a small victory which won't immediately translate into benefits. But OES will continue to push for a management assistance grant, for federal and state resources and funding to provide services.

Good news, we are progressing towards reentry and recovery! Tomorrow's community meeting will be at the MAF in Big Sur at 7pm.
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The Big Sur Chamber of Commerce extends thanks and appreciation to everyone in the community for their heartfelt efforts in this trying time.

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7/7 midnight: Tonight’s Community Meeting - Big News!

July 8, 2008 by thebirdsings

Thanks thanks thanks to Linda Rowland-Jones who took tonight’s minutes:

Minutes for community meeting 7/7/08 — Carmel Middle School
Lori Iverson / Fire information
Mike Dietrich / IC
Frank Pinney / BSVFB
Robert Clayburn / OES

It was a really big group at CMS tonight, probably 200 people. Hotline now has translation services. A big round of applause was given to hot line workers. Hot line workers are asking for volunteers to help out, they’re exhausted.

Current status:
Basin West update—

It was a very busy last day and night, with firefights into the wee hours of the morning. From 11:30 pm on there was 25-35 mph down canyon wind, but the fire stopped short of Old Coast Highway, with crews scrambling until 4am. The good news is the larger fuels are burning out, and the backburns have been more successful, and worked faster than expected.
From Mt. Manuel to Pfeiffer State park the area is secure, while on the north crews continue to expand line from Los Padres Dam to Skinner’s Ridge. The red line indicates a burn ¼ to ½ mile from the Old Coast Highway in an effort to try to secure the northwest corner of the fire to prevent the fire from reaching Palo Colorado. (The red lines on the map are where the fire is still active, the black where they’re confident that all is much better, or “secure”.) From Ventana to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park the fire is looking “stable.”

The same down canyon wind a blessing in the south front of the fire; IC is confident that we’ll be secure on the southwest part of the fire by Tuesday night or Wed. However, there is still active heat to the south at this time.

Basin East update—
They are trying to connect w/ the Indians fire, securing the whole southwest piece of fire. Above the Tassajara drainage the fire moved east today, into the Uncle Sam Mountain area. IC will continue to monitor the weather to secure the area around Devil’s Mtn.; they hope to close the door on northern piece at Palo Colorado. In the north east the fire is not yet contained.

From Julia Pfeiffer south to Lucia still there is still mandatory evacuation due to fire activity and back burns. South of Lucia the mandatory evacuation order has been lifted. While the fire is not over, it is still a hot fire burning in grey and black areas, progress has been made.

There was an important meeting today involving the Monterey County Sheriff, BSVFB Chief Pinney, and representatives from county and state government including US Congressman Sam Farr, Supervisor Dave Potter as well as community leaders from Big Sur. The IC has re-evaluated mandatory evacuation orders.

There is an evacuation advisory still in effect for Palo Colorado Road.
The checkpoint at intersection of Palo Colorado road and Highway One remains the same.
The mandatory evacuation from Palo Colorado road to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park has been downgraded to an advisory evacuation, effective tomorrow, Tuesday July 8, at 10am.
This news was met with whoops and sobs from the crowd. After the meeting people embraced, laughed and cried. We get to go home!

Residents and critical service workers (PGE, phone etc.) will be allowed into Big Sur with proper identification. Passes for ridge road access for residents with local identification for (driver’s license, utility bill, etc.) will be distributed at the Multi-agency Facility in Big Sur from 10am to noon tomorrow. This is not a re-entry, which involves implementing a lot of services completely. Fire activity could give cause for a return to mandatory evacuation at some point in time. It will be a give and take situation working with the firefighters and law enforcement, since the fire is still active up on the hills, which will be true for the next several weeks, possibly months.

The community will collaborate with firefighters and law enforcement to protect property, and there may be road closures in this process. There will be rocks, debris and fire crews on the road. It’s important to drive safely and slowly. This is an adjustment in the operational plan, not full re-entry yet. There will be barricades on the east side of Highway One on the ridges. Law enforcement will work in partnership with the community, and they are working towards a reentry plan with other community agencies.

Serious public health and safety concerns still exist in Big Sur. With the advisory activation, the primary focus will be on those areas with known damage; and the OES will bring in every possible resource to fix those problems. They will establish a fire assistance center to respond to initial questions on repair services, etc., location to be determined. The next step will be to establish a full local assistance center, with different service agencies represented. This is a small victory which won’t immediately translate into benefits. But OES will continue to push for a management assistance grant, for federal and state resources and funding to provide services.

Good news, we are progessing towards reentry and recovery! Tomorrow’s community meeting will be at the MAF in Big Sur at 7pm.

Tags: devil's mountain, evacuations, julia pfeiffer burns, los padres dam, lucia, mt. manuel, OES, old coast highway, palo colorado, Pfeiffer State Park, re-entry, skinner's ridge, uncle sam mountain
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News from Dolan Ridge and the Big Sur Valley

July 7, 2008 by stevenharper

News from the south along the Dolan Ridge line: crews continued the back burn down along Dolan Ridge through the grasslands. The marine layer is dampening the fire. Looks as though this important line is on the mop-up end of things (this cautiously said, as we need to keep in mind a shift in wind and temperature could change things in a moments notice).

Everything in the Big Sur valley out to east Molera contines to be relatively quiet with a small plumes of smoke rising up through the burned areas.

Through smoke-filled skies you can see the burn down to the school. The Chamise Scrub burned completely as it back down the mountain. The fire mostly burned the understory of the forested areas while it did crown in a few locations.

Tags: Big Sur Valley, Captain Cooper, dolan
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7/7 - 8pm Mandatory Evacuation lifted tomorrow!

July 7, 2008 by thebirdsings

Official notes and details coming shortly, but after what is sure to have been quite a conversation today there has been an announcement that as of 10am tomorrow morning, the mandatory evacuation status will be lifted for most of Big Sur. Highlights of what we know right now:

• Only residents who show a Big Sur ID will be let through the Palo Colorado checkpoint.
• All residents will need to obtain a pass at the Big Sur Station (available after 10am tomorrow) to enter their ridge roads.
• The road is still closed from Julia Pfeiffer Burns to Limekiln and that area remains under mandatory evacuation.
• The evacuation status may change again at any time if fire threats change.

Full details will be up here in the next two hours.

Tags: re-entry
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7/7 - Re-entry update from OES

July 7, 2008 by thebirdsings

This is from Rob at the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.  He’s a key player on the re-entry team. This info is from last night, coming late. (Sorry, I’m tired.)  We will continue to post news directly from Rob here specific to the re-entry and re-build.

7/6 meeting notes, updated and revised by Rob 7/7 am:

Our priorities are to complete a comprehensive damage assessment. There is no set damage threshold that has to be met before FEMA can provide Individual and Household Assistance, but is tied to the extent of damage.  Individual assistance was included in the governor’s request which has neither been approved nor denied by FEMA. The US Small Business Administration is also able to offer assistance to businesses and individuals, but only after 25 structures have been damaged and FEMA has made a decision.  If a home is a business, we get to count it twice.

Assistance from public and governmental agencies to repair public utilities, etc. is available from the governor and we are working to get that engaged. We are also working on getting a local assistance center set up that will serve everyone who has been impacted.  The County understands there is a substantial economic impact from this fire. We know that most residents and business owners rely on the summer season as their source of income for the remaining year.

If FEMA does not approve full disaster assistance, we have already requested that state emergency agencies work with us in getting state and federal assistance for longer-term housing issues during the rebuild.

We understand that this is the most critical tourist time and creating a high economic impact.  We will explore options for very low interest loans for rebuilding and repair costs for business and individuals.

Environmental recovery: the forest service is looking at their portions and we are taking information from the damage assessment -  We have started the process to have a state Burnt Area Environmental Recovery (BAER) team provide assistance. It will be a continuous process to develop information on burnt area environmental impacts so we can get assistance on restoration.

We are also getting assistance for debris removal.  State and federal sources will absorb 75% of those costs.

We need the community to come together and form single voices to talk to us so we can focus on the issues as they are presented to us.  We recommend getting a community committee together to discuss issues specific to re-entry and recovery.

We cannot predict when re-entry will happen.  We’re drafting re-entry protocols that all parties (including the community) will agree to, so that no further bureaucratic processes get in the way. Our first priority is water and along with that sewage or septic systems.  PG&E is responding to our request to restore utilities as fast as possible.

The county has codes and provisions to address rebuilding which will help to speed that process along.

There will be tax relief for Big Sur victims, including business taxes. Specific tax information will be provided as soon as we know the full extent of options available.

If you know your home may have been damaged, please fill out a form  at the Red Cross desk, do a sketch map with directions to your house  on the back, and we will include it in the damage assessment.

My thanks to you and the Big Sur community. More news to come!

Rob Clyburn
OES, Monterey County
(831) 796-1902

Tags: disaster assistance, electric, electricity, environmental impact, fema, OES, PG&E, power, re-entry, septic, tax relief, water
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From Post Ranch Inn, 3:45PM, July 7, 2008

July 7, 2008 by stanrussell

The power is back on up to Nepenthe and maybe further but that’s as far as I could verify.

The air has cleared a bit up here and for the first time we can see fairly clearly across the canyon to Ventana Inn and the Post Creek drainage, and north into the Gorge area and Big Sur valley.

Mount Manuel in the distance with the south shoulder of the Gorge in the forefront. Click on the image to expand it. photo: Stan Russell

 

A gentleman from Office of Emergency Services (OES) was just here looking south along the coast from our vantage point. His feeling is that we’ve “turned the corner.” I can tell you that it feels like that from here at least for this area. There is burning still going on in the canyons of the Big Sur valley and last night we could see little flare ups on the flanks of the Gorge and in Post Creek.

This second image shows the gorge and the area above Big Sur Lodge. (the Lodge is okay)

 

Big Sur Gorge and area behind Big Sur Lodge. photo: Stan Russell

 

 There have been meetings with key people today about opening the road and when we have something concrete to report we’ll post it here. The Big Sur Chamber of Commerce is actively working on this.

Last night we had a local Sheriff up for dinner and spoke about all the issues of getting the road open to locals so that we can move around and help out and it felt to me that people are negotiating in earnest to loosen the restrictions. At least our local Sheriff is sympathetic, but keep in mind, we were feeding him.

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7/7 9:30am: News from the night

July 7, 2008 by stevenharper

News from the south along the Dolan Ridge line: “They backfired from just above Eagle Rock down to Dairy Canyon last night, starting about 10:30pm, just as the wind turned offshore. It was a firestorm! Flames 100 feet high raging taller than eagle rock, plumes of smoke lit up in the orange glow rising hundreds of feet high, the rock was on fire, headlamps and silhouettes from firefighters standing in front of the massive flames. Everything blew downhill and they made their way along the grassy area down the ridge through the night until about 5am. We were incredibly impressed with the work they did!”

From Burns Creek: The back burn at Burns Creek was active on the scanner last night. Reports from Burns Creek say South Coast Center and other structures in Burns Creek made it through.

From the Big Sur Valley: Everything in the Big Sur valley out to east Molera seems to be relatively quiet.

Electricity is still out in the valley and on down the coast. Phones are working.

Tags: Big Sur Valley, Burns Creek, dolan, esalen
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7/6 9pm: Tonight’s Meeting

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

Notes from tonight:

From Mike Dietrich, Incident Commander:

• It was a great day!
• We began backfiring south of Palo Colorado Canyon towards Bixby Canyon. They intend to continue the burning and get it to the Old Coast Highway tonight.
• Fire made it to the boy scout camp and the fire line held. The camp is secure.
• We’re very close to getting the northern line to the Little Sur River.
• There was a little bit of burning inside Big Sur today. Crews are looking at trees that are a hazard and mopping up hot spots along the highway.
• The line is holding at Dolan Ridge. Dolan had seven residences at risk – teams led the fire down around them and they pulled off a tremendous save. Everyone and everything is safe.
• Plans for tomorrow and the next couple days: continue mopping up inside Big Sur and securing the area. Working Bottchers Gap to Dani Ridge tomorrow – if this is successful we’ll be able to close the door on the Palo Colorado threat.
• Next piece (2-3 days out) is to begin burning along the old Marble Cone line at the north end of the fire. The DC-10 and the Martin Mars (Super Scooper) are working there.
• Current strategy with limited resources is to box things out, work in specific areas then move on to the next hot spot.

From Frank:

• There was a flare up on Partington today, an area we thought was cooled down. It was on the south slope just below one of the houses that had been saved and the fire wanted to move west, which would be a bad thing. A Brigade engine jumped on it and knocked it down while it was easily manageable. (Lots of clapping.)
• The Brigade finished their gelling operation and have gelled 54 structures.
• Re-entry is now at the top of the list and in the planning phase. There is a member of the OES (Office of Emergency Services) team from Monterey County working with Frank on this. “We are working on the first phase that will get us the ability to do infrastructure repair and make it safe for residents to return. The fire is still cooking out there and there are lots of hot spots that will need to be taken into consideration as we start fixing things (laying plastic pipe for instance, would melt right now if it was laid down in some places.) The sheriff is extremely anxious to be as collaborative as he can possibly be with us in this process.” This planning will take everything into consideration, including the possibility of returns for in-and-out visits (get stuff, insurance specs), and those who are in areas that have not burned or lost infrastructure.
• No more structures have been lost.

Q&A Answers:

• Frank: There have been two phases of the mandatory evacuation. The first phase gave residents an option to sign a waiver and stay. When the fire got more intense, the sheriff’s office upgraded the evacuation to say that anyone who stayed was subject to arrest. The sheriff’s have been working with us to interpret this for the benefit of the community. I recognize that the evacuation zone has the appearance now of being a “prison” of sorts to people who have stayed. But this is not the intention and the people who have stayed have been extremely cooperative with us - so given the circumstances, tomorrow will be another day and we’ll look at all the options available.
• Gel questions: Ask questions or come get a Q&A sheet on the gel from Sharon Torrence. (Will post this sheet on the SurFire2008.org site in the Notices section tomorrow.)
• Frank: Residents who are still in Big Sur: If there’s a flare-up that’s a true threat and it’s after hours, please call 911. Please use discretion. We’ve been called out for a couple stumps in burned out areas that were not a threat and we have limited resources.
• Mike: There will be a substantial heating and drying weather pattern coming in, moderate offshore flow Monday-Wed. with the potential for thunderstorms (and lightning) Thursday and Friday.
• Frank: Houses are gelled on Pfeiffer and things are looking very good there.
• Mike: Near Tassajara the fire has only moved about ¼ mile today and there is air support to keep it moving as slowly as possible toward the Tassajara area.
• Backburning did not happen as planned off the highway near Esalen today, but they hope to begin tonight if the conditions are right - going from Anderson Canyon south to Hot Springs Canyon.
• We have the DC-10 now but it could be moved down to the Gap fire. The super scooper will stay here in the area to use as we need.
• Not every residential area will be represented at tomorrow’s re-entry meeting. We’re doing a scaled down group of reps, including three members of the community.

Rob, a rep from the OES was at the meeting and spoke about plans for re-entry.  I took lots of notes on this too, but am clarifying and checking info with him again before I post that.  It will be posted tomorrow.

Tags: anderson, bixby, bottchers gap, boy scout camp, dani ridge, dc-10, dolan ridge, esalen, gel, hot springs, little sur, marble cone line, OES, old coast highway, palo colorado, partington, pfeiffer, re-entry, super scooper, tassajara
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7/6 6:45pm: Update from the southern perimeter

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

Just reported by phone:

There was great visibility today – the fire is reaching the break in the north fork of Rat Creek and it looks like the line has held there.  2 wildlands crews arrived to Rust Peak today and they are stationed along the line there. The ridge that divides Rat creek has fire now.

Helicopters were working most of the afternoon and their work seems to be working.

We did receive confirmation today that all houses on San Lucia ranch have survived.

Tags: dolan ridge, Pt. Rust, rat creek, Rust Peak, San Lucia
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7/6 4:45pm: Esalen update

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

Esalen lost their 4″ water main in the fire a few nights ago, and then the galvanized pipes a little while after that.  They still have 5 tanks of water on the property to sustain the 52 people that remain on property and are putting the final touches on a new system (they’re setting up the old pump that was used to lift hot springs water to the temporary tubs to lift water out of the stream into the treatment system.

Backburns were scheduled to start today along the highway from Anderson Canyon all the way down to the southern perimeter (Dolan) but have not begun (speculated that they are waiting for better conditions.)

Tags: esalen
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7/6 12:45pm: Update from Frank Pinney

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

Just got off the phone with Frank and asked questions I’ve been hearing, as well as getting some good updates:

- The lines along the highway through the whole central valley, Molera down to Ventana, are holding well, including the area up above the residences through Pfeiffer State Park.

- There was a flare up on Partington earlier today, crews were on it right away. (Sorry, no details yet.)

- The primary focus today is on building and holding the northern and southern lines before the expected weather change. There are burning operations happening south of Palo Colorado at the old Marble Cone line and reinforcements working down at Dolan.

- Re: rumors of looting: There have been no official reports of theft filed, so it has made official investigation of the rumors impossible. Unofficial reports confirm one generator missing from a residence, but there are no other confirmed reports of thefts that we know of. There are scouts going through back roads and visiting residences on the west side of the highway occasionally doing contingency planning, but ALL OF THEM WILL BE IN OFFICIAL FOREST SERVICE OR FIRE VEHICLES. Residents are encouraged to check in with other locals you see who may be sharing and borrowing supplies from one another. If you see any suspicious activity in your area, please either contact the Sheriff’s department or call the Community Hotline - 831-667-2317 and give as much detail as you can.

- Re-entry: Meetings with county officials are taking place now working on plans for re-entry. Right now the intention is have re-entry for infrastrucure re-build before re-entry for residents. Resident re-entry is likely several days away, but re-entry for infrastructure support could happen mid-week.

Tags: dolan, looting, northern perimeter, palo colorado, partington, Pfeiffer State Park, re-entry, southern perimeter
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7/6 noon: Central valley update, power still out

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

Reports last night and today have been pretty calm and for the most part, positive:

Last night from Clear Ridge, Curtis’ property looked really clean and good.  A full crew was on the Ewoldsen’s road watching fire slowly coming down to about the 600 ft. contour elevation.  Juan Higuera was really smoky and seemed calmer relative to other nights. There were crews on the road.  Not much new activity to report today.

The power is still out.

Things are still very quiet in the Torre Canyon area, Henry Miller to Partington.

Tags: Curtis, ewoldsen, henry miller, juan higuera, partington, torre canyon
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7/6 am: Quick update from the south

July 6, 2008 by thebirdsings

It’s foggy again today… Last night we saw fire in the north fork of Rat Creek about halfway up, and some fire on the south side of Dolan Canyon.  What we’re seeing is matching what we’re getting on the satellite.

Tags: dolan canyon, rat creek
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Some Clarification

July 6, 2008 by stanrussell

To all who are reading this blog I feel there is a bit of clarification that I need to make. There has been some discussion by others that my posts on this blog are being censored or edited by someone other than myself. THIS IS NOT TRUE. 

I personally chose to remove the post regarding Apple Pie Ridge. I felt people were getting too riled up about this and it was taking away from the effort of this blog. Although I take great issue with law enforcement playing such a heavy hand and being rather ‘jackboot’ in their approach to our community by showing up with military style automatic weapons etc., thats a fight for another day. And that’s one for the people directly involved with the situation. Although its important it’s a bit of a distraction from our goal at this point.

We are working to refuel generators to protect homes and businesses inside the closure. Private parties who have their own fire suppression water systems and businesses have been running on generators for some time now. Food supplies are dwindling for those who have remained to defend their properties and are working 12 hours or more each day. Firefighters and people working at this level burn about 6,000 calories a day to maintain this level of activity. 

At the end of the day we have to pick our battles carefully and today, while the firefighters work their butts off to suppress and control this fire, we are trying to get our fuel tanks throughout the community refilled, fix generators, pumps, and water systems that have been broken or failed. Pipes have been broken. People are rigging pumps to draw water out of the creeks.

We are asking for a loosening of these restrictions so that industrial size delivery of fuel can happen and also so that we can move small amounts of gasoline to homeowners who are running their own generators.

Some people are running out of food and this is a concern for us - and yes, of course, when you put your ear to the ground you hear, “they’re going to try to starve us out.”

Thank you all for your support and for your interest in this situation. Lay off Lisa. She’s doing a great job and she, nor anyone else has edited my posts on this Blog. I understand that on the website www.surfire2008.org there have been deletions and so forth. It might be a weakness in the system but on the front page of the site it is clearly stated that the site is being run on the “honor system.” That’s all I’ve got to say about that. 

Regards,
Stan Russell

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9:50PM Saturday, July 5 - Power off again

July 5, 2008 by stanrussell

For those wondering why the power went down this evening, there is a reported tree through the wires near the Big Sur Deli.

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7/5 8:40pm: Notes from Tonight’s Community Meeting

July 5, 2008 by thebirdsings

From IC Commander Mike Dietrich:

• Correction: There were not fire fighters up at Apple Pie at the time of the incident yesterday. Apologies for the mis-information - it is now a law enforcement issue.
• The fire was very active at the north end today and it moved about a mile up into Puerto Suelo Creek.  It is moving toward Little Sur drainage, and has not crossed over the little part of the drainage.
• There are burning operations happening along the Old Coast Highway – they (optimistically) hope to make it up to the Little Sur River by tonight.
• Fire is down to Highway One between the Pfeiffer turnout and the post office/ deli area. Firefighting efforts saved the Ventana Inn and the River’s property in a substantial fire fight.
• Crews continue to work areas between east Molera and Captain Cooper road – crews are working to secure the fire perimeter there with backburns. Crews worked a 24hr. shift yesterday to meet that objective and this area is stable.
• Power was turned off at our request yesterday and we asked it to be turned back on today to save food that’s in refrigeration, etc. The power will stay on unless the fire burns through or destroys power lines.  We may have to de-energize specific areas if crews are taking down trees near lines.
• The line is holding at the southern line – crews were working there today near the highway.
• Next two days are key days and we’re going to be really focused.
• The fire burned around 4 homes in Dolan Creek – all of the structures are safe and intact.
• A DC-10 (12,000 gallon capacity tank) dropped on the north line, tying the line up into the Little Sur area and Boettcher’s Gap.  We are working to secure the northwest corner of the fire.
• We’re improving the line at the northeastern corner – waiting for the weather conditions to be right to tie the line into the Indians fire.
• There is still a threat at the fire line (the highway) in the valley and the intention is to open up access there are as soon as that line is fully stabilized.
• We’re getting a boat with a radio repeater down at the southern end to improve communications for the firefighters down there.

From Frank:

• Frank and Martha’s role has been to communicate needs from the community to the IC.
• The activity right down in the valley has been upsetting - the whole face of the mountain now has fire – some by nature, some by backburns.
• Spent time around Don McQueen’s and Blaze Engineering today and a great coopertive effort between the residents there and the firefighters is happening.  Tactics there have been successful. Gel was applied to buildings on the east side and in the state park where the fire is getting close to the residences.
• It will be extremely important to work out the re-entry.  Even after the fire is gone the area will be hot and we need to think through how the infrastructure rebuild will happen.  Infrastructure will have to be working before we can let people back in.
• Bring questions and concerns to Frank, Martha or Jonathan Farrington so we can take them to the IC.

Answers given during the Q&A:

• Mike: The weather change that will be happening is pushing us to ensure the western containment line will hold. There is also potential for more lightning over the weekend.
• Frank: There are a whole array of contingencies if the fire jumps the highway and we won’t get into all of those tonight.
• Frank: The issue of re-supplying people who have stayed is difficult and constantly in mind.  We don’t know how we’re going to do it, and we have the IC’s ear many times a day to figure out a way.  Anything that complicates fighting the fire is a lower priority, especially with the unfavorable upcoming weather pattern.  The road is impassable right now, so even a pass system is not an option. We cannot have people on the Highway right now. Smoke and visibility is an issue as well as fire. We’re looking for a phased approach where we can let people into the safer areas first. Time estimate: Not days, but not weeks.
• Frank: There’s a fire line that Tevye is cutting with a dozer from Apple Pie all the way across Pheager and Juan Higuera down across from Fernwood – it’s about 500 ft. above the highway and we expect to be able to hold that line.  We don’t expect to see fire directly across from Fernwood and that area.
• Frank: There’s no fire below Paul Smith’s house and we don’t expect to see it there.  It’s being watched constantly.
• Mike: At the southern perimeter the fire is above Big Creek and within ½ mile of the forest boundary.  This is a fire fight and we’re holding steady. We have aircraft working in this area and it’s slow going.
• Frank: Burns Creek, Buck Creek and Hot Springs Canyon – they burned very rapidly yesterday down to the highway, burning into Anderson Canyon and didn’t cross under the bridge.  Right now it’s staying pretty quiet and considered a fairly stable situation.
• Frank: If people are still in Big Sur and want to leave they will have no problem leaving – this is encouraged.  The sheriff is enforcing the law which is to make the area safe for fire fighting and it is appropriate.  On the ground the deputies are showing compassion in administering the policy.
• Mike: Crews have cut fireline near the bridge at Little Sur drainage and there is a crew strategy to hold the fire there.
• The Hill Ranch has been working very closely with the IC team – the cows are fine.
• Frank: Restoring the water will be done in phases, we hope it will be done by local teams who know the area best and we hope to get federal support in financing this.
• Frank: Captain Cooper is considered a save – it’s black all around

Tags: Apple Pie, bakery, big creek, Blaze Engineering, boettcher's gap, Captain Cooper, dc-10, deli, dolan creek, dolan ridge, Don McQueen, electricity, fernwood, Higuera, hill ranch, infrastructure, little sur, loma vista, molera, old coast highway, paul smith, Pfeiffer State Park, pheager, post office, power, supplies
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7/5 1pm: Update from the south lines

July 5, 2008 by thebirdsings

From a local near the southern perimeter:

As of about 1:00 this afternoon the fire is still in Dolan Canyon - it has not crossed over the break.  The dozer line is about a blade and a half wide from the highway up to Eagle rock, then it’s about 3 lanes wide - the dozers were working on the line at Pt. Rust today.  There were some planes in the morning and an hour or two of helicopter line support in the afternoon.

We saw a big plume around lunch - it’s been pretty low activity since then.

Tags: dolan canyon, dolan creek, south line, southern perimeter
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Backburn & incoming fuel

July 5, 2008 by stanrussell

Backburning has been going since yesterday, filling the valley with smoke. At the moment they’re working a backburn above Ripplewood.

Hearing reports from Martha, per Dan Priano that the east area of Andrew Molera is very active at the moment and windy.

We have made arrangements to begin delivery of diesel fuel for generators etc. The first truck is coming in on Sunday. If you are running low let us know at info@bigsurcalifornia.org and we’ll help arrange the drop off.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

7/5 5pm: Power Back Up

July 5, 2008 by thebirdsings

Officially, as of 2:40 this afternoon.

Tags: electricity, power, power outage
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7/5 3:24pm: Update from Post Ranch

July 5, 2008 by stanrussell

Backfires were started last night in the Big Sur valley and are continuing today. Presently I can see about a quarter mile from the Post House toward Ventana Inn. It cleared for a short time today and we could see flare ups in the Post Creek drainage alongside Ventana Inn.

We are still under ‘house arrest’ if you will. Residents cannot leave their properties. If found on the highway you will be escorted out of Big Sur.

Tags: post creek, Ventana
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Hello Big Sur!
The Big Sur Chamber of Commerce is compiling a list of people who need diesel fuel or propane. We will do what we can to make arrangements to bring in fuel supplies but we'd like to gather some information and see what the needs are. If you are reading this and have been in contact with people in Big Sur by telephone that have a need for fuel,  please figure out a way to relay the information to us. 
E-mail info@bigsurcalifornia.org with your name, location, what kind of fuel and how much you need.

Update: 
Backfires were started last night in the Big Sur valley and are continuing today. Presently I can see about a quarter mile from the Post House toward Ventana Inn. It cleared for a short time today and we could see flare ups in the Post Creek drainage alongside Ventana Inn.

We are still under 'house arrest' if you will. Residents cannot leave their properties. If found on the highway you will be escorted out of Big Sur.

A writer for The Conservative Voice has an interesting perspective on our plight. You'll get a kick out this.
http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/33056.html

Visit http://www.surfire2008.org for blogs, information and insights into what is happening inside the fire zone.

Regards,
Stan

7/5 12:30pm: Let there be light

July 5, 2008 by thebirdsings

Just in from a strike team leader (not yet verified with Incident Command):

Power should be restored to the valley by 1pm today.

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7/5 noon: Molera to Ventana update from the Highway

July 5, 2008 by thebirdsings

Reported by phone from Jonathan Farrington:

Walking through Ventana campground, it has burned down to the GM house, burned on the east side of the staff housing all the way around to the upper staff housing, but all structures are intact.  Other than spot fires, there are no active fires in this immediate area right now.  All appears to be pretty calm this morning from Pico Blanco through the state park, but visibility is very poor today because the smoke is so heavy.

No fire is visible from the Highway between Captain Cooper and the Loma Vista area.  There are some backfiring operations happening into the canyon on the east side of the highway across from the post office/ bakery/ Loma Vista area that appear to be going as planned.  There is still no fire on the west side of the highway.  And to answer some questions I’ve been getting, the Captain Cooper fence and signs there are confirmed safe.

FEMA trucks have been coming through and gelling buildings.  They gelled most of the Ventana structures.  All structures visible from the highway between Molera and Ventana have engine protection right now.

Tags: bakery, Captain Cooper, deli, fema, loma vista, pico blanco, post office, Ventana
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7/4 evening: Update from the South

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

From reports of residents at the southern perimeter of the fire this evening:

From 10am to 1pm there was heavy bombing on Dolan Ridge from Pt. Rust to Rock Slide.  The fire has dropped into the upper reaches of Dolan Creek.  There were engines reported at structures in the area.  Helicopters were working Dolan ridge heavily throughout the day.

And all is reported to still be very quiet between Henry Miller and Partington.

Tags: dolan creek, dolan ridge, henry miller, partington, southern perimeter
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7/4 8pm: Update from the IC and Fire Brigade

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

Several notes from tonight’s community meeting with Mike Dietrich and the IC team along with Frank Pinney of the Local Fire Brigade:

-    The fire team’s first priority right now is defending the Big Sur valley. Fire hot spots today are the canyon between Ventana and MAF/ Big Sur Station and the ridge above Captain Cooper.  Captain Cooper is being protected at the road, with crews and engines in place throughout the area. Crews are in blocking positions defending the area where Blaze Engineering, Don McQueen’s house and the AT&T transponder are.

-    The fire has not crossed Highway One at all.  There is confidence that the crews on the road will hold this line, and even if spot fires do erupt there are spotters on hand who are prepared to manage this.

-    Northern perimiter: The current strategy is to actively build dozer lines and drop retardant at the old Marble Cone lines, protecting the Palo Colorado area.  The IC has requested the largest aircraft available for this, with a capacity several times greater than standard air tankers.  A contingency plan is in place, cutting lines along White Rock Ridge to San Clemente Dam. (That’s about 5 miles south of Carmel Valley Village.)

-    Southern perimiter: This is currently the second priority area. Current strategy is to take dozer lines at Dolan Ridge to the southern flank of the Indians fire to anchor the fire into the burned area.  The IC feels very confident they will be able to hold this line.

-    All the fires happening in the state are drawing upon resources. We are the #2 priority in the state and don’t have as many resources as we need.  This fire is presently using resources from 40 states.

-    The Fire Brigade strongly discourages residents from staying in the area. Frank expressed that this is the biggest fire they he has ever seen in Big Sur, and is certain that using the plans and tools that have been used in the past will not be adequate in this fire.  The local Fire Brigade is now dedicated to structure protection using gel, since the evacuation is no longer requiring resources to be on call for local emergencies.  The Brigade has procured a large amount of gel for this purpose – with the caveat that without adequate clearance, the gel is “a hope and a prayer.”

It can’t be stressed enough: Highway One is an active fire line and very dangerous to be on right now. Entering the area puts the lives of fire crews and civilians at risk.

-    Apple Pie – fire is working down the ridge, coming through the Curtis’ property.  There are mixed reports about structures lost.  The IC has reported structures burned, the community has information from residents that report buildings are all intact.  The IC team actively worked to defend structures on this ridge until it was deemed unsafe and crews were pulled from the area.

The IC reported a serious incident today, in which local residents at Apple Pie ridge were setting illegal backburns. Another resident reported the activity and the sheriff’s department gave orders to stop the activity immediately.  The burns continued and an arrest was made.

-    Partington: The ridge is cooling and no longer a hot spot. It is a priority to the local Brigade for infrastructure rebuilding, although the priority remains to protect structures in active fire zones.

-    Pfeiffer State park: The fire is not in the park now, and crews are preparing for that possibility as fire moves down from Mt. Manuel.

-    Electricity: The power is out in most of the valley for either strategic reasons, a line burn or both. The line is days, if not weeks away from being restored. Big Sur Wireless is on this power grid and expects service can be supported by the battery backups for up to four days.

Tags: Apple Pie, Blaze Engineering, Captain Cooper, Don McQueen, electricity, manuel, northern perimiter, partington, Pfeiffer State Park, power outage, southern perimiter
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Apple Pie

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

Kodiak and others remain to fight the fire on Apple Pie. No firefighters have come to help. One homeowner has been arrested. Officers came with automatic weapons.

Kodiak and crew have been up two days straight. 1,642 people are “assigned” to this fire but none seem to be helping the home owners. They are on the road trying to stop the fire from jumping the road.  Kodiak says fire crews have come up to see how they are doing, tell them that they can’t believe these 6 guys have fought off this fire and drive their trucks off the ridge.

Power is still out at Post Ranch.  Generators are all working perfectly. The generator is still humming at Ventana and they’re pumping water tenders full of water.

A helicopter is still pulling water from the pond at Post Ranch Inn as fast as it can loop from the pond to the fire.

7/4 3:20pm - Update from Steve Harper

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

By phone from Steve this afternoon:

The electricity has gone out for the whole valley between 1 and 2pm (at least from River Inn south.)  This is presenting a particular concern for water pumps not on generator and communications.

Backfiring continues with crews at the Highway near east Molera, as well as along the north side of Captain Cooper road.

Tags: Captain Cooper, electricity, molera, power
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Post Ranch Inn 3:10PM July 4

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

We have a helicopter working out of the pond and dumping water east of Highway 1 across from Loma Vista and in the Post Creek drainage next to Ventana. The fire is burning through the redwoods approaching the highway. Smoke is floating through the redwood trees like heavy fog. Although I haven’t been down to the highway a reporter from the San Jose Mercury drove into Post Ranch and says that a crew has trimmed back both sides of the highway with chain saws etc.

The helicopter occasionally makes a round trip to Mule Canyon so there must be a flair up in there again.

Post Ranch has CalFire trucks on the south shoulder below Billy Post’s house (where I’m writing from), about five trucks a hundred yards south of the pond along the fresh fire break. They came up earlier today and drove their truck through the Tree Houses area and Martin filled a flatbed truck with branches cleared away so that they’d have clearance.

The fire is burning slowly and aside from the whop whop whop of helicopters, thank you very much, it doesn’t look like a runaway fire and all the ground forces are in place to defend it from jumping the highway.

Tags: Add new tag, post creek, Post Ranch, Ventana watershed
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7/4 2:30pm: Update from Jonathan Farrington

 July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

Report from John by phone this afternoon:

The fire continues to burn down Post Creek.  There is heavy road clearing happening now in the vicinity of Loma Vista and the Deli on the east side of the highway.

The fire has burned down to Highway One between northbound mile markers 50-51 (near Molera).  The fire there is totally controlled.

There are a number of crews working around Captain Cooper School doing clearing work.

Tags: bakery, Captain Cooper, deli, loma vista, molera, post creek
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7/4 12:30pm: Torre Canyon Update

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

Report from a local resident by phone today:

We drove the highway last night at 8:30pm from Nepenthe to Partington (but not up Partington) and there was no fire visible from the highway anywhere.

Torre Canyon is cool now, having burned out 10 days ago. The whole area is very quiet.

People walking through Torre canyon this morning are reporting the area is totally cool and there is no fire activity at all.

Tags: torre, torre canyon
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Ewoldsen UPDATE

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

We have a visual from Ross Curtis that the homestead did burn.

Curtis’s successfully backfired Apple Pie which saved their homes. Now they are being forced to evacuate by the Sheriff’s. Had someone been up at Ewoldsen’s to backfire, the homestead would still be standing.

Looks like the Sheriff have come back to arrest the Curtis’ - now cloud hidden, where abouts unknown.

Frank Pinney has met with Incident Command regarding Ewoldsen area and is making contact with Mica regarding the fire issue.

Phenager Creek looks to be heating up. We can see smoke from rising billowing up.  As Mica said, there’s a lot of fuel in the canyon.

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7.04-08  11:00

7/4 10am: Update from Jonathan Farrington

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

John just drove from Molera base camp to Ventana and reported the following by phone:

There is some fire burning very slowly right down to the highway between mileage marker 50 and 51 just before Molera state park.

Activity is pretty low at this time, the air is cool and clear at the lower levels.  It remains very smoky and dense at the 1200 ft. level and higher.

There was a very active fire last night at Ventana – the dozer line was reinforced and is now 4 dozer lanes wide into the campground.  Structures are still under threat but all buildings are intact.  The property is 100% evacuated.

Tags: molera, Ventana
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7/4 10am: Update from Steven Harper

July 4, 2008 by thebirdsings

Report by phone from Steven Harper:

Based on views from Clear Ridge, the fire at Juan Higuera (just to the south of Ripplewood and north of the Grange) watershed on the east side of the highway was very active last night.  The winds are calmer today and the fire is burning more slowly now.  In most places the fire remains 200-500 ft. above the highway, with the exception of the state park firing range area near Molera, where the fire is burning very slowly right down to the highway.  It is speculated that this may be a back burn.

There are no reports of the fire having crossed the highway at this time.

Up on Apple Pie there are still mixed reports on structures affected at the Curtis’.  There has been confirmation from several sources that the Ewoldsen’s barn has burned.

Fire is still above Captain Cooper and the school is intact. There appears to be low fire activity there at this time and there are engines there to protect the structure.

Tags: Apple Pie, Captain Cooper, ewoldsen, molera
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Ewoldsen Knoll

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

Just spoke with Mica. They bought their own D4 dozer and got it in from Los Angeles on 24 hour notice just before the road closed. They’re defending their property. Blaze has a crew up Pheniger Creek. Fire last night burned through the meadow and Ewoldsen Knoll. Not sure if the homestead survived.

Could use a hotshot crew - 50 people up there could tamp down the fires. I’ve called around. No response yet.

Forest Service trucks etc. are parked on the road at the bottom of their driveway but nobody’s coming up. The crew changes every 8 hours, they go down and brief them, another crew comes in…

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Post Ranch 9:00 AM

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

The CalFire Battalion Chief paid a visit this morning to let us know they’ll be parking some more engines up here. Water tenders were helping to refill the pond until about 3AM last night. The fire burned slowly, continuing toward the road. They’re positioning people so that when the fire reaches the road that’s where it will stop.

Turns out Dan Priano is a pretty good cook. We’ve been having some very nice meals. All our communication lines are open and we have electricity - and generators if needed. Locals are moving around in the backroads - the “Ridgerunners.” Nobody has gone Mad Max. We’re all staying in touch and safe.

No official briefings have been distributed through email since yesterday morning. 

We had telephone contact this morning with Ross Curtis and the report from Apple Pie Ridge is that everyone is doing well.

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Midnight Update from Post Ranch Inn

July 4, 2008 by stanrussell

Looking from Billy Post’s house across the canyon to the Post Creek watershed. The fire is settling down and hasn’t quite reached the freshly cut firebreak. There are hot shot crews working in the Post Creek watershed setting a back fire which seems to be working as planned. We’ve had some gusts of wind and some flare ups but for the most part nothing too alarming. Mostly burning the understory and a few trees got caught up in the rush.

Late this afternoon we had good helicopter coverage. A “heavy” was delivering some heavy doses of sea water and a couple more helicopters were putting the kabosh on some advancing fire lines.

Looking north to the Gorge there are some flare-ups on the south shoulder in brush and occasionally a glow rises up out of the Gorge. Earlier this evening the north shoulder of the Gorge was burning a bright ruby red in lines folding south-west.

Juan Higuera watershed and Ewoldson have had activity all night - much the same as last night - a broken line of fire moving down from the ridge.

All calm at Ventana Inn.

In the last 32 hours Post Ranch Inn has pumped 132,300 gallons of water into the pond and into the water tenders for this fire effort.

We’re doing shifts on fire watch. I slept from about 8pm to 10:15 and took over for Butch about 10:30 tonight. Marcus was up watching the fire. Mike Esparca, Jesus Gonzalez and I are hanging outside taking advantage of the T1 wi-fi and the warm evening. If not for the fires it would be a rockin’ nice evening.

Ice cold Corona beckons. Happy 4th of July.

Tags: ewoldsen, post creek, the gorge
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9:30pm 7/3 update from Steven Harper

July 3, 2008 by thebirdsings

Just received this information by phone from Steven Harper:

Standing on Clear Ridge and looking north, the fire is visible coming down the ridge at the Curtis’s residence (Apple Pie area) and moving toward Captain Cooper school. There was a concentration of air support working in this area in the evening.

The fire line is moving down the ridge at an even elevation, and moving north, approaching the trail to east Molera

We are confirming affected structures.

Tags: Apple Pie, Captain Cooper, Curtis, east Molera
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

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7.03.08 20:35hrs

Hello Big Sur!

While we wait for our evening update from the Incident Command Center at Andrew Molera State Park I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce another way for you to track what is going on with the Basin Complex Fire. Lisa Goettel has set up a blog that will have a handful of bloggers, some still inside the burn area and some outside the burn area. This should help keep a balanced perspective. At this point it looks like we have three inside the burn zone; Jonathan Farrington, Steve Harper, and myself, Stan Russell. Lisa is is somewhere in the Monterey/Carmel area finding open networks to park her car in front of. If I knew what kind of car she drives I'd tell you to watch for her.

This method of dispersing information will make it calmer on the email broadcasts and it'll help us to not burden your in-box with too much information.
There is a photo of the Gorge burning today at 5:00 PM on the blog.

http://surfire2008.wordpress.com/

Apparently the last couple of nights at&t cell service went down at the Incident Command area during the late night hours. We now have a generator issue tuned up, thank you very much Paul Smith, and about 400 gallons of diesel fuel, enough for about two weeks of non-stop service. Paul came up to Post Ranch and joined us for dinner this evening.

Tonight is much calmer around the Ventana/Post Ranch Inn area. A grass fire is burning on the hillside on the Post Creek drainage next to Ventana Inn and slowly descending through an open meadow towards the east side of Highway 1. Its really quite pretty and shaped like a big burning smile. Slowly burning through the grass. Compared to last night in this area, things appear to be calm for the moment. Juan Higuera creek looks to be burning off some fuel and was launching some 150 foot tall spires a little while ago.

I've posted a video of Tower House burning last night. It was a terrible and sad sight. This video shows the propane tank jettisoning fuel a couple of times and consuming a tree above it in the bargain. Look for it at about 2:20 You can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1nocoQOL_k

We had a nice dinner of BBQ Chicken (I'm not kidding) BBQ corn, rice and salad tonight. With only two hours sleep just before sunrise this morning, and a long day behind me, I'm going to take a short nap now before my evening shift at fire watch.

Check out the blog. Its a new thing. We're going to see if this will help us to get information out from inside the burn area to those who have evacuated and are concerned about their homes and areas where they live. We will have more liberty to write about unofficial information, second hand information that we deem to be credible and anything else we feel like blogging about.

Regard,
Stan Russell

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Basin Complex Fire UPDATE
Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest

Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 7:00 am

On the Web:  www.inciweb.org, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us
Inciweb directly to the Basin Complex Fire at http://165.221.39.44/incident/1367/
Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990
Information Specific to Monterey County Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991
Information Specific to Palo Colorado area, call Mid Coast Fire Department at (831) 626-1961


Fire Stats
Acres burned: 121,782
Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 1,396
Fireline to build: 17 miles
Date started:  6/21/2008
Percent contained:  61%
Expected containment: 7/30/2008 
Injuries:  9
Structures threatened:  1400
Structures destroyed: 27 Residence 34 Other
Suppression cost to date: $46.6 million    Resources
Crews: 47
Engines: 72
Helicopters: 15
Air Tankers: 6
Dozers: 15
Total Personnel Assigned: 1,905

Unified Command: USFS, CALFIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office

Current Status:
• TONIGHT, July 15: A community meeting will be held at Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley at 6:00 p.m.
•The slop over north of Chew’s Ridge continues to be moderately active. Conditions today look favorable for burnout operations. Crews spent the night preparing the containment line. Burnout is planned for this area to protect firefighter and resident safety.
• Monday, the fire spotted over the line near Rodeo Flats Trail.  Hand crews worked in difficult terrain to contain the spot. Light fire activity and weather conditions aided those efforts.
• Humidity remains high on the north side of the fire.
• Burnout operations will continue in the area east of Devil's Peak on the north edge when conditions permit.
• Today’s weather is expected to be mostly sunny with areas of smoke, and temperatures between 84 and 98 degrees. Winds are expected to be west/northwest  6-11 mph with gusts to 14 mph.

Evacuations:
• EFFECTIVE TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 at 10AM: The voluntary evacuation from the intersection of Martin Road south along both sides of Carmel Valley Road to Piney Creek Road will be upgraded to a MANDATORY evacuation. This MANDATORY evacuation includes all of Martin Road, but does not include Piney Creek Road.
• The area of Lower Cachagua is under MANDATORY evacuation, including all of Tassajara Road, and Cachagua Road from the intersection of Tassajara Road to Trampa Canyon Road.  It also includes all roads off of Cachagua Road between Trampa Canyon Road, Tassajara Road, and the forest boundary.
• Additionally, the area of Upper Cachagua is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation.  This includes Cachagua Road from Trampa Canyon Road west to Carmel Valley Road.  This area includes Sky Ranch Road, Via Cielo Road, Nason Road, and Asoleado Road.  Trampa Canyon Road is included in this VOLUNTARY evacuation.
• Carmel Valley Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation from the intersection of Carmel Valley Road and Arroyo Seco Road to Piney Creek Road. 
• Arroyo Seco Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation west of the junction with Carmel Valley Road.
• The MANDATORY evacuation for cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract remains in effect.
• The ADVISORY evacuation for Palo Colorado Road has been lifted.
• The ADVISORY evacuation from Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park south to Lucia has been lifted.

Evacuation Center Information:
• The American Red Cross has identified emergency evacuation shelters at the Greenfield High School (2025 El Camino Real in Greenfield) and at the Carmel Middle School (4380 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley).
• For current evacuation shelter information, please call (831) 796-1991.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:
• EFFECTIVE TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 at 10AM: Carmel Valley Road will be closed to all traffic, except emergency vehicles, from the intersection of Martin Road south to the intersection of Piney Creek Road.
• EFFECTIVE TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 at 10AM: Martin Road will be closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles.
• Piney Creek Road is open to all traffic.
• Highway 1 is open to all traffic.
• Palo Colorado Road is open to all traffic.
• The Big Sur business district, resorts and restaurants are open for business.
• Tassajara Road is under a hard closure at the intersection of Tassajara Road and Carmel Valley Road.
• Cachagua Road is under a hard closure at the intersection of Cachagua Road and Trampa Canyon Road.
• Carmel Valley Road is closed to the public, except to emergency traffic and residents from the junction of Arroyo Seco Road to Piney Creek Road.
• Arroyo Seco Road is closed to the public, except to emergency traffic and residents, from the junction with Carmel Valley Road to the west.
• All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.
• All State Parks in the fire area remain closed indefinitely.


Evacuations and closures are subject to change depending on fire conditions

The Los Padres National Forest, CALFIRE, and California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 would like to thank all of our cooperating agencies including: Monterey County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, CalTrans, California Department of Fish and Game, Cachagua Volunteer Fire Department, American Red Cross, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Monterey County, Department of Defense, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Emergency Services, California State Parks, National Weather Service, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, North Tree International, the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and the Mid Coast Fire Brigade.


For up-to-date tourist information for the area, visit the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce website at www.bigsurcalifornia.org or Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau website at www.montereyinfo.org

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Basin Complex Fire

Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest

Monterey County Sheriff's Office

July 14, 2008, 4:30 p.m.

·NOTICE·

This is a clarification of the Evacuation and Road Closure Notice Issued July 14, 2008, 1:30 p.m.

Evacuation and Road Closure Changes

Effective Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

the following changes will occur:

Evacuation Changes:

· The voluntary evacuation from the intersection of Martin Road south along both sides of Carmel Valley Road to Piney Creek Road will be upgraded to a MANDATORY evacuation.

· This MANDATORY evacuation includes all of Martin Road, but does not include Piney Creek Road.

Road Closure Changes:

· Carmel Valley Road will be closed to all traffic, except emergency vehicles, from the intersection of Martin Road south to the intersection of Piney Creek Road.

· Martin Road is closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles.

· Piney Creek Road is open to all traffic.

Reminders:

All motorists are urged to maintain slow rates of speed throughout the fire area, as well as remain vigilant while driving as there will be firefighters and equipment working near the roadway as well as debris in the roadway.

Fire officials expect the Basin Complex Fire will continue to be active for several weeks. Portions of other roads may be closed intermittently to provide for firefighter safety and access.

For Basin Complex Fire information call the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center at (831) 796-1990 or go to http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/

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Basin Complex Fire UPDATE

Monterey Ranger District,
Los Padres National Forest

Thursday, July 10, 2008, 6:00 p.m. 

On the Web:  www.inciweb.org, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us

Inciweb directly to the Basin Complex Fire at http://165.221.39.44/incident/1367/

Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990

Information Specific to Monterey County Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991

Information Specific to Palo Colorado area, call Mid Coast Fire Department at (831) 626-1961

Fire Stats   Acres burned:  99,021 Acreage increase (last 12 hours):  8907 Fireline to build: 2 miles Date started:  6/21/2008 Percent contained:  41% Expected containment: 7/30/2008  Injuries:  6 Structures threatened:  2,000 Structures destroyed: 26 Residence 31 Other Suppression cost to date: $33,793,821

Resources   Crews:  50 Engines: 107 Helicopters: 17 Air Tankers: 6 Dozers: 25 Total Personnel Assigned: 2,144   Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Mid Coast Fire Brigade

 

Headlines:

• Basin Complex Fire information meeting will be held Friday, July 11, 2008 at 7:00pm.  The meeting will be held at the Big Sur Station (Multi Agency Facility) in Big Sur.

Current Status:

• The fire has spread south of Rodeo Flats Trail to the Carrizo Trail and east to the Indians Fire.  Aircraft was used again to slow the spread of fire in this area.
• Fire has moved passed The Caves, across Tassajara Road below China Camp and through the Zen Center toward Arroyo Seco.
• Fire continues to burn east along Willow Creek.
• The fire activity along Highway 1 today was light. Crews continued mop up of hot spots.
• The fire burned actively along the northern front of the fire, near Devils peak.
• The Big Sur Health Center has reopened:  Hours 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
• A fire recovery center will be set up at the Big Sur Grange Hall:  Hours 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. Staff from the Department of Public Works, Building Department, Planning Department, Health Department, Red Cross, and Social Services will be available to provide information. The phone number is (831)667-0125.
• A Red Flag Warning remains in effect through Friday at 5:00 a.m., due to predicted high temperatures, single digit humidity, and the potential for gusty northerly winds.

Highway, Road and Area closures:

• Highway 1 from Palo Colorado Road south to Lucia Lodge is open to residents and service workers with identification or passes ONLY.

• Carmel Valley Road from the junction of Arroyo Seco Road to Sleepy Hollow Road, is open only to residents of this area.
• Arroyo Seco Road, from the junction of Carmel Valley Road to the west, is open only to residents.
• All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.
• All state parks in the closure area are closed to public access, including: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. 
• Closures are subject to change at any time based on fire conditions.

Evacuations:

• Tassajara Road is under MANDATORY evacuation from the forest boundary south to Tassajara Hot Springs.  There is a hard road closure at the forest boundary. 
• The Mandatory Evacuation from Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park south to Lucia has been changed to an Evacuation ADVISORY.
• The Arroyo Seco Road area is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation east of the junction with Carmel Valley Road.
• An Evacuation ADVISORY is in effect for Carmel Valley Road from Arroyo Seco Road north to the Tassajara Road, the Tassajara Road south to the forest boundary, and the Cachagua Road to Nason Road turnoff. 
• The MANDATORY evacuation for cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract remains in effect. 

Evacuations and closures are subject to change depending on fire conditions

The Los Padres National Forest, CALFIRE, and California Interagency Management Team 5 would like to thank all of our cooperating agencies which includes: Monterey County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, CalTrans, California Department of Fish and Game, American Red Cross, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Monterey County, Department of Defense, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Emergency Services, California State Parks and National Weather Service. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Indians Fire UPDATE
Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest

Thursday, July 10, 2008 6:00 AM

On the Web:  www.inciweb.org, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us
Inciweb directly to the Indians Fire at http://165.221.39.44/incident/1298/
Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990
Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991
Information Specific to Mid Coast area, call the Fire Department at (831) 626-1961


Fire Stats
Acres burned:  81,378 *
Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 0
Fireline to be improved:  0 miles
Date started:  06/08/08 
Percent contained:  100%
Expected containment:  07/10/08
Injuries:  17
Structures threatened:  0
Structures destroyed:  2
Suppression cost to date:  $42.5 million

* not all acres within the fire area are burned; acreage figure reflects the “footprint” of the larger fire area.    Resources

Crews:  2
Engines:  5
Helicopters:  0
Air Tankers:  0 (TBD)
Dozers:  0
Total Personnel Assigned:  57

Headlines:  100% containment has been achieved.

Current Status:  Today higher temperatures and lower humidity will increase fire activity within the northern interior areas of the fire.  Firefighters will continue to mop-up and patrol along the northern perimeter.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:
 Arroyo Seco Road is closed to the public, except to emergency traffic and residents, from the junction of Arroyo Seco Road and Carmel Valley Road to the west. 
 All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.
 Closures are subject to change at any time based on fire conditions.

Evacuations:
 The MANDATORY evacuation for cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract remains in effect

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Mandatory Evacuation lifted!

Basin Complex Fire

Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest

Monterey County Sheriff's Office

July 9, 2008

Evacuation and Road Closure Changes

Beginning Wednesday July 9, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.

the following changes will occur:

Evacuation Changes:

The MANDATORY Evacuation from Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park south to Lucia has been changed to an ADVISORY evacuation 

Road Closure Changes:

From Highway 1 at Palo Colorado Road south to Lucia Inn the highway will be open to residents and service workers with identification or passes.

Reminders:

Fire officials remind residents and service workers that the Basin Complex Fire is still active. Portions of Highway 1 and access roads may be closed intermittently to provide for firefighter safety and access.

For Basin Complex Fire information call the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center at (831) 796-1990 or go to www.co.monterey.ca.us

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Basin Complex Fire

Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest

Monterey County Sheriff's Office

July 8, 2008

Evacuation and Road Closure Changes

Beginning Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. the following changes will occur:

Evacuation Changes

ü  An Evacuation ADVISORY will remain in effect for Palo Colorado Road.

ü  The MANDATORY Evacuation from the intersection of Highway 1 and Palo Colorado Road south to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park has been changed to an ADVISORY. 

ü  From Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park south to Lucia a MANDATORY Evacuation will remain in place.

ü  The Evacuation ADVISORY from Lucia Inn on Highway 1 south to Limekiln State Park will be lifted.

In Big Sur:

ü  The west side of Highway 1 will be under an Evacuation ADVISORY.

ü  The east side of Highway 1 will be under an Evacuation ADVISORY with the following restrictions as it is still a fire affected area:

§  Roads leading east of Highway 1 may have restricted access.  Restricted access roads will be closed by barriers and patrolled to insure compliance.  Access to restricted roads will be limited to residents and critical service workers. 

§  For business owners/employees, critical service workers and residents needing access passes, the Big Sur Fire Brigade will be issuing passes at the Big Sur Station from  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  

Road Closure Changes

ü  From Highway 1 at Palo Colorado Road south to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the highway will be open to residents and service workers with identification or passes.

ü  From Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Lucia Inn, Highway 1 will be closed to all traffic based on continuing fire activity.

ü  Carmel Valley road will be open to residents only from Arroyo Seco Road to Sleepy Hollow Road

Reminders:

Fire officials remind residents, and service workers that the Basin Complex Fire is still active and portions of Highway 1 and access roads may be closed intermittently to provide for firefighter safety and access.

For Basin Complex Fire information call the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center at (831) 796-1990, or go to www.montery.ca.us

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Basin Complex Fire

Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest

Monterey County Sheriff's Office

July 8, 2008

Evacuation and Road Closure Changes

Beginning Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. the following changes will occur:

 Evacuation Changes

ü  An Evacuation ADVISORY will remain in effect for Palo Colorado Road.

ü  The MANDATORY Evacuation from the intersection of Highway 1 and Palo Colorado Road south to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park has been changed to an ADVISORY. 

ü  From Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park south to Lucia a MANDATORY Evacuation will remain in place.

ü  The Evacuation ADVISORY from Lucia Inn on Highway 1 south to Limekiln State Park will be lifted.

In Big Sur:

ü  The west side of Highway 1 will be under an Evacuation ADVISORY.

ü  The east side of Highway 1 will be under an Evacuation ADVISORY with the following restrictions as it is still a fire affected area:

§  Roads leading east of Highway 1 may have restricted access.  Restricted access roads will be closed by barriers and patrolled to insure compliance.  Access to restricted roads will be limited to residents and critical service workers. 

§  For business owners/employees, critical service workers and residents needing access passes, the Big Sur Fire Brigade will be issuing passes at the Big Sur Station from  10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  

Road Closure Changes

ü  From Highway 1 at Palo Colorado Road south to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the highway will be open to residents and service workers with identification or passes.

ü  From Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Lucia Inn, Highway 1 will be closed to all traffic based on continuing fire activity.

ü  Carmel Valley road will be open to residents only from Arroyo Seco Road to Sleepy Hollow Road

Reminders:

Fire officials remind residents, and service workers that the Basin Complex Fire is still active and portions of Highway 1 and access roads may be closed intermittently to provide for firefighter safety and access.

For Basin Complex Fire information call the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center at (831) 796-1990, or go to www.montery.ca.us

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Basin Complex Fire UPDATE

Monterey Ranger District,

Los Padres National Forest

Monday, July 7, 2008, 6:00 p.m.

On the Web:  www.inciweb.org, www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us

Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990

Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991

Information Specific to Palo Colorado area, call Mid Coast Fire Department at (831) 626-1961

Fire Stats Acres burned:  80,186 Acreage increase (last 12 hours):  3,021 Fireline to build: 14 miles Date started:  6/21/2008 Percent contained:  18% Expected containment: 7/30/2008  Injuries:  3 Structures threatened:  2,500 residences; 20 commercial; 195 other Structures destroyed:23 residences; 25 other Suppression cost to date: $24,210,200

Resources   Crews:  44 Engines: 175 Helicopters: 14 Air Tankers: 10 Dozers: 33 Total Personnel Assigned: 2,302   Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Mid Coast Fire Brigade

 

Headlines:

• The burning operations along Highway 1 in the Big Sur area went well and crews worked today to put out hotspots. Burnout operations stayed within the containment line in the Palo Colorado area.
• A Red Flag Warning is expected for Tuesday evening through Thursday, with high temperatures and single digit humidity.

Current Status:

• Overnight, the fire activity is expected to increase in higher elevations.
• Burning operations in Dolan Ridge area went well today; crews plan to continue burning operations through the night. 
• Mop-up will continue to occur along most sections of Highway 1 and along burnout operations on the northern and southern edges of the fire.
• A contingency dozer line is being constructed from Highway 1 toward White Rock Ridge.

• Wind this evening will be light and variable, possible gusts up to 35 miles per hour in drainage entrances in the costal area.

Public Meetings

• Carmel Valley Village, Tularcitos Elementary School, 34 Ford Road -  6:00 pm
• Carmel, Carmel Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road – 7:00 pm
• Palo Colorado, Mid-Coast Fire Station, Palo Colorado Road – 7:00 pm

Evacuations:

Ø  Mandatory

·       The entire Big Sur area, including both sides of Highway 1 from Palo Colorado Road junction (milepost 61.70) to Lucia (milepost 23.00), and all connector roads are under a mandatory evacuation notice. Tassajara Road starting at the Los Padres National Forest boundary south to the end of the Tassajara Road.

·       The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.  For further information, call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921. 

·       The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Monterey County will be available to provide assistance at the Red Cross shelter location.  Call (831) 373-2631 for further information.

Ø  Voluntary Evacuation

·       The Arroyo Seco Road area is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation from Carmel Valley Road to the Arroyo Seco Campgrounds. 

Ø  Advisories

·      Palo Colorado Canyon from Highway 1 to the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.

·       Highway 1 from Limekiln State Park to Lucia.

·       Carmel Valley Road from Arroyo Seco Road north to Tassajara Road, Tassajara Road south to the Los Padres National Forest boundary, and Cachagua Road from Tassajara Road to the Nason Road turnoff.

 

Highway, Road and Area Closures:

• Highway 1 is closed from the intersection of Palo Colorado Road south to Lucia. No travel will be allowed through this area.
• All state parks in the closure area are closed to public access, this includes: Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park and Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.  The entire Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest is closed.

Evacuations and closures are subject to change depending on fire conditions.

The Los Padres National Forest, CALFIRE, and California Interagency Management Team 5 would like to thank all of our cooperating agencies which include: Monterey County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol, CalTrans, California Department of Fish and Game, American Red Cross, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Monterey County, Department of Defense, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Emergency Services, and National Weather Service

Indians Fire UPDATE

Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest 

Monday, July 7, 2008 10:00 AM

 

On the Web:  www.inciweb.org, www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us

Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990

Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991

Information Specific to Mid Coast area, call the Fire Department at (831) 626-1961

Fire Stats Acres burned:  81,378 * Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 0 Fireline to be improved:  0 miles Date started:  06/08/08  Percent contained:  97% Expected containment:  07/10/08 Injuries:  17 Structures threatened:  422 Structures destroyed:  2 Suppression cost to date:  $42.8 million   * not all acres within the fire area are burned; acreage figure reflects the "footprint" of the larger fire area.

Resources   Crews:  2 Engines:  20 Helicopters:  0 Air Tankers:  0 (TBD) Dozers:  0 Total Personnel Assigned:  122

 

Headlines:  Containment expected by July 10, 2008.

Current Status:  Higher temperatures and lower humidity will increase fire activity within the northern interior areas of the fire.  Mop-up and patrol along the perimeter of the fire will continue throughout the day.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:

·      Arroyo Seco Road is closed to the public, except to emergency traffic and residents, from the junction of Arroyo Seco Road and Carmel Valley Road to the west. 

·      All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.

Closures are subject to change at any time based on fire conditions.

Evacuations:

·      The MANDATORY evacuation for cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract remains in effect.

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MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE
Effective 4:00 PM, Thursday, July 3, 2008


A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1.

The Monterey County Sheriff, in cooperation with the Basin Complex West Fire Incident Commander, has issued a MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE for residents along both sides of Highway 1 from the intersection of Palo Colorado to the Andrew Molera State Park.  No travel will be allowed through this area.  This area includes:

Bixby Canyon           
South Forty
Rocky Creek areas
 
This mandatory evacuation does not apply to residents along Palo Colorado Road.  Residents along Palo Colorado Road remain in Evacuation Advisory status.

The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road. For further information call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921. For evacuation of large animals, contact the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or call (831) 373-2631 after 6p.m. (831) 646-5534.


The MANDATORY EVACUATION remains in effect for both sides of Highway 1 from the Andrew Molera State Park to Limekiln State Park. This section of road will be closed to all vehicles. 

Closures are subject to change at any time based on fire conditions.


Fire information:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres (see “Current Conditions”)
http://www.fire.ca.gov
Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990 (24 hours per day)
 

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Notice

For Anyone : California Penal Code Section 409.5 (verbatim)

Address: Carmel, CA

Type of Notice: Official Notices and Evacuations

California Penal Code Section 409.5

409.5. (a) Whenever a menace to the public health or safety is created by a calamity such as flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster, officers of the California Highway Patrol, California State Police Division, police departments, marshal's office or sheriff's office, any officer or employee of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection designated a peace officer by subdivision (h) of Section 830.2, any officer or employee of the Department of Parks and Recreation designated a peace officer by subdivision (g) of Section 830.2, any officer or employee of the Department of Fish and Game designated a peace officer under subdivision (f) of Section 830.2, and any publicly employed full-time lifeguard or publicly employed full-time marine safety officer while acting in a supervisory position in the performance of his or her official duties, may close the area where the menace exists for the duration thereof by means of ropes, markers, or guards to any and all persons not authorized by the lifeguard or officer to enter or remain within the enclosed area. If the calamity creates an immediate menace to the public health, the local health officer may close the area where the menace exists pursuant to the conditions set forth in this section.

(b) Officers of the California Highway Patrol, California State Police Division, police departments, marshal's office or sheriff's office, officers of the Department of Fish and Game designated as peace officers by subdivision (f) of Section 830.2, or officers of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection designated as peace officers by subdivision (h) of Section 830.2 may close the immediate area surrounding any emergency field command post or any other command post activated for the purpose of abating any calamity enumerated in this section or any riot or other civil disturbance to any and all unauthorized persons pursuant to the conditions set forth in this section whether or not the field command post or other command post is located near to the actual calamity or riot or other civil disturbance.

(c) Any unauthorized person who willfully and knowingly enters an area closed pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) and who willfully remains within the area after receiving notice to evacuate or leave shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent a duly authorized representative of any news service, newspaper, or radio or television station or network from entering the areas closed pursuant to this section.

(Sandy's note: Isn't the net great? I simply googled it, and there it was. Now, for interpretation and evaluation, we turn to the lawyers... Looks like all Curtis needed to do to stay is get a press pass! Maybe the Pine Cone could use his reporting.)

Contact Info

Sandy Sutherland
Phone: 949-903-3369
Email: irispress@aol.com

Posted 7/5/2008 06:52 AM

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BasinComplex Fire UPDATE
Monterey Ranger District,
Los Padres National Forest
Thursday, July 3, 8:00 AM

On the Web:  www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us
Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990 (24 hours per day)
Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991
Information Specific to Mid Coast area, call the Fire Department at (831) 626-1961

Fire Stats Acres burned:  64,305 Acreage increase (last 12 hours):  8,485 Fireline to build: 23 miles Date started:  06/21/08 1256 Percent contained:  3% Expected containment:  7/30/08 Injuries:  2 Structures threatened:  1,277 Structures destroyed:  17 Suppression cost to date:  $11 million

Resources   Crews:  32 Engines: 142 Helicopters: 8 Air Tankers:  2 Dozers: 34 Total Personnel Assigned: 1,601 Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, Monterey County Sheriff, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Mid Coast Fire Brigade

Headlines:

• A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued by the Monterey County Sheriff for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1 effective at 4 PM today.  This area includes the areas of Bixby Canyon, South Forty, Rocky Creek Area.  No travel will be allowed through this area.  Highway 1 is closed from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park.
• Effective 6 AM CAL FIRE and Mid Coast Fire Brigade has joined the unified command currently managing the Basin Complex.

Current Status:

• A local Red Flag warning has been issued for today into this evening because of low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures.  Extreme fire activity can be expected
• Ridge top winds 15 – 20 mph gusting to 25 mph. Winds on the fire's west side expecting gusts up to 30 – 35 mph.
• The fire was very active yesterday and last night. The fire continued backing down the slope toward portions of Highway 1. 
• The fire continues to actively move on the northwest and southern boundaries. It continues to back into the Big Sur drainage around Manuel Peak and most of Pico Blanco Pike.
• Flames and smoke are visible from Highway 1 with the increased fire activity due to low humidity, warm temperatures and heavy fuels.

• Near Palo Colorado Canyon, the fire remains within established containment lines. Crews are continuing to build dozer lines in that area.
• The fire continues to burn east of the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp, backing against the wind and downslope into the Jackson Creek and Little Sur River.
• The Basin Complex continues to be a priority fire within the state because of numerous structures and fuels affected by sudden oak death and drought.

Evacuations:

• A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued by the Monterey County Sheriff for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1 effective at 4 PM, July 3. This area includes the areas of Bixby Canyon, South Forty, Rocky Creek.
• The entire Big Sur area, including both sides of Highway 1 from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park, are under MANDATORY evacuations.
• The Arroyo Seco Road area remains under a voluntary evacuation above the junction with Carmel Valley Road.  The road is only open to residents, emergency traffic and service vehicles.
• An ADVISORY evacuation is in effect for the Palo Colorado Canyon from Highway 1 to the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.
• The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.  For further information, call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921. 
• Animal shelters will be available at the Red Cross shelter location.  Call (831) 373-2631 for further information.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:

• Highway 1 is closed from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park. No travel will be allowed through this area.
• All State Parks in the closure area are closed to public access.  This includes Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park which are all closed.  All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.

Evacuations and Closures are subject to change depending on fire conditions

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Basin Complex Fire
Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest
July 3, 2008 6:00 AM

MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE
Effective 4:00 PM, Thursday, July 3, 2008

A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1.

The Monterey County Sheriff, in cooperation with the Basin Complex West Fire Incident Commander, has issued a MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE for residents along both sides of Highway 1 from the intersection of Palo Colorado to the Andrew Molera State Park.  No travel will be allowed through this area.  This area includes:

• Bixby Canyon                                   
• South Forty
• Rocky Creek areas

The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road. For further information call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921. For evacuation of large animals, contact the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) or call (831) 373-2631 after 6p.m. (831) 646-5534.

The MANDATORY EVACUATION remains in effect for both sides of Highway 1 from the Andrew Molera State Park to Limekiln State Park. This section of road will be closed to all vehicles.  

Closures are subject to change at any time based on fire conditions.

Fire information:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres (see "Current Conditions")
http://www.fire.ca.gov
Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990 (24 hours per day)

BasinComplex Fire UPDATE
Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest

 Thursday, July 3, 8:00 AM

On the Web:  www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us

Fire Information Phone Line:  (831) 796-1990 (24 hours per day)

Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991

Information Specific to Mid Coast area, call the Fire Department at (831) 626-1961

Fire Stats Acres burned:  64,305 Acreage increase (last 12 hours):  8,485 Fireline to build: 23 miles Date started:  06/21/08 1256 Percent contained:  3% Expected containment:  7/30/08 Injuries:  2 Structures threatened:  1,277 Structures destroyed:  17 Suppression cost to date:  $11 million

Resources   Crews:  32 Engines: 142 Helicopters: 8 Air Tankers:  2 Dozers: 34 Total Personnel Assigned: 1,601 Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, Monterey County Sheriff, Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and Mid Coast Fire Brigade

 

Headlines:

• A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued by the Monterey County Sheriff for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1 effective at 4 PM today.  This area includes the areas of Bixby Canyon, South Forty, Rocky Creek Area.  No travel will be allowed through this area.  Highway 1 is closed from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park.
• Effective 6 AM CAL FIRE and Mid Coast Fire Brigade has joined the unified command currently managing the Basin Complex.

Current Status:

• A local Red Flag warning has been issued for today into this evening because of low humidity, strong winds and high temperatures.  Extreme fire activity can be expected
• Ridge top winds 15 – 20 mph gusting to 25 mph. Winds on the fire's west side expecting gusts up to 30 – 35 mph.
• The fire was very active yesterday and last night. The fire continued backing down the slope toward portions of Highway 1. 
• The fire continues to actively move on the northwest and southern boundaries. It continues to back into the Big Sur drainage around Manuel Peak and most of Pico Blanco Pike.
• Flames and smoke are visible from Highway 1 with the increased fire activity due to low humidity, warm temperatures and heavy fuels.

• Near Palo Colorado Canyon, the fire remains within established containment lines. Crews are continuing to build dozer lines in that area.
• The fire continues to burn east of the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp, backing against the wind and downslope into the Jackson Creek and Little Sur River.
• The Basin Complex continues to be a priority fire within the state because of numerous structures and fuels affected by sudden oak death and drought.

Evacuations:

• A MANDATORY EVACUATION NOTICE has been issued by the Monterey County Sheriff for all residents south of the intersection of Palo Colorado and Highway 1 effective at 4 PM, July 3. This area includes the areas of Bixby Canyon, South Forty, Rocky Creek.
• The entire Big Sur area, including both sides of Highway 1 from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park, are under MANDATORY evacuations.
• The Arroyo Seco Road area remains under a voluntary evacuation above the junction with Carmel Valley Road.  The road is only open to residents, emergency traffic and service vehicles.
• An ADVISORY evacuation is in effect for the Palo Colorado Canyon from Highway 1 to the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.
• The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.  For further information, call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921. 
• Animal shelters will be available at the Red Cross shelter location.  Call (831) 373-2631 for further information.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:

• Highway 1 is closed from the intersection of Palo Colorado south to Lime Kiln State Park. No travel will be allowed through this area.
• All State Parks in the closure area are closed to public access.  This includes Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park which are all closed.  All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to public access.

Evacuations and Closures are subject to change depending on fire conditions

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Hello Big Sur!

Sorry for the delay in official notices. Our official sources are having difficulty sending email.

Here's what we've got from personal experience last night. Dan Priano, Butch & Patti Kronlund, Martine, Mark Sullivan, Martine and Mike watched the fire from Billy Post's house at Post Ranch Inn. We've set up our communication center here. 
Last night fire moved down off the ridge and we watched as Nancy and Fred Golog House, Howard and Pam Conant House (AKA known as Ventana's Tower House) and Judge Bill Burley's House burned. We could see fire along the ridge from Apple Pie to Mule Canyon. It is continuing to progress down the canyons. Ventana Inn is still okay. 
I learned a few things about propane tanks last night. I learned they have pressure release valves for just these types of situations and when they get too hot they blow off gas and it sounds like a jet engine and it throws flames at least 100 feet in the air. This went on for about an hour until the tank was consumed.

We are just now (10:31 AM) seeing a, as in ONE helicopter. We topped off the Post Ranch Inn Pond last night so they'd have water when they came in this morning and they are using it.

If anyone out there in the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS LISTENING. WE NEED AIR SUPPORT IN THE BIG SUR VALLEY. Oh, and buy some laptop cards for your computers so you can send email!


One last thing, the hard on the north end is moving to Palo Colorado effrective at 4:00 PM today.

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Mail
Until the mandatory evacuation is lifted in Big Sur,
all Big Sur mail will be sorted daily and available for pick-up at the Monterey Post Office, located at 565 Hartnell St. 

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Basin Complex Fire UPDATE

Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest

Wednesday, July 2, 6:00 PM

 On the Web:  www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, www.fire.ca.gov, www.co.monterey.ca.us

Fire Information Phone Line:  (805) 961-5770 (8:00am to 8:00pm)

Information Specific to Monterey County Mandatory Evacuations:  (831) 796-1991

Headlines:

• Mandatory evacuation notices were issued today by the Monterey County Sheriff in cooperation with the Incident Commander. Currently, both the east and west sides of Highway 1 are under a mandatory evacuation notice for the areas between Andrew Molera State Park and Limekiln State Park.
• The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter today at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.  For further information, call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921.

Current Status:

• The fire remains active around the east side of Manual Peak and has moved into in the Big Sur drainage.
• The fire crossed over dozer lines that had been constructed on the southeast portion of the fire.
• Flames and smoke were visible from Highway 1 today as fire activity increased due to low humidity, warm temperatures and heavy fuels.

• In Palo Colorado Canyon, the fire remains within established containment lines. Crews are continuing to build dozer lines in that area.
• The fire continues to burn east of the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp, backing against the wind and downslope into the Jackson Creek and Little Sur River.
• The Basin Complex continues to be a priority fire within the region because of numerous structures and fuels affected by sudden oak death and drought.

Evacuations:

• MANDATORY evacuation notices were issued today by the Monterey County Sheriff in cooperation with the Incident Commander to residents on both sides of Highway 1 between Nepenthe north to Andrew Molera State Park.
• The entire Big Sur area, including both sides of Highway 1 from Andrew Molera State Park to Limekiln State Park, are under MANDATORY evacuations.
• The Arroyo Seco Road area is under an ADVISORY evacuation above the junction with Carmel Valley Road.  The road is only open to residents, emergency traffic and service vehicles.
• An ADVISORY evacuation is in effect for the Palo Colorado Canyon from Highway 1 to the Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.
• The Red Cross has opened an evacuation center and shelter today at the Carmel Valley Middle School, 4380 Carmel Valley Road.  For further information, call the Carmel Chapter at (831) 624-6921.
• Animal shelters will be available at the Red Cross shelter location.  Call (831) 373-2631 for further information.

Highway, Road and Area Closures:

• Highway 1 is closed to all traffic from Andrew Molera State Park to 1 mile south of Limekiln State Park while the mandatory evacuation is in effect.
• All State Parks in the closure area are closed to public access.  This includes Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Andrew Molera State Park,  Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park are closed.  All national forest lands north of Nacimiento-Fergusson Road are closed to public access.

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Local website for posting information about housing available for evacuees or ways to lend a helping hand.
http://www.surfire2008.org

It's now 10PM and we're watching the fire move down into Post Creek and Mule Canyon. So far no structures have burned that we can tell.

Stan