On the road and catching up...

July 14, 2008 about 4pm..

I'm in the SF Bay Area today and perhaps tomorrow getting some bizz taken care of, so I'm a bit behind the curve... my apologies!

Word on the Street from Eric Walters:

"Carmel Valley Road is going mandatory at 0730 7/15 from Martin Rd (mile marker 26) east to Cahoon Summit. Sheriff was just here notifying us."

From the official release at 1:30 pm today:

Basin Complex Fire, Monterey Ranger District---Los Padres National Forest
Monterey County Sheriff's Office
July 14, 2008, 1:30 p.m.
Evacuation and Road Closure Changes

Effective Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. (note what the Sheriff told Eric, above) 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.

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.

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.

From John Russo:

• I'm organizing a meeting between concerned residents inside of the mandatory evacuation zone and Forest Liason Chuck Dixon and possibly reps from Sheriff/CHP to start a dialog with the Unified Command.
• If you are inside the mandatory evacuation area and interested in attending, please contact me using my website at http://www.carmellavender.com/contacts.htm
• A major issue to resolve before the meeting is a guarantee that we all can return to our homes and not get thrown out of the area for trying to communicate. Without that, communication is going to be difficult. So I am working on this with Chuck.

_____________________________________________

Canards, Wildland Legends and Rumors Department

My excellent neighbor Terry called me with a piece of information he'd picked up from a firefighter. 

The gist of it is this: 

• If smoke gets thick, it will stall your engine, so be sure to evacuate before the smoke is too thick.
  

I've called around to a few fire departments with wildland fire experience and those I spoke to never had it happen to them. The truth may be that heavy-particulate firestorm smoke could very well clog your air filter.

That said, a firestorm 1) draws oxygen laden air away from everything - not only your engine, but also critters that need the air to breath, and 2) gets so hot, that you'd probably be toast before your car stalls anyway.

Check out Regina's comment, below for more information. Clearly this may be a mystery in search of a solution...

Bottom Line: evacuate early... if it looks bad, it's probably worse... so don't be foolish.

__________________________________________

UPDATE on the Evacuation Designation Changes:

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.