This evening's MODIS map... and a Grand Day Out...

July 17, 2008 about 8 pm...

Jim's MODIS data for 5 pm is above and his commentary is below:

"I have added labels for the fire line identifiers and other points called out by InciWeb, so that you will be able to better interpret their reports, and this one."

• According to reports on the ground, the orange (12-24 hours old) hotspots to the east of Carmel Valley Road are errors; there has been no fire to the east of CVR. Whoever said earlier that you have to take the MODIS data with a grain of salt was so right.
  
• There are extensive new hotspots inside the triangle formed by the old Div NN fireline and the two new Div RR and Div TT firelines. 
• There is some activity (in two places) to the north of the Div RR fireline, but those could also be satellite errors.
• There is widespread fire south of (inside) the Div NN fireline, above Upper Piney Creek Camp in an area that has seen fire for the last several days.
• The fires have spread west, north, and east from Elephant Mountain. The four orange dots and the one red one near the Div GG/Div LL firelines are probably backfires.
• The Divide Camp fire has spread somewhat to the NW, NE, and south, as well as quite a ways west.

Martha and I just returned from Grand Day Out, having spent some time with some neighbors we met as a result of the fire and the 'blog. We went a-visiting, hung out and drank some wine, and enjoyed some delightful home made soup, and then continued out to the southern limit of Lambert Flats to within a half-mile of the backburning operations. 

Things, in a word, seem to be looking good.

The Helitorch at work over the backburn area...

(picture from Eric Walters)

A Sikorsky S-64E Skycrane heads off to pick up a container of firefighting equipment that will be drawn up into the rectangular, open bay in the center of the aircraft, by the lifting cable. 

Dangling from below the chopper is a suction tube used to draw in a load of water.

The Sky-Crane, which weighs over 20,000 pounds, can lift over 25,000 pounds. Its firefighting equipment enables it to suck several thousand gallons of water from a water source at least 18 inches deep in less than a minute. The water is then mixed on board with fire retardant chemicals and sprayed with precision over fires. The helicopter burns approximately 500 gallons of fuel per hour and is powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney JFTD12-4A turboshaft jet engines. 

______________________________________________

Breaking News from Scanner Radio Traffic...

A contributor reports:

"I heard CHP on the scanner ordering a vehicle to man the Sleepy Hollow area as a soft closure. They moved the guy from the Tassajara Road Carmel Valley Road intersection at Ardilla Grade down to Martin Rd for a hard closure. Not sure why but that's what they said."

THIS IS FOR REAL... new post forthcoming...

"I can confirm that a CHP patrol car is outside of our gate at the Martin Rd intersection. My son and I sat there and applauded fire crew after fire crew as they came off the fire. The CHP just sat there as truck after truck passed by on the way back to the helibase / camp. It's going to be a long night for him I'm afraid."

"The loudest crew award goes to the Silver City Hotshots who responded to our applause with the biggest hoots and hollering one has ever heard (the Samoa Hot Shots were a close second). I'm glad we could show them how much we appreciated them saving our community. 

Terry Bishop and the rest of the Cachagua Fire guys also went by in their quiet unassuming ways. They are our heroes tonight as we reflect on how close this fire came to many of us. Thank you Cachagua Fire, thank you fire crews."

_________________________________________