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phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
Aug 18, 2015 - 07:45pm PT
This is probably a stupid question but is it actually smoky at June Lake. My friend and I wanted to go for a swim tomorrow and I love that beach at Oh Ridge.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Aug 19, 2015 - 05:11pm PT
I was lucky to catch this. I had no chance to get a second shot.

This is the flight path taken by countless B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers during the Cold War. They'd line up by using the lights out at Farmers' Insurance's division headquarters on Hwy 99 and the lights of Main Street for visual certainty, especially on foggy nights.

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Aug 19, 2015 - 05:17pm PT
Dear Mouse,
Uh, them boys had a few other nav sources than the mall lights.
In fact, if they had nothing working on board other than a radio they
could make a precision approach in 0-0 conditions.* ;-)

*(it's called a GCA approach)
looks easy from here

climber
Ben Lomond, CA
Aug 19, 2015 - 05:28pm PT
Updated my notated Rough Fire map (map from http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4456/).


You can see the backburn along Rodgers Ridge. It looks like the line that was cut along Tombstone Ridge has held; it got hopped a bit, but it looks like it was jumped on and there hasn't been any growth on that flank in a couple days. However there's been huge growth to the west and southeast.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Aug 19, 2015 - 05:31pm PT
I'm sure you're right, Reilly. This was an instructional SAC base and it's more to be expected, I suppose, that they would use instruments only, but nonetheless I'm just sayin' that they did use these lights.

I've been told that base commander was extremely "put out" when Farmers' Ins. was instructed by their main office to quit using the lights as a way to cut costs. His objections to that move registered with certain important people in DC and this got them turned back on. These had been in use for a long time by the crews and were probably a welcome sight.
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Aug 19, 2015 - 05:48pm PT
Boy charged with Willow fire arson
by Rory Appleton
Fresno Bee

A boy accused of causing the Willow fire that scorched more than 5,700 acres and prompted evacuations in the North Fork area was charged with two felonies Tuesday in Madera Superior Court.

Madera County District Attorney David Linn said the boy, who was not identified because of his young age (Linn said he is younger than 14), was charged with arson and unlawfully starting a fire--both of which are felonies. The boy also was remanded to Madera County Juvenile Detention Facility, a rare step in a juvenile case.

Prosecutors say the boy was lighting pine branches on fire July 25 when he lost control of the tiny fire and ignited nearby brush. He yelled for help, and his parents tried to put out the fire before calling 911.

No structiures were destroyed, but the fire cost at least $18.3 million to fight, the U.S. Forest Service said. the forest service reported full containment Saturday.

.........
Put him in the Mount Bullion crews, 13 or not. And ream the folks for not calling it in IMMEDIATELY!
Tork

climber
Yosemite
Aug 19, 2015 - 06:34pm PT
phylp, not smoky here in June Lake
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Aug 19, 2015 - 08:59pm PT
Doubt it Bob V, I have friends at Hume lake and in the fire crew for the park and that would be way off from everything I've heard, at least I hope!
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Aug 19, 2015 - 09:35pm PT
Mouse cool shot.... about 800 feet up?
I am sure many pilots were grateful for those lights - just slow down and drop her down into the fog....

LooksEZ... thanks for the link and the map. Getting close to some near and dear places in my life.

Limping... I hope and pray that Hume Lake is spared, a bunch of good memories from that place.

And - We can't go and burn a very young boy at the stake, like some would do, but we need to make a huge impression a lasting impression so he never starts fires again. We were all young and very stupid once.
bergbryce

climber
East Bay, CA
Aug 19, 2015 - 10:06pm PT
Three wildland firefighters lost today in Washington.
This is an awful, awful summer.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Wildfire-forces-evacuation-of-Twisp-322342801.html
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Aug 19, 2015 - 10:34pm PT
That's awful. So surely the National Guard could do more, couldn't they?
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Aug 20, 2015 - 02:17pm PT
From a friend on facebook who's father is at Hume Lake:

HUME FIRE UPDATE "Rough Fire" 10am:

The fire has progressed overnight into the valley below the dam originating from the Kings Canyon Lodge location. Which leaves the fire in somewhat a dual route movement both up the 10 Mile Creek Drainage which is the trough directly below the dam and moving up the valley uphill form Kings Canyon Lodge which is the second valley back from the dam.

I just got an update from Dad this morning with more specifics but this is the gist.... Visibility is so poor this morning he says its really hard to tell what is actually happening, no aircraft are flying, and Dad is pretty sure the fire crews are struggling with the same visibility issues. Today bulldozers and hand crews are king right now cutting strong fire lines and the plan is to begin some back-burning near Hume and the Hume Basin to burnout fuel that may allow the fire to enter the core Hume zone...

Information I've learned from Joel Schuler and Nathan Pearsey who were at the fire briefing this morning..... Fire *could* reach the Dam today. I will certainly update you as I hear more information from the guys at Hume.

I put together a new map showing todays concerns and fire movement as well as attached the planning map directly from the fire briefing this morning. You'll see from the planning map that there are some impressive hand lines and dozer lines in place - well done crew!

DISCLAIMER: Once again, this is not "official" information but is accurate to the best of my knowledge based on my long history with the area and the information I have from people on the ground at Hume. Additionally, I know the guys up there are so busy they have little time to send updates (nor would I want them to be bothered by that distraction) so what little I can collect that is helpful to share, I will continue to share it as it comes. Right now, official information has mostly died out on the official channels such as inciWeb and other sources, so I'm going to just keep posting here till someone does better or says I have to stop.... but I'm trusting as long as I strive for accuracy and not hype we're good
smile emoticon

Again I would ask that you STOP AND PRAY. Call others to pray! Share this to have people pray! I know our God has got this... Scott Saunders said it so well in his post last night: "This fire is 0% contained by man and 100% contained by God. Although we don't understand, God knows."
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Aug 20, 2015 - 02:43pm PT
Prosecutors say the boy was lighting pine branches on fire July 25 when he lost control of the tiny fire and ignited nearby brush. He yelled for help, and his parents tried to put out the fire before calling 911.

I'm curious how long the parents tried to play fire fighter before they called it in.

Let me get this straight, they throw the kid in juvenile detention where he'll get some lessons on being a criminal, the parents get a slap on the wrist?

Or maybe there's some previous history here.
micronut

Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
Aug 20, 2015 - 03:41pm PT
Headed to Tuolumne for three days...leaving tomorrow to take my kid on our annual "Alpine weekend with Dad." Is it super smoky in Tuolumne proper due to the Walker Fire? Should we consider going elsewhere?

BTW: Thanks for the update Limpingcrab.
phylp

Trad climber
Upland, CA
Aug 20, 2015 - 07:25pm PT
My partner went through Tuolumne yesterday. She said it was very clear. And when she came over last Sunday, when the smoke from the fire eas terrible, it was also clear in thr Meadows.
Stephen McCabe

Trad climber
near Santa Cruz, CA
Aug 21, 2015 - 01:11am PT
Clear at Tioga Pass today. In the afternoon there was more and more smoke apparently from the west as we drove west. Not bad near Lembert, but smokey at Olmstead Point as we drove through around 4pm. Who knows which way the wind blows tomorrow?
The Chief

climber
Lurkerville east of Goldenville
Aug 21, 2015 - 07:50am PT
Went on a 5 day recon road trip to NW Idaho last week. On the way back down to N Bishop, we drove 395 through eastern WA and Oregon. As we approached John Day and Canyon City, I noticed a small puff of smoke coming from the forest just SE of the town. Maybe an acre or two smoldering. As we continued south on 395 along the John Day River, I then saw an HH-1 with a bucket under tow headed back up towards that small smoke we passed behind us. Ten mins later, five Hot Shot Vans and a semi hauling a Dozer went whizzing by headed towards John Day. I told my Wife that I hope they get to it in time cus the entire area was a tinder box and looked as if it hadn't burned in well over a century.

The rest is now history. Appears them Hot Shots and the HH-1 did not get to it in time as that small plume of smoke I saw last Thursday grew to a monster of well over 43K acres in size over a four day period.

http://www.mycentraloregon.com/2015/08/18/canyon-creek-complex-0-percent-contained-nations-top-priority/

Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Aug 21, 2015 - 08:00am PT
Seriously, I am mystified that those clowns masquerading in DC as servants of the people
continue to ignore the pitiful state of wildfire equipment and staffing. Don't they know that
there are scores of DC-10's sitting at Mojave and Victorville ready to be had for pennies on
the dollar and converted into tankers? For the cost of ONE POS F-35, which those retards
seem to think is a wonderful solution to our problems, we could probably have at least
15 DC-10 air tankers!
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Aug 21, 2015 - 08:50am PT
Rough fire burned all the way to the dam at Hume Lake yesterday but it looks like fire lines are holding and temps are cooling. As far as I know the Kings canyon lodge didn't burn but it looks like buck rock lookout could be in trouble. About 33,000 acres now.
guyman

Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
Aug 21, 2015 - 09:41am PT
Rilley..... agree 100%

Limping, thanks for the update.


Chief.... how was NW Idaho???? good fishing I bet.
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