Hey, who started the fire on top of Royal Arches?

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WBraun

climber
Topic Author's Original Post - May 7, 2008 - 09:18pm PT
There's a good fire going right now and getting bigger as the night flies.

It's right on top of the Royal Arches finish.

Who bivied up there last night?
Russ Walling

Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
May 7, 2008 - 09:18pm PT
Some rap bolters
Chicken Skinner

Trad climber
Yosemite
May 7, 2008 - 09:25pm PT
Hey Werner,

I noticed it today around 4:00 and called dispatch. They said there was a fire crew going up tomorrow morning. I mentioned it was pretty windy and that it had reached the summit above the spring.

Someone must have had a long day yesterday or there was a barbecue we missed.

Ken
WBraun

climber
Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2008 - 09:28pm PT
The fire is going pretty good right now Ken.

Yosemite fire speculates it was climbers for sure.
khanom

Trad climber
car part hell
May 7, 2008 - 09:30pm PT
Fvck. That is so lame.

In theory you should be able to track down the perpetrators by watching the descents? Or is it too late.. it started last night or this morning?

It may have been an accident, but damn...
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
May 7, 2008 - 09:37pm PT
"speculates it was climbers for sure."


call it what it is. no lightning up there was there?
scooter

climber
fist clamp
May 7, 2008 - 09:43pm PT
I live in Fish Camp. There was lighting here the last few days.

Patrick
TomLambert

Social climber
Yosemite, CA
May 7, 2008 - 09:46pm PT
I took a bunch of pictures of it. It has since fallen down and looks to be burning that brushy area on the lower pitches. For a while it was really going both at the top and at the bottom, with trails of embers falling down.

BTW - there was lots of lightning in Yosemite West too, but AFAIK there were just a few sprinkles and no lightning up toward the Valley. Also, it is *right* where the RA route ends.

We'll see if this works. I think my gallery software might block hotlinking. Anyway, there should be two pics here:





For more pics, and bigger versions:
http://yosemiteexplorer.com/albums/v/pow/royalarchesfire/

[edit]Hey! it worked! First time I've tried to show a photo[/edit]
[second edit]Okay, it didn't work. It just looked that way because they're in my browser cache. I would have to upload them here to get the pictures to work and I don't know how to do that[/edit]
Tarbuster

climber
right here, right now
May 7, 2008 - 09:47pm PT
I am going to write a bunch of wordy analysis about this, interspersed with lots of speculation, and with a good heap of punctuation.
'Should be back here in about an hour...
Russ Walling

Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
May 7, 2008 - 09:49pm PT
um Tom.. It did not work over here. Maybe you are just seeing your images in your cache. I see no pics.
TomLambert

Social climber
Yosemite, CA
May 7, 2008 - 09:55pm PT
Sorry - I think my gallery software is blocking it. It looked okay to me and then my wife said she couldn't see it. I think I only saw the pic because they are in the browser cache.

The link should work though.

Is there a way to upload pics instead of just linking?
WBraun

climber
Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2008 - 09:58pm PT
I see the photos, they showed up in this thread.

I didn't see no lightning in the past 2 days here.
Chicken Skinner

Trad climber
Yosemite
May 7, 2008 - 09:58pm PT
Werner,

I am not surprised that is the consensus. Seems to me it would take a really big fire to burn to the top of the last pitch and a much smaller one to have something roll off and catch on the ledge with the spring.There was lightning recently.

Ken

WBraun

climber
Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2008 - 10:00pm PT
When was the lightning?

Yesterday?
TomLambert

Social climber
Yosemite, CA
May 7, 2008 - 10:04pm PT
Ken, sorry my pics aren't showing, but follow the link - the whole ledge with the spring is burning and stuff is rolling off that and down the slabs. Kind of cool really - I'm too young to have seen the Glacier Point Firefall.

It looks like things started high with a small fire that's still pretty small, rolled down onto the ledge with the spring where it really took off, and then rolled down all the way almost to the base where it looks it also took off pretty good for a while.

If you go to the gallery, I have pics from 2pm and then another set from 8pm that show the evolution pretty well.

Werner, the lightning was on Sunday. A pretty good storm rolled through the high country. I wasn't in the Valley, but folks who were say there was little to no lightning there.
Russ Walling

Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
May 7, 2008 - 10:07pm PT
Tom: If you use an absolute link it will work: Click on the image in the gallery... Select "Open the image in a new window", window will open outside the gallery, and use that URL. At least on a Mac....

k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
May 7, 2008 - 10:10pm PT
I thought the firefall was on the other side of the valley.
TomLambert

Social climber
Yosemite, CA
May 7, 2008 - 10:13pm PT
Yes, the firefall was from Glaicer Point

Russ, I did use absolute links (I've built lots of web sites, I know how it should be done). And your image is broken in my browser too!

Just follow the link I gave - that works for sure.

Meanwhile, Theresa is trying to post them on her blog and we'll see if the links from there work.
jghedge

climber
May 7, 2008 - 10:13pm PT
I stood and watched from the back dock of the Ahwahnee one day mid-80's, a black waterfall cascading down Royal Arches after a summer storm like a biblical portent of doom, it was the ashes from a fire in the same place as the ones in those pictures, got pictures of it too
WBraun

climber
Topic Author's Reply - May 7, 2008 - 10:18pm PT
So today's is Wednesday and the fire started today.

Where did this so called lightning that started this fire come from? There hasn't been any lightning for 3 days up till today.
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