After another five hours of active research at the extension office yesterday, I stopped by the UA-S admissions office to make an appointment with a counselor for tomorrow but instead was seen right away. Two hours later I walked out with all the application forms for a Master's Degree and a potential work contract. I have a lot of work to do now if I want to be employed by late August. I can't believe it's finally happening. I'm going to be a high school teacher!
Rains are on hold this week which is fine with me as the flora is getting yellow from overwatering. The grass is coming up in sections but hopefully by Labor Day it will look much greener than it does now. More grass means less mud the dogs drag in through the back door.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Desert Rains
We have had daily deluges lately and I don't mind. My experiment with Bermuda grass is coming along fine, although the grass grows in patches with sandy bald spots all over the yard. In a year the spots will grow over, I hope.
I took the dogs out for a much-needed walk at 6:30pm tonight, after the rains subsided. They were restless as we didn't walk yesterday. The cumulus storm clouds were laying low over the mountains. What a ghostly view that was.
The grass around us is turning green again. What a nice view that is, compared to earlier this spring when the dead grasses around me scared me about the wildfires. We escaped them this year.
Now there's Hurricane Dolly that is expected to hit Brownsville tomorrow. Floodings are expected and I can only visualize the street trash flooting everywhere. The Mexicans along the Gulf Coast need the rain and we are expected to get the after-effects by this weekend. That means more rain! And another storm off the PAcific, Hurricane Fausto, may also bring in moisture. When was the last time Arizona had such a wet July?
I have lots to do still while Kevin is gone this week. I have to start paperwork on my certification classes. That dream is finally, slwoly, coming to fruition!
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/23/news/doc4886dc063f69f694731905.txt
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/22/news/doc48866972409bc166211364.txt
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/county_88552___article.html/officials_levees.html
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/hurricane_88547___article.html/warning_texas.html http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/hurricane_88574___article.html/power_county.html
I took the dogs out for a much-needed walk at 6:30pm tonight, after the rains subsided. They were restless as we didn't walk yesterday. The cumulus storm clouds were laying low over the mountains. What a ghostly view that was.
The grass around us is turning green again. What a nice view that is, compared to earlier this spring when the dead grasses around me scared me about the wildfires. We escaped them this year.
Now there's Hurricane Dolly that is expected to hit Brownsville tomorrow. Floodings are expected and I can only visualize the street trash flooting everywhere. The Mexicans along the Gulf Coast need the rain and we are expected to get the after-effects by this weekend. That means more rain! And another storm off the PAcific, Hurricane Fausto, may also bring in moisture. When was the last time Arizona had such a wet July?
I have lots to do still while Kevin is gone this week. I have to start paperwork on my certification classes. That dream is finally, slwoly, coming to fruition!
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/23/news/doc4886dc063f69f694731905.txt
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/22/news/doc48866972409bc166211364.txt
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/county_88552___article.html/officials_levees.html
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/hurricane_88547___article.html/warning_texas.html http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/hurricane_88574___article.html/power_county.html
Monday, July 21, 2008
Heavy rains over the weekend
According to KVOA last night, we are already 0.9" above the average rainfall for July. We also have below-normal temperatures, which I don't mind.
Minimal storm damage reported
Heavy rainfall amplifies San Pedro River flow
By Bill Hess, Shar Porier and Lynanne GelinasHerald/Review
Published on Monday, July 21, 2008
SIERRA VISTA — Most areas of Cochise County made it through the stormy weekend without mishap.High Knoll Road, the site of road-washout flood last year, was passable for the most part with just a few areas of slick mud.
A sink hole opened on Isla Bonita, near Kachina Trail, and Sierra Vista Public Works have blocked the impassible road, according to Sierra Vista police Officer Glenn Hellig. There were no reports of rescues of stranded or trapped motorists, he added.
A flash flood warning was in effect in areas of south central Cochise County through Sunday night.
Carol Capas, public information officer with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, said a number of roads were closed down Saturday night after the storm but were reopened on Sunday. However, with the heavy rains predicted again for Sunday evening, things could be change.
“The good news is we had no accidents or rescues,” she added.In Tucson, however, it was a different story. One man was missing after his car that was stuck in a wash was swept away by rushing water.
Roy Harris, 28, was swept away just before midnight Saturday and was still missing Sunday evening, Tucson police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said.
Dozens of rescuers on foot, in the water and in helicopters searched for Harris through Sunday. They were to resume the search today, focusing on the Santa Cruz River, Pacheco said.
Heavy rains Saturday and Sunday caused fast-moving and high water to be registered at three gauges along the San Pedro, the last free-flowing river in Arizona. According to gauges in Palominas, Charleston and one slightly north of the Charleston, flows ranged from a low of 350 cubic feet per second to a high of 2,000 cfs with the river’s height ranging from slightly more than 3 to 7 feet.
When measuring, a cfs, that means 7.5 gallons of water per second flows past a fixed point. Following is the breakdown for amounts registered at the three gauges, with the highs for Sunday and Saturday.
• At Palominas, the highest cfs was registered on Saturday when it reached 300, with the river’s height at that on that day measuring 4 and a half feet. On Sunday the statistics were 100 cfs and 3 feet high.
• At Charleston, the largest amount of measurement on Sunday when 2,000 cfs was measured, with the river reaching 7 feet on that day. On Saturday, the highest amount of water passing a fixed point was about 400 cfs with the river height slightly more than 3 feet.
• For the gauge called Near Tombstone, which is north of the Charleston gauge near Highway 82, the most water flowing past the measuring device happened early Sunday morning when it reached about 1,250 cfs, and when the river was 6 feet high at that point.
Saturday’s highest flow measurement, was before midnight when it reached approximately 150 cfs with the river about 4 feet high at that time.When it comes to water flowing past the gauges, it takes time from when rain starts until much of it reaches the river to be measured.
According to rainlog.org, which reports rainfall throughout the state with the help of online volunteers who are equipped with rain gauges, the amount of rain that fell Saturday in Cochise County ranged from a low of 0.26 inches near Whetstone to a high of 2.22 inches near Tombstone.
The Sierra Vista area saw rainfall amounts from 0.5 inches to 2.1 inches. Sierra Vista Fire Department Station No. 1, the city’s official rain measurement point for the National Weather Service, recorded almost one inch of rain during the 24-hour period ending 6 p.m. Sunday.
Over the past seven days the station recorded 1.57 inches of rain.No major problems were noted on Fort Huachuca, which saw about 2 inches of rain fall Saturday night, according to post spokeswoman Tanja Linton.
The chance of precipitation each day through the end of the week is about 30 to 40 percent, according to the National Weather Service.
Across the state, a wet monsoon has lowered the risk for fires. Mid-July is typically the peak time for wildfires in the state. But officials say storms and the humidity have minimized the fire risk.Earlier this month, the state’s six national forests lifted all campfire and smoking restrictions. The Coronado National Forest is at the lowest fire danger level, according to the National Forest Service’s Web site.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/21/news/doc4884481ec75f3148918376.txt
Minimal storm damage reported
Heavy rainfall amplifies San Pedro River flow
By Bill Hess, Shar Porier and Lynanne GelinasHerald/Review
Published on Monday, July 21, 2008
SIERRA VISTA — Most areas of Cochise County made it through the stormy weekend without mishap.High Knoll Road, the site of road-washout flood last year, was passable for the most part with just a few areas of slick mud.
A sink hole opened on Isla Bonita, near Kachina Trail, and Sierra Vista Public Works have blocked the impassible road, according to Sierra Vista police Officer Glenn Hellig. There were no reports of rescues of stranded or trapped motorists, he added.
A flash flood warning was in effect in areas of south central Cochise County through Sunday night.
Carol Capas, public information officer with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, said a number of roads were closed down Saturday night after the storm but were reopened on Sunday. However, with the heavy rains predicted again for Sunday evening, things could be change.
“The good news is we had no accidents or rescues,” she added.In Tucson, however, it was a different story. One man was missing after his car that was stuck in a wash was swept away by rushing water.
Roy Harris, 28, was swept away just before midnight Saturday and was still missing Sunday evening, Tucson police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said.
Dozens of rescuers on foot, in the water and in helicopters searched for Harris through Sunday. They were to resume the search today, focusing on the Santa Cruz River, Pacheco said.
Heavy rains Saturday and Sunday caused fast-moving and high water to be registered at three gauges along the San Pedro, the last free-flowing river in Arizona. According to gauges in Palominas, Charleston and one slightly north of the Charleston, flows ranged from a low of 350 cubic feet per second to a high of 2,000 cfs with the river’s height ranging from slightly more than 3 to 7 feet.
When measuring, a cfs, that means 7.5 gallons of water per second flows past a fixed point. Following is the breakdown for amounts registered at the three gauges, with the highs for Sunday and Saturday.
• At Palominas, the highest cfs was registered on Saturday when it reached 300, with the river’s height at that on that day measuring 4 and a half feet. On Sunday the statistics were 100 cfs and 3 feet high.
• At Charleston, the largest amount of measurement on Sunday when 2,000 cfs was measured, with the river reaching 7 feet on that day. On Saturday, the highest amount of water passing a fixed point was about 400 cfs with the river height slightly more than 3 feet.
• For the gauge called Near Tombstone, which is north of the Charleston gauge near Highway 82, the most water flowing past the measuring device happened early Sunday morning when it reached about 1,250 cfs, and when the river was 6 feet high at that point.
Saturday’s highest flow measurement, was before midnight when it reached approximately 150 cfs with the river about 4 feet high at that time.When it comes to water flowing past the gauges, it takes time from when rain starts until much of it reaches the river to be measured.
According to rainlog.org, which reports rainfall throughout the state with the help of online volunteers who are equipped with rain gauges, the amount of rain that fell Saturday in Cochise County ranged from a low of 0.26 inches near Whetstone to a high of 2.22 inches near Tombstone.
The Sierra Vista area saw rainfall amounts from 0.5 inches to 2.1 inches. Sierra Vista Fire Department Station No. 1, the city’s official rain measurement point for the National Weather Service, recorded almost one inch of rain during the 24-hour period ending 6 p.m. Sunday.
Over the past seven days the station recorded 1.57 inches of rain.No major problems were noted on Fort Huachuca, which saw about 2 inches of rain fall Saturday night, according to post spokeswoman Tanja Linton.
The chance of precipitation each day through the end of the week is about 30 to 40 percent, according to the National Weather Service.
Across the state, a wet monsoon has lowered the risk for fires. Mid-July is typically the peak time for wildfires in the state. But officials say storms and the humidity have minimized the fire risk.Earlier this month, the state’s six national forests lifted all campfire and smoking restrictions. The Coronado National Forest is at the lowest fire danger level, according to the National Forest Service’s Web site.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/07/21/news/doc4884481ec75f3148918376.txt
Kevin is gone this week
(And so are Chico and Mo,escapees from the garage)
I worked at the Extension Office for seven hours today, answering all kinds of questions from local gardeners, from peach problems to grey water harming fruit trees, sick cukes and various blights on local pines. I was busy! I didn't leave one question unanswered.
A heavy storm blew overhead in town, but when I got home at 5:30pm the ground there was dry, and no water was in my rain harvest containers.
I ate a chicken pot pie and had two beers and frumped the rest of the evening. I miss Chico and Mo and doubt I'll ever see them again. Mo looked so forlorn the last two days without his dad and probably darted outside when Kevin opened the garage door this morning. He knows the dangers of the cats possibly getting attacked by coyotes, owls or hawks here, but he has always said "They are just cats!"
To me they were my long-time pets.
I am grieving.
I worked at the Extension Office for seven hours today, answering all kinds of questions from local gardeners, from peach problems to grey water harming fruit trees, sick cukes and various blights on local pines. I was busy! I didn't leave one question unanswered.
A heavy storm blew overhead in town, but when I got home at 5:30pm the ground there was dry, and no water was in my rain harvest containers.
I ate a chicken pot pie and had two beers and frumped the rest of the evening. I miss Chico and Mo and doubt I'll ever see them again. Mo looked so forlorn the last two days without his dad and probably darted outside when Kevin opened the garage door this morning. He knows the dangers of the cats possibly getting attacked by coyotes, owls or hawks here, but he has always said "They are just cats!"
To me they were my long-time pets.
I am grieving.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Chico is missing
My 11-yer-old Siamese hasn't been seen in two days. I last saw him shortly before Kevin opened the garage door to carry groceries in on Friday. I have always feared the cats running outside through an open garage door. We've lost a few cats this way in the desert, most recently our beloved Arthur.
But now Chico? I saw two tufts of his fur in the front yard, near the green chair I use to gaze at the mountains. There was no blood. He's been gone before for a few days, but this time I'm concerned. Poor Mo's been alone in the garage sulking, just sleeping away.
Chico and I go way back, to my days in California. He's gone through a lot, traveling from CA to NJ and now AZ. I hope it hasn't been a horned owl or a coyote that took him from me.
Kevin doesn't mind. He's not much of a cat person, but I'm hurting inside.
But now Chico? I saw two tufts of his fur in the front yard, near the green chair I use to gaze at the mountains. There was no blood. He's been gone before for a few days, but this time I'm concerned. Poor Mo's been alone in the garage sulking, just sleeping away.
Chico and I go way back, to my days in California. He's gone through a lot, traveling from CA to NJ and now AZ. I hope it hasn't been a horned owl or a coyote that took him from me.
Kevin doesn't mind. He's not much of a cat person, but I'm hurting inside.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I joined another club today...
This time the Sierra Vista Area Gardening Club. There were several Master Gardeners there I've gotten to know over the last few months: De, Deke and Donna, all who are very passionate about growing things. This should be a helpful club to learn more about gardening, and to share the passion with Kevin.
(Our corn is just days away from harvesting!!!)
This club meets once a month, every third Thursday, from 1-4pm.
On another note, Sadie starts her "preschool" on 24 July: Puppy Obedience School. She's integrated so well with the other two dogs, watching the "pack," all three of them, is a joy. Sara remains the pack's matriarch and Sammy is the pack clown.
Even Kitten Vinnie is slowly accepting the dogs near her.
(Our corn is just days away from harvesting!!!)
This club meets once a month, every third Thursday, from 1-4pm.
On another note, Sadie starts her "preschool" on 24 July: Puppy Obedience School. She's integrated so well with the other two dogs, watching the "pack," all three of them, is a joy. Sara remains the pack's matriarch and Sammy is the pack clown.
Even Kitten Vinnie is slowly accepting the dogs near her.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Digging in Dirt
We spent another three-day weekend at home building our garden. I am so stoked that Kevin's gotten into this hobby, he's even buying stuff for the beds!
He really worked for his beer this weekend, digging a 4x14' bed two feet deep. I started sowing some vegetables today after the rain.
The rains are beautiful, too, cooling the day down and making outdoor work more fun. The dogs are having fun, too.
We are not done, yet. We have another bed planned, near the Indian garden, that will be for fall planting. Red and green cabbage, beets, carrots...yum! I'm actually looking forward to the cooler temps!
I had an interesting experience at Sutherland's yesterday. I met a man named Cobb who also lives out in the country. We started talking near the fertilizer section, and I asked him for the virtues of ammonium Phosphate. That got him started telling me about his life and his grandson and how he came to be. An interesting story I'll fill in another time.
And then there was a rude redneck at WalMart later that same day...she made me embarrassed for shopping at WalMart.
He really worked for his beer this weekend, digging a 4x14' bed two feet deep. I started sowing some vegetables today after the rain.
The rains are beautiful, too, cooling the day down and making outdoor work more fun. The dogs are having fun, too.
We are not done, yet. We have another bed planned, near the Indian garden, that will be for fall planting. Red and green cabbage, beets, carrots...yum! I'm actually looking forward to the cooler temps!
I had an interesting experience at Sutherland's yesterday. I met a man named Cobb who also lives out in the country. We started talking near the fertilizer section, and I asked him for the virtues of ammonium Phosphate. That got him started telling me about his life and his grandson and how he came to be. An interesting story I'll fill in another time.
And then there was a rude redneck at WalMart later that same day...she made me embarrassed for shopping at WalMart.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Our first soaking
Looking outside is actually so soothing, with the soaking rains and now the puddles in our backyard forming. I haven't seen that here in three years!
It hasn't even hit 70F outside. I like this. I want to see all the shrubs that had been suffering from drought get a good drink the next few days.
It hasn't even hit 70F outside. I like this. I want to see all the shrubs that had been suffering from drought get a good drink the next few days.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Full-blown monsoon
The weather guys have been talking about a "full-blown" monsoon for a week now and it looks like it's finally here. Yesterday we only had 78F as our high and although that was 15 degrees below normal, I loved the cooler temps.
This morning it drizzled and it's still drizzling, with an overcast sky that promises to bring more precipitation.
This is perfect gardening weather, although there's not much more I can do to coax the vegetables to grow. We are getting daily harvests of beans and peas.
I picked up a grey kitten this morning from Bisbee. I saw her advertised on Petfinder.com. The ad said the kitten was a boy but my experience tells me it's a girl and a very frisky girl. So far the dogs seem disinterested but I am watching Sara...she snapped at the crate while driving home. Sadie just wants to play.
I hope this kitten, "Vinnie," stays with us for many, many years. She's about three months old (not as old as the ad said, either). She's VERY frisky and I love that about her. After she gets used to her new home I hope she feels part of the animal kingdom here in town.
This morning it drizzled and it's still drizzling, with an overcast sky that promises to bring more precipitation.
This is perfect gardening weather, although there's not much more I can do to coax the vegetables to grow. We are getting daily harvests of beans and peas.
I picked up a grey kitten this morning from Bisbee. I saw her advertised on Petfinder.com. The ad said the kitten was a boy but my experience tells me it's a girl and a very frisky girl. So far the dogs seem disinterested but I am watching Sara...she snapped at the crate while driving home. Sadie just wants to play.
I hope this kitten, "Vinnie," stays with us for many, many years. She's about three months old (not as old as the ad said, either). She's VERY frisky and I love that about her. After she gets used to her new home I hope she feels part of the animal kingdom here in town.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Brothers set backfire to save their own home
I thought this was an interesting story. Although they disobeyed orders, the men saved their homes the firefighters couldn't (or wouldn't) save themselves. No one was injured, thank goodness and I hope all charges are dropped. (Since this has gotten national attention, I'm sure charges will be dropped) One of the brothers has fire-fighting experience, so it's not like the officials were dealing with two complete dopes.
I'm not sure I could stand back and watch my house burn. Is saving a multi-million dollar business like the Ventana Inn more important than someone's home? It sounds like the officials are more embarrassed than anything that these two men were able to hold off the fire around their property without help from the firefighters.
The firefighters in Big Sur are facing an unbelievable task and my hat goes off to them. (Over 19,000 firefighters from 41 states are now in Big Sur helping to extinguish California's largest wildfire, according to NBC News). But in this case I hope the judge is understanding of these mens' actions because they didn't act in malice and were adept at what they did. There are more important things to worry about than two men setting a backfire that ended well.
__
From the Los Angeles Times
Brothers' backfire saves family compound in Big Sur
The controlled burn kept the Basin Complex blaze from destroying homes on their 55 acres on Apple Pie Ridge. But what some see as a heroic act landed one man in jail.
By Eric Bailey and Deborah Schoch
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 7, 2008
BIG SUR — As flames swirled toward their family homestead, the Curtis brothers figured they'd get no help and had no choice: The only way to hold on to their 55-acre compound would be to fight fire with fire.In the end, the controlled burn they set helped save the homes on their beloved Apple Pie Ridge -- but not without major consequences.
Outraged authorities arrested Ross Curtis, 48, on Friday on suspicion of illegally setting a backfire after disobeying official orders to stop.His older brother, Micah, remains in Big Sur but is acting like a wanted man, dodging sheriff's deputies when he descends from the homestead to Highway 1.
"I understand what's going on. They don't want a bunch of idiots setting off fires that could do more harm than good," Micah Curtis, a 57-year-old artist, said as he walked the scene of the crime Saturday. "But we saved our homes. I'm not asking them to condone it, but they've got to understand it."
As fires approach, homeowners often take up garden hoses to face down flames. But for them to light backfires is rare, authorities say -- and they'd like it to stay that way.
Cliff Williams, the law enforcement official with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who arrested Ross Curtis, said fire crews went to the ridge several times and ordered a stop. Instead, the brothers kept up their rebel battle.
"Mr. Curtis over a period of three days decided he wanted to fight the fire his way," Williams said. "So he started setting backfires."And that tricky firefighting technique, Williams said, is best left to professionals backed up by full crews and fire engines. Such fires can blow out of control, he said, burning other houses or inadvertently trapping people.
The brothers, who live with relatives and several tenants in a terraced collection of artsy, redwood-sided homes, including one fashioned from an old water tank, say they knew there were risks but believed there was too much at stake not to take action.
They have plenty of land but are hardly wealthy. Ross Curtis is an electrical contractor. Micah Curtis sculpts steel. Income from the rental homes pays for the care of their elderly mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. They weren't only fighting for themselves, Micah said, they were defending Mom and Apple Pie Ridge.
The family has owned the 55 acres since the early 1960s, when patriarch Jack Curtis -- a Hollywood television writer, with "Gunsmoke" and "The Rifleman" among his credits -- traded up from a smaller place down the mountainside to this property that straddles a redwood-carpeted ridge 1,000 feet above Big Sur River.
Over the years, the Curtises have improved the various buildings. They planted a 200-tree avocado orchard, carved out the terraced gardens, laid out a funky spread of concrete ponds with lily pads, and carefully pruned rosebushes and ornamental shrubs.
The brothers took over stewardship of the property after their father died six years ago."Dad was the Duke of Apple Pie," Micah said. "I guess that makes me the Earl."
In the last 25 years, they have fought back flames twice before, he said. He learned how as a seasonal firefighter while in college.But the Basin Complex fire, raging for the last two weeks, has been the worst test yet.
It started when a volley of crackling bolts from a lightning storm sent flames roaring.The Curtis brothers watched with the rest of Monterey County -- and began to prepare for the worst at the first signs of nearby smoke.With their tenants, friends and relatives stepping up to help, they used chain saws, hoes and shovels to clear fire breaks around the buildings, hauling away at least 150 pickup-truck loads of vegetation, Micah Curtis said.
On Thursday, the situation got particularly dicey as the fire picked up strength and bore down on their retreat, a five-minute drive up a twisting dirt road from Big Sur village.Their small team of amateurs toiled into the night, trying to beat back flames by pumping water from the swimming pool with makeshift fire hoses.
As the fire closed in on three sides, Micah Curtis said, they used a flare to set controlled burns no more than a dozen feet from the blaze. That not only steered it away from their houses, he said, but also created a broader line of defense, which helped state and federal fire crews protect the village below. Giving a tour of the property over the weekend, Micah Curtis bumped into a state fire captain doing mop-up work with an inmate crew.
The captain, who asked not to be identified because of the controversy, praised the work of the amateurs of Apple Pie Ridge."I'll tell you what," the captain told him, "you guys did a good job of holding it."Praise also came from other professionals."Awesome," a U.S. Forest Service crew leader said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You did an awful lot of work up here."
Walking his property Saturday, Micah Curtis, still in a silver hard hat and a yellow fire suit smudged by soot and dirt, pointed just down the ridge to a neighbor's home, now only a smoldering pile of debris.As flames encroached, he said, he feared that the fire would circle below his family's homestead and "come racing up at us through a thousand feet of dry brush."As for the backfires, he said, "I was the one who OKd the idea. So the buck stops with me."
His younger brother, however, took the fall.They were at work on the backfires when fire officials spied them from the other side of the Big Sur River gorge, Micah Curtis said. When officers arrived on the scene, Ross Curtis turned himself in as the culprit so the others could keep working.
Micah Curtis still believes that he and his brother should be receiving thanks, not condemnation, from the authorities. After all, he said, firefighters didn't volunteer to do the job for them."They have some computer program that says our place is undefendable," he said. "But their idea of defendable space is something as flat as Nebraska. This is no more dangerous than some sketchy part of L.A., and that doesn't keep the police from going into a rough neighborhood."
Ross Curtis, however, sounds more contrite. Maybe it's the experience of having been behind bars, even if he was bailed out after only a few hours.He is scheduled to be arraigned July 15 on two misdemeanor counts. In the meantime, he can't get through the police blockade set up after evacuation orders. So he's staying in a trailer near Monterey Bay, lent to him by his wife's father, a Baptist preacher.
Without their two weeks of toil, Ross Curtis believes, the family's ridge-top homes would have been destroyed. He said he doesn't think he's guilty of anything more than protecting land he cherishes. Still, he understands why fire officials are irate.They explained it to him, he said, during his brief stay in jail.
An unauthorized backfire, they said, can catch a team of firefighters unaware and perhaps put those crews in danger. Kill a firefighter, they told him, and you go to prison for life."Their concern was for their firefighters, and to them, we were a bunch of renegades or something," Ross Curtis said. "All it takes is one gust of wind at the wrong time and it can go sideways on you."And that, he said, "can be the difference between a good day and a bad day."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-backfire7-2008jul07,0,3314737.story?page=1
I'm not sure I could stand back and watch my house burn. Is saving a multi-million dollar business like the Ventana Inn more important than someone's home? It sounds like the officials are more embarrassed than anything that these two men were able to hold off the fire around their property without help from the firefighters.
The firefighters in Big Sur are facing an unbelievable task and my hat goes off to them. (Over 19,000 firefighters from 41 states are now in Big Sur helping to extinguish California's largest wildfire, according to NBC News). But in this case I hope the judge is understanding of these mens' actions because they didn't act in malice and were adept at what they did. There are more important things to worry about than two men setting a backfire that ended well.
__
From the Los Angeles Times
Brothers' backfire saves family compound in Big Sur
The controlled burn kept the Basin Complex blaze from destroying homes on their 55 acres on Apple Pie Ridge. But what some see as a heroic act landed one man in jail.
By Eric Bailey and Deborah Schoch
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 7, 2008
BIG SUR — As flames swirled toward their family homestead, the Curtis brothers figured they'd get no help and had no choice: The only way to hold on to their 55-acre compound would be to fight fire with fire.In the end, the controlled burn they set helped save the homes on their beloved Apple Pie Ridge -- but not without major consequences.
Outraged authorities arrested Ross Curtis, 48, on Friday on suspicion of illegally setting a backfire after disobeying official orders to stop.His older brother, Micah, remains in Big Sur but is acting like a wanted man, dodging sheriff's deputies when he descends from the homestead to Highway 1.
"I understand what's going on. They don't want a bunch of idiots setting off fires that could do more harm than good," Micah Curtis, a 57-year-old artist, said as he walked the scene of the crime Saturday. "But we saved our homes. I'm not asking them to condone it, but they've got to understand it."
As fires approach, homeowners often take up garden hoses to face down flames. But for them to light backfires is rare, authorities say -- and they'd like it to stay that way.
Cliff Williams, the law enforcement official with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who arrested Ross Curtis, said fire crews went to the ridge several times and ordered a stop. Instead, the brothers kept up their rebel battle.
"Mr. Curtis over a period of three days decided he wanted to fight the fire his way," Williams said. "So he started setting backfires."And that tricky firefighting technique, Williams said, is best left to professionals backed up by full crews and fire engines. Such fires can blow out of control, he said, burning other houses or inadvertently trapping people.
The brothers, who live with relatives and several tenants in a terraced collection of artsy, redwood-sided homes, including one fashioned from an old water tank, say they knew there were risks but believed there was too much at stake not to take action.
They have plenty of land but are hardly wealthy. Ross Curtis is an electrical contractor. Micah Curtis sculpts steel. Income from the rental homes pays for the care of their elderly mother, who has Alzheimer's disease. They weren't only fighting for themselves, Micah said, they were defending Mom and Apple Pie Ridge.
The family has owned the 55 acres since the early 1960s, when patriarch Jack Curtis -- a Hollywood television writer, with "Gunsmoke" and "The Rifleman" among his credits -- traded up from a smaller place down the mountainside to this property that straddles a redwood-carpeted ridge 1,000 feet above Big Sur River.
Over the years, the Curtises have improved the various buildings. They planted a 200-tree avocado orchard, carved out the terraced gardens, laid out a funky spread of concrete ponds with lily pads, and carefully pruned rosebushes and ornamental shrubs.
The brothers took over stewardship of the property after their father died six years ago."Dad was the Duke of Apple Pie," Micah said. "I guess that makes me the Earl."
In the last 25 years, they have fought back flames twice before, he said. He learned how as a seasonal firefighter while in college.But the Basin Complex fire, raging for the last two weeks, has been the worst test yet.
It started when a volley of crackling bolts from a lightning storm sent flames roaring.The Curtis brothers watched with the rest of Monterey County -- and began to prepare for the worst at the first signs of nearby smoke.With their tenants, friends and relatives stepping up to help, they used chain saws, hoes and shovels to clear fire breaks around the buildings, hauling away at least 150 pickup-truck loads of vegetation, Micah Curtis said.
On Thursday, the situation got particularly dicey as the fire picked up strength and bore down on their retreat, a five-minute drive up a twisting dirt road from Big Sur village.Their small team of amateurs toiled into the night, trying to beat back flames by pumping water from the swimming pool with makeshift fire hoses.
As the fire closed in on three sides, Micah Curtis said, they used a flare to set controlled burns no more than a dozen feet from the blaze. That not only steered it away from their houses, he said, but also created a broader line of defense, which helped state and federal fire crews protect the village below. Giving a tour of the property over the weekend, Micah Curtis bumped into a state fire captain doing mop-up work with an inmate crew.
The captain, who asked not to be identified because of the controversy, praised the work of the amateurs of Apple Pie Ridge."I'll tell you what," the captain told him, "you guys did a good job of holding it."Praise also came from other professionals."Awesome," a U.S. Forest Service crew leader said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You did an awful lot of work up here."
Walking his property Saturday, Micah Curtis, still in a silver hard hat and a yellow fire suit smudged by soot and dirt, pointed just down the ridge to a neighbor's home, now only a smoldering pile of debris.As flames encroached, he said, he feared that the fire would circle below his family's homestead and "come racing up at us through a thousand feet of dry brush."As for the backfires, he said, "I was the one who OKd the idea. So the buck stops with me."
His younger brother, however, took the fall.They were at work on the backfires when fire officials spied them from the other side of the Big Sur River gorge, Micah Curtis said. When officers arrived on the scene, Ross Curtis turned himself in as the culprit so the others could keep working.
Micah Curtis still believes that he and his brother should be receiving thanks, not condemnation, from the authorities. After all, he said, firefighters didn't volunteer to do the job for them."They have some computer program that says our place is undefendable," he said. "But their idea of defendable space is something as flat as Nebraska. This is no more dangerous than some sketchy part of L.A., and that doesn't keep the police from going into a rough neighborhood."
Ross Curtis, however, sounds more contrite. Maybe it's the experience of having been behind bars, even if he was bailed out after only a few hours.He is scheduled to be arraigned July 15 on two misdemeanor counts. In the meantime, he can't get through the police blockade set up after evacuation orders. So he's staying in a trailer near Monterey Bay, lent to him by his wife's father, a Baptist preacher.
Without their two weeks of toil, Ross Curtis believes, the family's ridge-top homes would have been destroyed. He said he doesn't think he's guilty of anything more than protecting land he cherishes. Still, he understands why fire officials are irate.They explained it to him, he said, during his brief stay in jail.
An unauthorized backfire, they said, can catch a team of firefighters unaware and perhaps put those crews in danger. Kill a firefighter, they told him, and you go to prison for life."Their concern was for their firefighters, and to them, we were a bunch of renegades or something," Ross Curtis said. "All it takes is one gust of wind at the wrong time and it can go sideways on you."And that, he said, "can be the difference between a good day and a bad day."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-backfire7-2008jul07,0,3314737.story?page=1
We didn't go anywhere all weekend
We didn't even drive into town on the 4th to watch the fireworks, which turned out to be the 3rd largest in the state.
Instead, we stayed at home and doubled our garden. Kevin's really getting into harvesting the beans and tomatoes and goes out every afternoon (after work) to count the new vegetables. So, we now have another bed ready to be sowed and a second one in the works. I am so stoked about his enthusiasm!
I ordered red cbbage seeds from Johnny's Select Seeds out of Maine last week and should get them in another week. Red cabbage is my favorite and a hard vegetable here to find. Doesn't anyone here eat red cabbage?! Six packets of several red cabbage varieties, some beets and specialty beans with shipping cost me $34. I hope the purchase was worth it!
We had two strong rains in the last three days. One was late at night on the 6th, and yesterday morning the soil was still very soft we pulled a lot of weeds. We got so much work done.
All we need to do now is tidy up the back yard and we are going to have one impressive garden! I'm already looking forward to the fall vegetables. I want more spinach, beets and cabbage.
Meanwhile the Big Sur fire is still burning hard, torching now over 100 square miles, burning 22 homes and is only 11% contained. A fire north of Santa Barbara that started last week is growing very strong very fast. It's unbelievable how much forest in coastal California is now burned. I wouldn't be able to recognize the hills there anymore...
Instead, we stayed at home and doubled our garden. Kevin's really getting into harvesting the beans and tomatoes and goes out every afternoon (after work) to count the new vegetables. So, we now have another bed ready to be sowed and a second one in the works. I am so stoked about his enthusiasm!
I ordered red cbbage seeds from Johnny's Select Seeds out of Maine last week and should get them in another week. Red cabbage is my favorite and a hard vegetable here to find. Doesn't anyone here eat red cabbage?! Six packets of several red cabbage varieties, some beets and specialty beans with shipping cost me $34. I hope the purchase was worth it!
We had two strong rains in the last three days. One was late at night on the 6th, and yesterday morning the soil was still very soft we pulled a lot of weeds. We got so much work done.
All we need to do now is tidy up the back yard and we are going to have one impressive garden! I'm already looking forward to the fall vegetables. I want more spinach, beets and cabbage.
Meanwhile the Big Sur fire is still burning hard, torching now over 100 square miles, burning 22 homes and is only 11% contained. A fire north of Santa Barbara that started last week is growing very strong very fast. It's unbelievable how much forest in coastal California is now burned. I wouldn't be able to recognize the hills there anymore...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Big Sur Fire worsens
The fire around Big Sur is only 3% contained and keeps on spreading.
Some of the photographs bring back memories of my hikes in Big Sur, although I avoided the resorts and restaurants because of the high prices.
Once the fires have been contained residents will have to worry about land slides during the rainy season. Their misery isn't over yet. Over 64,000 acres have now burned, 10,000 acres today alone.
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2008/2008-Jul-03/basin-complex-fire-update-july-3-6pm--highway-1-closed-south-of-palo-colorado--fire-200-yards-from-ventana-inn/1/@@index
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9690130?source=most_viewed
__________________________
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires3-2008jul03,0,5801558.story
From the Los Angeles Times
New fire threatens Goleta as Big Sur blaze worsens
More evacuations are ordered. Fire crews are stretched thin in California.
By Catherine Saillant and Steve Chawkins
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 3, 2008
GOLETA, CALIF. — Fires raged in both Northern and Southern California on Wednesday, with the stubborn blaze in Big Sur taking a turn for the worse and a new one near Goleta causing widespread power outages and burning within about a mile of neighborhoods.
In Big Sur, the 11-day-old Basin Complex fire jumped a containment line Wednesday morning, forcing more evacuations and shutting down Highway 1 -- the coastal area's principal road -- for about 30 miles. In Goleta, the 1,200-acre Gap fire took out a major Southern California Edison power line, blacking out large areas of the south coast. Authorities there urged residents to curb usage.
The turn of events in Big Sur was a setback for local residents and a number of famed resorts and restaurants that had been in harm's way earlier but reopened in the last few days.
"Up until yesterday, I would have said it's a day-to-day situation," said Kirk Gafill, the general manager of his family's six-decade-old Nepenthe restaurant. "Now, I'd say it's minute to minute, or hour to hour."Despite evacuation orders, about 12 of the 20 employees who live at the Nepenthe colony chose to stay along with Gafill.
Gafill, president of the local chamber of commerce, said most businesses on the rugged 70-mile cliff-side highway had closed. The small community of Big Sur was under evacuation orders.
Workers applied a coating of fire-resistant gel to vulnerable homes and lodges -- including the Ventana Inn and Spa -- as the unpredictable fire raged."It seems to be giving the fire guys conniption fits," said Darby Marshall, a spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. "It's doing things they normally wouldn't expect."
Meanwhile, about 300 firefighters mounted a campaign against the Gap fire in Santa Barbara County, using four helicopters and six air tankers to drop loads of water and chemical retardants. Much of the battle was conducted from the air as firefighters streamed in without a break from fires that have been raging across the state.
"Could we use more resources? Absolutely!" Santa Barbara County Fire Chief John Scherrei said. "But California is stretched thin."About 300 homes sit downhill and downwind from the flames, which were consuming brush that had gone untouched by fire for 54 years.
The blaze was about two miles west of the path of the 1990 Painted Cave fire, which burned 600 structures in 90 minutes."I remember how it jumped the freeway and people just had to scramble," said Christina Djernaes, 39, an attorney who was heading home to pack her valuables just in case. "I don't want that to happen this time."
Celia Breyfogle, 75, and her husband Newell, 78, had already boxed up clothing, pictures and documents by Wednesday morning."It's been a terrible year," Celia Breyfogle said. "The Midwest is getting water, water, water, and we're getting fire, fire, fire. Wish we could all share."
Motorists on U.S. Highway 101 on Wednesday could see fingers of smoke working their way down the mountain about two miles north of the freeway.The blaze started about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday near the Winchester Gun Club, said Capt.
Eli Iskow, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Investigators on Wednesday had not yet pinpointed the cause.About 40 homes in rural Glen Annie and La Patera canyons were evacuated.
An evacuation warning was issued for residents of about 300 homes above Cathedral Oaks Road, between Glen Annie Road and Fairview Avenue.
In Northern California, firefighters continued to battle the numerous lightning-triggered wildfires that have burned more than 440,000 acres.
Statewide, 7,800 homes remain threatened and 31 residences have been destroyed.Big Sur continues to be among the most threatened spots, with 17 homes lost, 1,200 still threatened and about 1,500 people evacuated.
"For the first time in my life, I saw caravans of people in cars packed with their belongings heading out of the evacuation zone," Nepenthe's Gafill said. "What I've seen on the news from many parts of the world was coming back to us."
Officials say they don't expect to have the fire contained until the end of the month at the earliest.As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Highway 1 was closed from Limekiln State Park in the south to Andrew Molera State Park in the north.
"We know a lot of people have remained behind -- that's just the way they live," said Maia Carroll of the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. "But we're worried for them."
In recent days, weather has helped firefighters to control the blaze, which has charred more than 61,000 acres. Fog is expected through the week, and winds from the north continued to push the blaze back on itself, slowing its march toward more populated areas.
The winds also could push the fire deeper into the Ventana Wilderness and toward the remote outpost of Tassajara Hot Springs, where the Buddhist monks of the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center have been preparing for days to fight the flames along with forest service crews.
Although the Basin Complex fire remains less than 5% contained, an even bigger blaze burning to the east in the Los Padres National Forest is expected to be fully controlled by Thursday, fire officials said.In other parts of Northern California, authorities said they were continuing to get the upper hand on more than 100 of the fires ignited by the lightning barrage June 21.
___
Big Sur evacuates as massive wildfire spreads
Jul. 3, 2008 06:12 AM Associated Press
BIG SUR, Calif. - Flames ominously licked the ridge overlooking this scenic coastal community, which appeared nearly abandoned Thursday after an explosive wildfire caused authorities to order more residents out of the area.
New mandatory evacuation notices were issued Wednesday for an additional 16-mile stretch along Highway 1 after the blaze jumped a fire line in the Los Padres National Forest. A total of 31 miles of the coastal highway, lined with homes and businesses, is now closed.
Several hundred evacuees attended a meeting Wednesday evening where officials braced them for a long fire season. The blaze, which already has burned 16 homes and nearly 88 square miles, was only 3 percent contained and wasn't expected to be fully surrounded until the end of the month.
John Friel, 62, who had been living with his kitten in his car for the past three days after being forced to leave his mobile home, was disappointed by the news.
"I've had six strokes this year and a heart attack. I'm feeling pretty scattered," said the retiree, who moved to Big Sur three years ago. "It was like putting a Rubik's Cube back together before, so this ain't helping. It just notches up the stress level."
The blaze near Big Sur was one of more than 1,700 wildfires - most ignited by lightning - that have scorched more than 770 square miles and destroyed 64 structures across northern and central California since June 20, according to state officials.
Mild temperatures and light winds did little to calm the inferno near Big Sur, which officials described as fuel-driven rather than wind-driven. A statewide drought has created tinder-like trees and brush, feeding the flames in California's forests.
"The fire is just a big raging animal right now," said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
Janna Fournier, one of the 850 Big Sur residents affected by the evacuation order, went to retrieve artwork and rescue her pet tarantula before roads closed Wednesday afternoon.
"I feel sad for the wilderness and the people who lost their homes," Fournier said. "We chose to live in a wilderness among all this beauty, so I know there's that chance you always take."
Helicopters hauling large containers of water droned loudly overhead as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, visited the area.
"If people evacuate like they're told to, we shouldn't lose any lives," Paulison said in an interview. "My only concern is that people don't take it seriously enough."
Some residents did choose to ignore the evacuation order, including Scott Parker, who stopped by the local general store as firefighters trimmed trees above the store to ward off flames snaking along the hillside a quarter-mile away.
"My wife and I are going to stay at least until we are in imminent danger. If there's a possibility of saving the house, then we're going to do it," said Parker, a landscaper who moved to Big Sur 30 years ago. "We've had a couple close ones, but this is the closest."
Meanwhile, a fire in the southern extension of the Los Padres forest north of Santa Barbara forced about 45 residents to evacuate as winds up to 35 mph pushed flames toward homes in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
The blaze has burned nearly 2 square miles of rough terrain, officials said. As night fell Wednesday, about 150,000 Southern California Edison customers in Goleta and Santa Barbara lost power when thick smoke forced the shutdown of power transmission lines. Crews restored power to about half of the affected customers.
In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, firefighters struggled to contain a 22-square-mile blaze. Powerful gusts and choking smoke traveling up the steep canyons hampered their progress, and residents of neighboring towns were ordered to evacuate.
Back in Big Sur, construction worker Billy Rose helped clear brush around local businesses to protect the community where he grew up.
"Big Sur people are used to stress - rock slides, water spouts, 40-foot waves, you get numb to it," he said, looking weary as he sharpened his chain saw. "You can't tame Big Sur - this place is untamable."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/07/03/20080703birsur03-on.html
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9773687?nclick_check=1
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9773687?source=most_viewed
Some of the photographs bring back memories of my hikes in Big Sur, although I avoided the resorts and restaurants because of the high prices.
Once the fires have been contained residents will have to worry about land slides during the rainy season. Their misery isn't over yet. Over 64,000 acres have now burned, 10,000 acres today alone.
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/archives/2008/2008-Jul-03/basin-complex-fire-update-july-3-6pm--highway-1-closed-south-of-palo-colorado--fire-200-yards-from-ventana-inn/1/@@index
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9690130?source=most_viewed
__________________________
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires3-2008jul03,0,5801558.story
From the Los Angeles Times
New fire threatens Goleta as Big Sur blaze worsens
More evacuations are ordered. Fire crews are stretched thin in California.
By Catherine Saillant and Steve Chawkins
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
July 3, 2008
GOLETA, CALIF. — Fires raged in both Northern and Southern California on Wednesday, with the stubborn blaze in Big Sur taking a turn for the worse and a new one near Goleta causing widespread power outages and burning within about a mile of neighborhoods.
In Big Sur, the 11-day-old Basin Complex fire jumped a containment line Wednesday morning, forcing more evacuations and shutting down Highway 1 -- the coastal area's principal road -- for about 30 miles. In Goleta, the 1,200-acre Gap fire took out a major Southern California Edison power line, blacking out large areas of the south coast. Authorities there urged residents to curb usage.
The turn of events in Big Sur was a setback for local residents and a number of famed resorts and restaurants that had been in harm's way earlier but reopened in the last few days.
"Up until yesterday, I would have said it's a day-to-day situation," said Kirk Gafill, the general manager of his family's six-decade-old Nepenthe restaurant. "Now, I'd say it's minute to minute, or hour to hour."Despite evacuation orders, about 12 of the 20 employees who live at the Nepenthe colony chose to stay along with Gafill.
Gafill, president of the local chamber of commerce, said most businesses on the rugged 70-mile cliff-side highway had closed. The small community of Big Sur was under evacuation orders.
Workers applied a coating of fire-resistant gel to vulnerable homes and lodges -- including the Ventana Inn and Spa -- as the unpredictable fire raged."It seems to be giving the fire guys conniption fits," said Darby Marshall, a spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. "It's doing things they normally wouldn't expect."
Meanwhile, about 300 firefighters mounted a campaign against the Gap fire in Santa Barbara County, using four helicopters and six air tankers to drop loads of water and chemical retardants. Much of the battle was conducted from the air as firefighters streamed in without a break from fires that have been raging across the state.
"Could we use more resources? Absolutely!" Santa Barbara County Fire Chief John Scherrei said. "But California is stretched thin."About 300 homes sit downhill and downwind from the flames, which were consuming brush that had gone untouched by fire for 54 years.
The blaze was about two miles west of the path of the 1990 Painted Cave fire, which burned 600 structures in 90 minutes."I remember how it jumped the freeway and people just had to scramble," said Christina Djernaes, 39, an attorney who was heading home to pack her valuables just in case. "I don't want that to happen this time."
Celia Breyfogle, 75, and her husband Newell, 78, had already boxed up clothing, pictures and documents by Wednesday morning."It's been a terrible year," Celia Breyfogle said. "The Midwest is getting water, water, water, and we're getting fire, fire, fire. Wish we could all share."
Motorists on U.S. Highway 101 on Wednesday could see fingers of smoke working their way down the mountain about two miles north of the freeway.The blaze started about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday near the Winchester Gun Club, said Capt.
Eli Iskow, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Investigators on Wednesday had not yet pinpointed the cause.About 40 homes in rural Glen Annie and La Patera canyons were evacuated.
An evacuation warning was issued for residents of about 300 homes above Cathedral Oaks Road, between Glen Annie Road and Fairview Avenue.
In Northern California, firefighters continued to battle the numerous lightning-triggered wildfires that have burned more than 440,000 acres.
Statewide, 7,800 homes remain threatened and 31 residences have been destroyed.Big Sur continues to be among the most threatened spots, with 17 homes lost, 1,200 still threatened and about 1,500 people evacuated.
"For the first time in my life, I saw caravans of people in cars packed with their belongings heading out of the evacuation zone," Nepenthe's Gafill said. "What I've seen on the news from many parts of the world was coming back to us."
Officials say they don't expect to have the fire contained until the end of the month at the earliest.As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, Highway 1 was closed from Limekiln State Park in the south to Andrew Molera State Park in the north.
"We know a lot of people have remained behind -- that's just the way they live," said Maia Carroll of the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. "But we're worried for them."
In recent days, weather has helped firefighters to control the blaze, which has charred more than 61,000 acres. Fog is expected through the week, and winds from the north continued to push the blaze back on itself, slowing its march toward more populated areas.
The winds also could push the fire deeper into the Ventana Wilderness and toward the remote outpost of Tassajara Hot Springs, where the Buddhist monks of the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center have been preparing for days to fight the flames along with forest service crews.
Although the Basin Complex fire remains less than 5% contained, an even bigger blaze burning to the east in the Los Padres National Forest is expected to be fully controlled by Thursday, fire officials said.In other parts of Northern California, authorities said they were continuing to get the upper hand on more than 100 of the fires ignited by the lightning barrage June 21.
___
Big Sur evacuates as massive wildfire spreads
Jul. 3, 2008 06:12 AM Associated Press
BIG SUR, Calif. - Flames ominously licked the ridge overlooking this scenic coastal community, which appeared nearly abandoned Thursday after an explosive wildfire caused authorities to order more residents out of the area.
New mandatory evacuation notices were issued Wednesday for an additional 16-mile stretch along Highway 1 after the blaze jumped a fire line in the Los Padres National Forest. A total of 31 miles of the coastal highway, lined with homes and businesses, is now closed.
Several hundred evacuees attended a meeting Wednesday evening where officials braced them for a long fire season. The blaze, which already has burned 16 homes and nearly 88 square miles, was only 3 percent contained and wasn't expected to be fully surrounded until the end of the month.
John Friel, 62, who had been living with his kitten in his car for the past three days after being forced to leave his mobile home, was disappointed by the news.
"I've had six strokes this year and a heart attack. I'm feeling pretty scattered," said the retiree, who moved to Big Sur three years ago. "It was like putting a Rubik's Cube back together before, so this ain't helping. It just notches up the stress level."
The blaze near Big Sur was one of more than 1,700 wildfires - most ignited by lightning - that have scorched more than 770 square miles and destroyed 64 structures across northern and central California since June 20, according to state officials.
Mild temperatures and light winds did little to calm the inferno near Big Sur, which officials described as fuel-driven rather than wind-driven. A statewide drought has created tinder-like trees and brush, feeding the flames in California's forests.
"The fire is just a big raging animal right now," said Darby Marshall, spokesman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services.
Janna Fournier, one of the 850 Big Sur residents affected by the evacuation order, went to retrieve artwork and rescue her pet tarantula before roads closed Wednesday afternoon.
"I feel sad for the wilderness and the people who lost their homes," Fournier said. "We chose to live in a wilderness among all this beauty, so I know there's that chance you always take."
Helicopters hauling large containers of water droned loudly overhead as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, R. David Paulison, visited the area.
"If people evacuate like they're told to, we shouldn't lose any lives," Paulison said in an interview. "My only concern is that people don't take it seriously enough."
Some residents did choose to ignore the evacuation order, including Scott Parker, who stopped by the local general store as firefighters trimmed trees above the store to ward off flames snaking along the hillside a quarter-mile away.
"My wife and I are going to stay at least until we are in imminent danger. If there's a possibility of saving the house, then we're going to do it," said Parker, a landscaper who moved to Big Sur 30 years ago. "We've had a couple close ones, but this is the closest."
Meanwhile, a fire in the southern extension of the Los Padres forest north of Santa Barbara forced about 45 residents to evacuate as winds up to 35 mph pushed flames toward homes in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
The blaze has burned nearly 2 square miles of rough terrain, officials said. As night fell Wednesday, about 150,000 Southern California Edison customers in Goleta and Santa Barbara lost power when thick smoke forced the shutdown of power transmission lines. Crews restored power to about half of the affected customers.
In the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield, firefighters struggled to contain a 22-square-mile blaze. Powerful gusts and choking smoke traveling up the steep canyons hampered their progress, and residents of neighboring towns were ordered to evacuate.
Back in Big Sur, construction worker Billy Rose helped clear brush around local businesses to protect the community where he grew up.
"Big Sur people are used to stress - rock slides, water spouts, 40-foot waves, you get numb to it," he said, looking weary as he sharpened his chain saw. "You can't tame Big Sur - this place is untamable."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/07/03/20080703birsur03-on.html
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9773687?nclick_check=1
http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9773687?source=most_viewed
Applebee's and the current economy
I had completely forgotton about Bill's 77th birthday on 30 June (too busy carpet cleaning the house for Mom's visit on 1 July) so after my three-hour volunteer hours at the County Extension office yesterday afternoon I stopped at Applebee's in town. That place had been our party place for years. Bill was sitting at the bar and I came up behind him to wish him a belated birthday. Bill was already quite toasted after a few drinks at El Paso Steakhouse before coming to Applebee's.
I hadn't been in the place since Mother's Day with Mom, Bill, Kevin. The menu has changed (meaning prices have gone up) but the biggest disappointment was the removal of Fat Tire and Shiner's Hefe Weizen beer from their tap. The only beers Applebee's now sells are the shitty National brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra and Amber Bock. Not much of a choice there for good beer. The server, Briannon, seemed impatient with my indecision on beer.
"It was a corporate decision" said Briannon, about removing the microbrews from the tap. Shiner's Hefe Weizen was the only beer I drank at Applebee's, and the only decent beer on tap.
I finally settled for Michelob Ultra. The beer tasted like watered-down hops water. Low in Carbs, low in taste. Yuck.
And then my appetizer, the vegetarian pizza, was half the size it was when I last ordered the pizza a few months ago. Instead of almost as large as the plate it was served on, the pizza was the size of a saucer and thinner than a cracker.
The entire meal was a total disappointment. The portion size and menu change is a direct reflection of the bad economy. Bill said this is the worst he has seen in his life. Even customers were not in the bar like they used to be (I remember when the regulars at the bar would line outside the establishment at 3:59pm to get inside for 4pm Happy Hour. Now half the bar stools were vacant and the restaurant wasn't the loud crowd I remember it to be.
NBC Nightly News a few days ago said that 68% of Americans have cut back on eating out since the downturn of the economy. I know I am one of those Americans, but when I do go out to eat I still want it to be a positive experience.
"'El Paso' is the place to go now," revealed Bill. "Their Happy Hour starts at 3pm seven days a week."
I had two shitty beers and chatted with Bill about upcoming hikes and car camps (still no concrete dates for the Idaho car camp), mentioned my health and my concerns, talked about Sadie. If it hadn't been for Bill being there I wouldn't have stayed at Applebee's, let alone ordered anything. I only showed up in the hopes of catching him for a belated birthday celebration. I treated him to his drinks, which was the least I could have done.
I got back home at 5:30pm to Kevin outside watering the apple trees. I hadn't watered the yards in three days to let the monsoonal rains take over. The water bill in June was $15 less than the huge one in May: down to $51.53 from June's $66.
It stormed again overnight for some more moisture. Now I have to take time out to continue digging two more vegetable patches. I bought more beans and peas for a late-summer harvest. Our garden is growing every month!
I hadn't been in the place since Mother's Day with Mom, Bill, Kevin. The menu has changed (meaning prices have gone up) but the biggest disappointment was the removal of Fat Tire and Shiner's Hefe Weizen beer from their tap. The only beers Applebee's now sells are the shitty National brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra and Amber Bock. Not much of a choice there for good beer. The server, Briannon, seemed impatient with my indecision on beer.
"It was a corporate decision" said Briannon, about removing the microbrews from the tap. Shiner's Hefe Weizen was the only beer I drank at Applebee's, and the only decent beer on tap.
I finally settled for Michelob Ultra. The beer tasted like watered-down hops water. Low in Carbs, low in taste. Yuck.
And then my appetizer, the vegetarian pizza, was half the size it was when I last ordered the pizza a few months ago. Instead of almost as large as the plate it was served on, the pizza was the size of a saucer and thinner than a cracker.
The entire meal was a total disappointment. The portion size and menu change is a direct reflection of the bad economy. Bill said this is the worst he has seen in his life. Even customers were not in the bar like they used to be (I remember when the regulars at the bar would line outside the establishment at 3:59pm to get inside for 4pm Happy Hour. Now half the bar stools were vacant and the restaurant wasn't the loud crowd I remember it to be.
NBC Nightly News a few days ago said that 68% of Americans have cut back on eating out since the downturn of the economy. I know I am one of those Americans, but when I do go out to eat I still want it to be a positive experience.
"'El Paso' is the place to go now," revealed Bill. "Their Happy Hour starts at 3pm seven days a week."
I had two shitty beers and chatted with Bill about upcoming hikes and car camps (still no concrete dates for the Idaho car camp), mentioned my health and my concerns, talked about Sadie. If it hadn't been for Bill being there I wouldn't have stayed at Applebee's, let alone ordered anything. I only showed up in the hopes of catching him for a belated birthday celebration. I treated him to his drinks, which was the least I could have done.
I got back home at 5:30pm to Kevin outside watering the apple trees. I hadn't watered the yards in three days to let the monsoonal rains take over. The water bill in June was $15 less than the huge one in May: down to $51.53 from June's $66.
It stormed again overnight for some more moisture. Now I have to take time out to continue digging two more vegetable patches. I bought more beans and peas for a late-summer harvest. Our garden is growing every month!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Our new neighbors
No sooner that the old tenants next door had moved out (leaving over 30 bags of trash in the front yard) than the new tenants drove in. They are an older couple from Alabama, Ron and Nancy. We met them last night after coming home after walking the dogs.
Ron came here a few months ago on a job invite at the local hospital. HE was impressed with the facility but then wasn't hired afterall. He now works in a related field in town.
"I love the view of the mountains" said Ron as he pointed toward the Huachucas. "I am going to love coming home every night and seeing that view." I agreed, and mentioned the view of the San Pedro Valley and the lights of Naco (Sonora, MEX) in the distance. I feel the same wayabout the valley and the mountain peaks.
Ron and Nancy seem to be good people. They have a Chihuahua, Molly and want to build a brick grill in the back yard. Now Kevin has a neighbor about his age and I'm sure the two men will talk food as both are cooks. I'd rather be outside gardening than inside cooking or doing housework.
Meanwhile, we have had rains most days now, enough to moisten the soil to allow me to dig two more vegetable patches. I am digging up some BARs though, bigger than bowling balls.
Soon I will sow the cool-weather crops. We had a rice medley last night that Kevin made, using our own spinach, tomatoes and sweet peas! It was delicious.
Ron came here a few months ago on a job invite at the local hospital. HE was impressed with the facility but then wasn't hired afterall. He now works in a related field in town.
"I love the view of the mountains" said Ron as he pointed toward the Huachucas. "I am going to love coming home every night and seeing that view." I agreed, and mentioned the view of the San Pedro Valley and the lights of Naco (Sonora, MEX) in the distance. I feel the same wayabout the valley and the mountain peaks.
Ron and Nancy seem to be good people. They have a Chihuahua, Molly and want to build a brick grill in the back yard. Now Kevin has a neighbor about his age and I'm sure the two men will talk food as both are cooks. I'd rather be outside gardening than inside cooking or doing housework.
Meanwhile, we have had rains most days now, enough to moisten the soil to allow me to dig two more vegetable patches. I am digging up some BARs though, bigger than bowling balls.
Soon I will sow the cool-weather crops. We had a rice medley last night that Kevin made, using our own spinach, tomatoes and sweet peas! It was delicious.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Jersey Shore
Tonight toward the end of NBC Nightly News Brian Williams, the anchor, talked about a family of bottlenosed dolphins that have swum up the Shrewsbury River south of Sandy Hook, NJ. The dolphins seem to enjoy the waters and don't seem to be suffering in the waters off the bay.
That eight-mile peninsula was my recreational playground when I lived in Eatontown in the early 1990s. I'd walk the north shore of Fort Hancock that provided a view of the Verrazano Bridge and Lower Manhattan, with Long Island further east. In the spring I could collect Knotted Welks (the state sea shell of NJ) or watch the gulls pester eachother over crabs carried to the sand by the tide. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, built in 1764, is the country's oldest-running lighthouse still being used.
The kids also loved playing in the shallow waves in the summer.
"It's a beautiful part of the country" said Williams, referring to the shore there, the highlands nearby and the historical aura all over that region.
I had to agree, and visions of life there on the Jersey Shore came back to me again. I will always have a heart-felt nostalgia for the Jersey Shore. I found it much cleaner than any piece of shore along the Texas sealine.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807010352
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880630036
http://www.nps.gov/gate/
That eight-mile peninsula was my recreational playground when I lived in Eatontown in the early 1990s. I'd walk the north shore of Fort Hancock that provided a view of the Verrazano Bridge and Lower Manhattan, with Long Island further east. In the spring I could collect Knotted Welks (the state sea shell of NJ) or watch the gulls pester eachother over crabs carried to the sand by the tide. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, built in 1764, is the country's oldest-running lighthouse still being used.
The kids also loved playing in the shallow waves in the summer.
"It's a beautiful part of the country" said Williams, referring to the shore there, the highlands nearby and the historical aura all over that region.
I had to agree, and visions of life there on the Jersey Shore came back to me again. I will always have a heart-felt nostalgia for the Jersey Shore. I found it much cleaner than any piece of shore along the Texas sealine.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008807010352
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880630036
http://www.nps.gov/gate/
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