Jump to content

Menu

News: Creek Fire: National Guard Helicopter Crews Rescued trapped campers (Oregon,Washington having wildfires as well)


Arcadia
 Share

Recommended Posts

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/09/10/la-nina-pacific-ocean-more-drought-wildfire-outlook/
“'LA NIÑA' LOOMING
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that a La Niña, the cooler flip side of the better-known El Niño, has formed in the Pacific, which often means a busier Atlantic hurricane season, a drier Southwest and perhaps a more fire-prone California.”

  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Starr said:

My sister says there are so many fires and road closings in Oregon that she's not sure there is anyway to get out if she has to evacuate. Fortunately the winds have calmed down some.

I hope she stays safe.  Sometimes here the road closures are only one way, so you can leave but not enter.  Hopefully she can get out if necessary 😞 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Starr said:

My sister says there are so many fires and road closings in Oregon that she's not sure there is anyway to get out if she has to evacuate. Fortunately the winds have calmed down some.

Same here. My mom asked where we go if we had to evacuate, and I told her it would depend on which fire we were trying to escape. They are everywhere. I really hope the weather changes for the better soon. They keep pushing out the date for better weather conditions and cleaner air. On Tuesday my husband was irritated that I wanted to stay working instead of taking time off to go to the coast with him to escape the bad air. Now there are fires on the coast, too. Much of the town we would have gone to was evacuated yesterday.

Edited by Frances
  • Sad 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Frances said:

Same here. My mom asked where we go if we had to evacuate, and I told her it would depend on which fire we were trying to escape. They are everywhere. I really hope the weather changes for the better soon. They keep pushing out the date for better weather conditions and cleaner air. On Tuesday my husband was irritated that I wanted to stay working instead of taking time off to go to the coast with him to escape the bad air. Now there are fires on the coast, too. Much of the town we would have gone to was evacuated yesterday.

Not only where to go but the huge numbers of people who live in the evacuations zones. And who would have ever thought the coast would be burning? Stay safe. Praying the weather changes and the fire fighters have strength to keep going.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Our skies aren't orange today but the air quality is still a "very unhealthy" 232 according to weather.com. Many fires in Oregon, but so far not in our county. We just have the smoke.

 

Our area has been and remains “hazardous”  ~460. —  looks more just dark and grey with ash floating. 

The 3 nearest fires to me were put out before they got big enough to be on fire maps.  But some in our county are big incident. 

 

  • Like 2
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

😞 https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/california-fire-becomes-deadliest-of-year-with-10-dead-16-missing/2361495/

“A Northern California wildfire that destroyed a foothill hamlet has become the state's deadliest blaze of the year with 10 people confirmed dead — and the toll could climb as searchers look for 16 missing people.

...

On Thursday, Butte County sheriff's Capt. Derek Bell said seven bodies were discovered, bringing the total to 10 in two days. At least four people with critical burns were hospitalized.

Deputies and detectives were searching for human remains as they made their way into devastated areas with a team of anthropologists from Chico State University, Bell said.

...

A crew fighting the fire was overrun by flames Wednesday when winds shifted and its members escaped with only minor injuries after deploying emergency shelters. It was the second time in two days that firefighters in California had to take the rare last-ditch effort to save their lives.

The blaze is among 29 major wildfires burning from the Oregon border to just north of Mexico. More than 4,800 square miles have burned so far this year — more land than Rhode Island, Delaware and Washington, D.C., combined — and fall is typically the worst season for fires. Nineteen people have been killed and at least 4,000 structures have burned across California.

...

More than 1,400 square miles have burned this week in Oregon, where hot, windy conditions continued. Authorities said more than 500,000 people — more than 10% of the state's population — have been forced to evacuate.

Wildfires have scorched nearly 937 square miles in Washington.”

  • Sad 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are scary fires. One of my brothers has worked as a volunteer wildland fighter and it is hard and dangerous work. He worked on Alaskan fishing boats and up in Barrow, Alaska, and neither were as difficult as the fire fighting.

Bozeman, Montana, a ski town I lived in for a few years, just had a major fire in the foothills that destroyed 28 buildings. Three wildland fire fighters had to deploy their fire shelters as the fires moved over them. Thankfully, they were okay. The fires for now are controlled or out because of snow but could start up again if they get warmer weather. Formerly frozen, dead, dried out grass makes good tinder.

Stay safe, everyone. Evacuate if you must. Crossing my fingers for rain.

Edited by BeachGal
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They rescheduled the Women's soccer portland vs seattle game from Saturday to Tuesday.  I don't think Tuesday in Portland is going to look better.  Hope I'm wrong. 

We are running all possible errands and going to the park this morning.  Since the smoke is supposed to hit bad again tonight and this weekend.  Also keeping in touch with MIL in Grants Pass.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

We lost electric again. I wish reason were given.  There have already been multiple new little fires today, and people cited in 2 incidents of illegal and reckless burning this morning.  What is wrong with people? 

 

I need to make progress back to a “get ready” stage. Ugh. Luckily a lot was done before, but what is needed now is harder due to how Smoky it is. 

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/live-updates-multiple-fires-burning-in-oregon-sw-washington/283-a810a8d7-4807-49ae-aa0c-eb5473fadee3

We're contemplating evacuating the girls and I---not due to immediate fire damage, but due to the impact of the smoke on Youngest's asthma. We're running HEPA filters and have the HVAC on recirculate, but our house still smells of ash. We'd go to family out of state.  We're starting to pack, just in case.

  • Sad 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

We lost electric again. I wish reason were given.  There have already been multiple new little fires today, and people cited in 2 incidents of illegal and reckless burning this morning.  What is wrong with people? 

 

I need to make progress back to a “get ready” stage. Ugh. Luckily a lot was done before, but what is needed now is harder due to how Smoky it is. 

Yes, what IS wrong with people?  There have been at least three arson fires in Yosemite Valley this summer.  Craaazy.

  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Yes, what IS wrong with people?  There have been at least three arson fires in Yosemite Valley this summer.  Craaazy.

 

Yes. Lightning or something Natural is easier to take emotionally.  The arson is crazy. 

 

Animal silence is also eerie.  No bird song. No squirrels chittering.  I expect this is very hard on their lungs too. Even if they aren’t outright killed. 

My weather app says “clear tonight” 🤷‍♀️

Edited by Pen
  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/8/2020 at 7:52 AM, Arcadia said:

Creek Fire rescue continues 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/national-guard-attempting-rescue-dozens-trapped-amid-california/story?id=72873871

“The National Guard is working to rescue dozens of people who are still trapped near the Creek Fire in Fresno County, California.

......

Overnight, 13 people were rescued from China Peak by a National Guard helicopter. There were more than 200 people rescued on Monday, officials said.

........

The National Guard said it was unable to access the area overnight and were forced to halt the rescue because of the conditions -- efforts to reach people trapped will resume Tuesday morning.

The condition of the people who remain trapped is unclear, the National Guard said.”

(I think these folks have all been rescued by now.  I post this part because of the new news below.)

It just came up in today’s incident report that China Peak is the site of a lot of blasting caps (dynamite) for avalanche control during the winter.  So fire fighting in that area has had to be done very cautiously in case those are reached by the fire and detonate.  They are hoping to remove them safely today so that they can be more aggressive in fire fighting efforts locally.

  • Like 3
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Arcadia said:

 

A crew fighting the fire was overrun by flames Wednesday when winds shifted and its members escaped with only minor injuries after deploying emergency shelters. It was the second time in two days that firefighters in California had to take the rare last-ditch effort to save their lives.

 

 

3 hours ago, BeachGal said:

 

Bozeman, Montana, a ski town I lived in for a few years, just had a major fire in the foothills that destroyed 28 buildings. Three wildland fire fighters had to deploy their fire shelters as the fires moved over them. Thankfully, they were okay.

This is crazy! When I mentioned the Nora Roberts book I almost said that I'm sure some of it was exaggerated, like needing to use those emergency shelters. 

I guess not. Yikes. 

Praying for them all! I cannot imagine the level of fear while that is happening. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And if things weren’t already bad enough here, now we have people trusting social media rumors and conspiracy theories rather than government officials and mainstream news outlets, and overwhelming the 911 system with calls based on social media misinformation and/or refusing to evacuate, putting themselves and others at risk.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/us/fires-oregon-antifa-rumors.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

  • Like 1
  • Sad 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/live-updates-multiple-fires-burning-in-oregon-sw-washington/283-a810a8d7-4807-49ae-aa0c-eb5473fadee3

We're contemplating evacuating the girls and I---not due to immediate fire damage, but due to the impact of the smoke on Youngest's asthma. We're running HEPA filters and have the HVAC on recirculate, but our house still smells of ash. We'd go to family out of state.  We're starting to pack, just in case.

Did you leave and get settled? The smoke sounds just awful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/wildfire/live-updates-multiple-fires-burning-in-oregon-sw-washington/283-a810a8d7-4807-49ae-aa0c-eb5473fadee3

We're contemplating evacuating the girls and I---not due to immediate fire damage, but due to the impact of the smoke on Youngest's asthma. We're running HEPA filters and have the HVAC on recirculate, but our house still smells of ash. We'd go to family out of state.  We're starting to pack, just in case.

 

It might be a good idea if feasible. When electric goes out and filters can’t run, it gets bad even inside. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are trying to get life together so the girls and I can go—picking up refill prescriptions, attending a dr appointment, getting our refrigerator fixed now that the parts are in (seriously, it has been a bad week!), etc. In a true emergency we would drop and run, but right now we are not in fire danger and so far dd has been able to breathe ok. So, we are doing those things while still packing. We all have burning eyes, sore throats, etc. as I am sure most of the state does right now. I am hoping to finish up tonight and then wait and see. 

 

 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/A-miracle-How-132-year-old-Lick-15561656.php

“‘A miracle’: How 132-year-old Lick Observatory was saved from one of California’s largest wildfires

At the peak of the fire, Kostas Chloros watched as 100-foot flames consumed the trees behind his home of 23 years as though they were paper.

The superintendent of the 132-year-old Lick Observatory, in the hills east of San Jose, stood with his back to its familiar white dome on the afternoon of Aug. 19 as massive flames seared the hillside below. He stumbled back to avoid the heat waves. Embers, leaves and burned twigs flew at him. Ashen smoke seeped through his mask.

“When I saw the big flames coming up the hill, I thought, there’s nothing saving this,” said Chloros, 55, standing in the same spot on a recent morning.

What was at stake was irreplaceable. The observatory, the brainchild of wealthy businessman James Lick, opened in 1888. Perched atop Mount Hamilton, an hour’s drive east of San Jose, the 3,600-acre site houses 10 telescopes in nine domes and a couple of dozen other buildings. Its pride is the “Great Lick refractor” — a telescope measuring 57 feet long, 4 feet wide and weighing more than 25,000 pounds.

...

And last month, astronomers and fans of the observatory watched on its live-stream cameras as part of the SCU Lightning Complex fires, one of the largest in state history, roared around the site. Midafternoon on Aug. 19, the fire jumped Highway 130 and leaped up the hill to the visitor’s center, snaking around the parking lot, engulfing two smaller ridges, and nearly encircling the mountaintop.

The fire destroyed the original house of a 19th century astronomer that had been unused since the 1980s, and damaged Chloros’ own home and three others. But with about 50 firefighters on-site to swoop in when the worst of the fire passed, the rest of the buildings were saved.

“It really was a miracle,” said Claire Max, director of the University of California Observatories, which oversees the site, on a recent Facebook Live video. “It was amazing the observatory survived considering everything.”

Max lauded firefighters and said Chloros deserves knighthood for using his knowledge to help them. The superintendent was quick to praise the “heroic efforts” of fire crews across California. Local Cal Fire Capt. Gene Parks shrugged off the spotlight, saying that his crews were “just doing their job” — although they appreciated the public’s gratitude for saving the famous site.

The observatory is one of the oldest in the world still used for research, said Tony Misch, director for the Lick Observatory Historical Collections Project. Today, it’s home to close to 30 people, including two small children.

Chloros, a Greek native who moved to the U.S. in 1991, first visited the observatory on a UC Santa Cruz class field trip and applied for a job a year later. For the past two decades, he’s worked up the ranks from a telescope technician to overseeing operations.

Driving carefully around the property with a radio on his hip on a recent morning, Chloros was calm as he described a fire besieging his home.

It started with the now infamous lightning storm that ripped through the early morning of Sunday Aug. 16 and lit the wilderness on fire. Two days later, Parks reported to the Cal Fire Smith Creek Station, 7 miles down the mountain. As winds pushed the fire closer from the north, he warned the observatory residents around 11 p.m. that they should leave sooner rather than later.

Chloros positioned people at intervals along the unlit, winding road to make sure everyone made it out safely by midnight. He and his wife, Tina Kurth, were the last to drive down as the sky rained ash around 1:30 a.m. Chloros stayed up in a San Jose parking lot to check in with each resident, before finally joining his wife at a friend’s house in Saratoga.

Parks arrived on the mountaintop with around 30 other firefighters just after Chloros left. With historic fires stretching Cal Fire resources thin statewide, the captain feared that was all the backup he would get.

Later in the morning, more crews did arrive from Montclair, Porterville, Bakersfield, Tulare and San Luis Obispo. Chloros, still in Saratoga but in radio contact with the crews, quickly realized they needed someone to help navigate the property. By noon, he was back at the observatory.

Chloros paired up with Parks to shut off building alarms, give advice about which roads were safe to travel, and keep the generator running to pump water for fire trucks with the power out. Parks directed crews to clear vegetation around structures to make them less vulnerable. If the blaze got within a quarter mile, crews would pull back up to the parking lot in front of the visitor center and its most famous dome.

The wooden dome was protected by the parking lot, road and a mostly bare hillside, thanks to federal and state vegetation management grants, that helped keep fire away from the main buildings, Chloros said.”

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/firefighter-death-san-bernardino-county-el-dorado-gender-reveal-party-fire/2365709/
“A firefighter has died while fighting the El Dorado Fire, which began during a pyrotechnic smoke device display at a gender reveal party on an extremely warm weekend in San Bernardino County.

A cause of death was not immediately available. 

The firefighter died Thursday, according to the Forest Service. The firefighter's identity is being withheld pending notification of family members”

  • Sad 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/national-international/firefighter-death-san-bernardino-county-el-dorado-gender-reveal-party-fire/2365709/
“A firefighter has died while fighting the El Dorado Fire, which began during a pyrotechnic smoke device display at a gender reveal party on an extremely warm weekend in San Bernardino County.

A cause of death was not immediately available. 

The firefighter died Thursday, according to the Forest Service. The firefighter's identity is being withheld pending notification of family members”

 

I feel sad for him.

 

Did the gender reveal party people have any legal repercussions?   For any of what they did?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Pen said:

Did the gender reveal party people have any legal repercussions?   For any of what they did?

Not yet 😞

Tributes mark procession of fallen El Dorado firefighter off the mountain
https://www.sbsun.com/2020/09/18/us-forest-service-escorts-fallen-firefighter-in-el-dorado-fire/

“...The El Dorado fire has been burning in the San Bernardino National Forest since Sept. 5, when, authorities say, the pyrotechnic was set off during a gender-reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa. No one has been arrested or charged. District Attorney Jason Anderson said Friday that his office is awaiting reports from various agencies before deciding what, if any, charges to file.

As of Friday morning, the fire had charred 21,678 acres and was 66% contained. Containment is the percentage of the perimeter where the blaze has been stopped and is not expected to jump the line.”

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...