The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.
Gonna be a long week.
Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday. Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast. Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this. This monster is out of control.
Meanwhile, global warming? What global warming?
And, say, we've got nothing better to do. Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway. Californians are crazy? What you talkin' about?
Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.
Thank you!
The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed.
I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was
asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you
can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic.
Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a
parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to
do this again?" Can you believe that?
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.
Gonna be a long week.
Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday. Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast. Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this. This monster is out of control.
Meanwhile, global warming? What global warming?
And, say, we've got nothing better to do. Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway. Californians are crazy? What you talkin' about?
Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.
Thank you!
The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed. I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was
asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you
can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic.
Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a
parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to
do this again?" Can you believe that?
It irritates the hell out of me when reporters attempt to interview people on one of the worst days of their lives and ask inane questions. It is stupid.
Brian, I hope you have your go bag checklist ready in case you need to get out quickly. When my son and his then girlfriend/now wife had to evacuate during the Thomas Fire in 2017, they had less than 30 minutes to pack up as much as they could and go.
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.
Gonna be a long week.
Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday. Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast. Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this. This monster is out of control.
Meanwhile, global warming? What global warming?
And, say, we've got nothing better to do. Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway. Californians are crazy? What you talkin' about?
Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.
Thank you!
The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed. I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was
asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you
can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic.
Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a
parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to
do this again?" Can you believe that?
It irritates the hell out of me when reporters attempt to interview people on one of the worst days of their lives and ask inane questions. It is stupid.
Brian, I hope you have your go bag checklist ready in case you need to get out quickly. When my son and his then girlfriend/now wife had to evacuate during the Thomas Fire in 2017, they had less than 30 minutes to pack up as much as they could and go.
Normally, I try to find news I can read. TV news is so awful! This evening, we watched another Sacramento news station and the "meteorologist" was talking about how the winds are affecting the fire. A weather visual came up and she said, "You can see here these winds that are coming out of the southwest..." The winds she was pointing at were northwest winds... northwest winds come from the northwest and blow toward the southeast. Ayeeeeeeeeee.
And then later, on NPR news, there was a story about the terrible concentrations of smoke over Reno, NV. At the end of that story, they talked about how firefighters must contend with breathing smoky air for several years over the span of their careers (which really sucks and is yet another reason to thank and support our fire fighters). A "health expert" was quoted as saying that this is a bad situation and that "we need to do research on this." Wait, what? Spend GOD knows how much time and money studying something that is so obviously unhealthy instead of utilizing those funds for something practical? Like maybe start a fund for unpaid volunteer fire fighter or underpaid fighters fighters.
I started pulling my hair out!
OK, sorry, enough ranting!
Thanks for good thoughts, Asterisk. Yes, the go-bag is in the car and will be there until the rains come. We also have a list on the fridge of things to grab, in order of importance. Annie cat at the top of the list! I hope we won't need it. We're safe so far!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Stay safe! My daughter was out there at school in St Helena during the 2018 fires and it took everything I had not to drive from Illinois to grab her and bring her home. It was very scary having her out there and watching the reports hourly seeing if the fires were getting closer to her. Fortunately the fires didn't get close enough to the campus to warrant an evacuation.
Post edited by JeBurkhardt on
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
I remember that St Helena. That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country. I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!
Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area. Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth. Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger. I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible. We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end.
Raking my mind for something positive to say.
Thank goodness for music.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I remember that St Helena. That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country. I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!
Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area. Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth. Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger. I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible. We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end.
I remember that St Helena. That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country. I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!
Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area. Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth. Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger. I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible. We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end.
It's beyond depressing. Zero percent containment and tens of thousands of people evacuating. The evacuation centers, church parking lots, Walmart parking lot, all are full to mostly full. Terrible air quality giving us itchy throats even while indoors. And the fire is resuming rapid growth that's ramping up to the point where they can't even map this thing.
F bomb.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
On closer look...
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
edited August 2021
This section from the latest update from the U.S. Forest Service Fire Information page paints a clear picture of why wildfire here in the west is creating such severe conditions. Considering we are just past mid-August, notice the bolded (by me) portion of the statement:
The Fire Continues To Make Runs In The Steep Drainages With The Aid Of
The Large Amounts Of Dead And Down Material.
There Is A Heavy Dead And Down Component With Drought-stressed Fuels.
Live Fuels Are Cured To Levels Usually Seen In Late September, And Fuels
Are Extremely Receptive To Spotting. Fuel Moistures Are Historically
Low.
In Response To The Extreme Fire Behavior Demonstrated By The Caldor
Fire, And Risks To Public And Firefighter Safety, Forest Supervisor Jeff
Marsolais Has Issued An Emergency Forest Closure Of All National Forest
System Lands, Roads, And Trails Within The Eldorado National Forest.
I remember that St Helena. That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country. I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!
Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area. Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth. Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger. I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible. We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end.
It's beyond depressing. Zero percent containment and tens of thousands of people evacuating. The evacuation centers, church parking lots, Walmart parking lot, all are full to mostly full. Terrible air quality giving us itchy throats even while indoors. And the fire is resuming rapid growth that's ramping up to the point where they can't even map this thing.
F bomb.
I am seeing the images nightly from out west. It looks just awful. Years down the road people are going to be developing lung disease. I hope you have a good mask with a filter when you go out. Stay safe.
Give Peas A Chance…
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
I remember that St Helena. That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country. I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!
Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area. Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth. Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger. I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible. We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end.
It's beyond depressing. Zero percent containment and tens of thousands of people evacuating. The evacuation centers, church parking lots, Walmart parking lot, all are full to mostly full. Terrible air quality giving us itchy throats even while indoors. And the fire is resuming rapid growth that's ramping up to the point where they can't even map this thing.
F bomb.
I am seeing the images nightly from out west. It looks just awful. Years down the road people are going to be developing lung disease. I hope you have a good mask with a filter when you go out. Stay safe.
Thanks man, will do. Yeah, I always take a mask with me, but living in El Dorado county has never been good on the lungs. Ironic, this was once a healthy, natural area.
And of course it's not just about us humans. What's also very disturbing is the loss of flora and fauna. It's no easy thing to think about how many plants and animals are dead and dying not far from where I live. The trees, shrubs, flowering plants, grasses, fungi. Deer, bears, mountain lions, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, opossum, squirrels, chipmunks, feral dogs and cats, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, microorganisms. It's too much, it's all too much.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
The Caldor Fire is up to 73,415 acres and still zero percent
containment. We are losing a large portion of El Dorado National
Forest.
The air quality here right now is 424, hazardous. I've never seen it
that bad here. My car looks like it's been snowed on. Ash everywhere.
I'd snap a picture only I don't want to go outside.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Hang in there Brian. Succession, think succession.
I'd like to air my place out... soon...
Thanks Tish. I hear you, but the road from pioneer plants to mature forest is long. I probably won't see much of the El Dorado Forest as a mature forest again in my lifetime. And I've known it most of my 70 years. But yes, that's a blip in time. Mother Nature will put things in order once again.
The latest news here is the this weekend is looking very bad for El
Dorado County. U.S. 50 has been closed from Pollock Pines to Meyers,
just outside of South Lake Tahoe. Time buckle up. This likely will
become an even greater rough ride.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
We are in a not-so-great situation here these days. The air is terrible today and we're losing El Dorado National Forest.
It's too unnerving living here. A lot of
the streets and roads are narrow and go back in a ways from the larger
roads the allow egress. I told my wife the other day, "I don't want us
to have to go through this again another year." She agrees.
Our air
quality to is reading 633, "hazardous". With all the window closed and
two air cleaners running, I woke up smelling smoke. I'm over it!
Caldor is now 98,149 acres, zero percent containment.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
Almost 30,000 people in our area have been evacuated. We are lucky to still be outside the evacuation zone. I hope it can be stiopped before it reaches the Tahoe basin.
Thom
Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection, or Cal Fire, said the Caldor Fire was the “No. 1 priority in
the nation” for securing more resources to help stave off the damage it
could inflict on the popular destination and region, which is home to
tens of thousands of people.
“It is that important,” Porter told reporters, adding: “We have all efforts to keep it out of the basin.”
The
blaze has destroyed 557 buildings, Cal Fire said. Last week, it
incinerated much of Grizzly Flats, a small community 65 miles east of
Sacramento.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
I'm not sure why I keep posting about the Caldor Fire here except that because it is (in a very broad sense) "in my back yard", but it has reached national attention... well, in the papers anyway. It is now the #1 priority for firefighting resources in the nation.
Caldor Fire, 'knocking on the door' of Lake Tahoe area, becomes nation's 'No. 1 priority for firefighting resources'
STOCKTON, Calif. — A rapidly expanding wildfire is
approaching the outskirts of the Lake Tahoe basin and has become the
nation's No. 1 priority for firefighting resources, the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
The Caldor Fire,
which is only 10 days old, has exploded to nearly 123,000 acres and
taken out 632 structures including more than 450 homes. It helped spur
evacuations and, along with several blazes across the state, led to the
closure of nine national forests. Nearly 18,000 properties were still in
danger from the blaze, which was 11% contained as of Tuesday evening.
"It is knocking on the door to the Lake Tahoe basin," said Chief Thom Porter, director of CAL FIRE.
"We have all efforts in place to keep it out of the basin but we do
need to also be aware that is a possibility based on the way the fires
have been burning."
Rather unnerving, to say the least.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
REDDING, Calif. — This year, Axel Hunnicutt ran through burning forests,
slogged through streams and hiked steep mountain terrain trying to find
seven black bears injured in Siskiyou County's Lava and Antelope fires.
One
he never found. Five were healthy enough to evade him from capturing
them. The seventh — a 16-pound hamburger-eating cub dubbed Smokey Junior
— went home with him.
Hunnicutt is a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist specializing in carnivores. He and the CDFW are part the Wildlife Disaster Network,
a coalition of University of California at Davis vets and other
professionals saving animals from this year’s history-making wildfires.
Drought
throughout much of the state, triple-digit summers and wind mean fires
are moving faster than usual. These can overtake animals trying to flee.
“I
have the impression that there have been (fewer) burned animals
rescued,” said Lais Costa, a veterinarian and the director of
operations for the Veterinary Emergency Response Team at UC Davis. “This
might be because there has been a better evacuation effort or because
those animals (died from their injuries) and were not able to be
rescued.”
Others, like Lava Bob, were saved.
During
the Lava Fire in July, Hunnicutt responded to a report of an “emaciated
mountain lion” loose on a Lake Shastina golf course.
When
he arrived he found an injured and starving bobcat. “His paws were so
burnt. He was so skinny — only 16 pounds. I was surprised I could get a
dart in him,” Hunnicutt said.
The
Siskiyou Humane Society stabilized Lava Bob until he could be taken to
Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Redding, then to Gold
Country Wildlife Rescue for burn therapies on July 11.
“He
was just skin and bones," Gold Country Wildlife Rescue director
Sallysue Stein said. "He had second third and fourth-degree burns to his
legs.”
The cat is recovering nicely, she said, and weighs around 35 pounds — a good weight for a bobcat.
“Now he yowls and growls and drools, and comes stalking toward us. We must look delicious," she joked. "He’s gorgeous.”
Lava Bob is scheduled to be released later in October, Stein said.
Rescuers cared for more than 2,000 animals due to fires
As
for bears, they get burned often during wildfires because their
instinct is to climb a tree when there’s danger, Hunnicutt said.
Hunnicutt
rescued Smokey Junior — later dubbed "Leo" — from the middle of the
Antelope Fire in August. Firefighters kept the cub busy with a
cheeseburger until Hunnicutt got there. He brought him home overnight
until the CDFW could move the cub to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in
Auburn where UC Davis veterinarians treated his burns.
Gold
Country Wildlife Rescue cared for many animals rescued from
California's disastrous fires, including bear, fox and bobcat patients
with burns severe enough to require the clinic’s special treatments:
Tilapia fish skin to cover burns, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy,
special topical creams and acupuncture for pain relief.
While
UC Davis vets care for wildlife through the Wildlife Disaster Network,
they also deploy teams to help pets and livestock at fires through the
school’s Veterinary Emergency Response Team. Some
of the domesticated patients included cats, dogs, pet birds, exotic
pets, chickens, waterfowl, horses, donkeys, mules, cattle, goats, sheep,
alpacas and llamas.
VERT
vets cared for more than 2,000 animals that were housed at four
shelters. They also sent field teams to search for injured animals in
the Caldor Fire burn area, Costa said.
They
also visited more than 200 animals in Plumas County animal shelters, and
another 68 dogs and 23 cats evacuated with their people in Plumas
County Red Cross shelters and hotels — all while the Dixie Fire consumed 963,309 acres around them.
Most
animals rescued from fires have the same injuries, Costa said. That's
burns, dehydration, respiratory problems from smoke inhalation,
traumatic lesions and hunger — even starvation.
Evacuated
sheltered pets who were healthy when they arrived can develop medical
problems, Costa said. Sometimes they won’t eat or drink, and are
stressed from the trauma of evacuating suddenly and living with so many
animals in an unfamiliar place.
Keeping wildlife wild
While
pets go home to their owners or are adopted into new homes, most wild
animals able to fend for themselves are released into unburned territory
as close as possible to the burn areas in which they were found, Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Karlene Stoker said. That’s after they’re completely healthy.
And grumpy.
“Everyone’s
worried if they’re going to be habituated (to humans),” Hunnicutt said,
“but vets poke and prod them so much during exams, they can’t wait to
get away.”
“(When
released), some will run far enough away from you so you can’t re-catch
them — then look back at you and snarl,” Stoker said. "Others just keep
going."
After fires, many animal populations
seem to bounce back, CDFW spokesman Peter Tira said. “We’ve learned how
resilient nature is.”
Most animals that escape a fire come back pretty soon after the area cools and vegetation starts to grow back, he said.
The
CDFW is exploring ways to make areas more fire-resistant and resilient
after fires to protect animals and their territory, Tira said. That
includes adding native plants and removing invasive ones that burn
easily.
Animals are helping, he said. The CDFW
leases wilderness land to cattle, goat and sheep farmers. Their animals
munch down dry flammable brush as they graze.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
^^^ Great, thanks M! It's encouraging to read about these wildlife rescue efforts. Knowing many are being aided back to health helps offsets a little of the concern knowing many were lost.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
We went up to Hope Valley (which is basically south of Lake Tahoe) for
our annual run up the hill to catch the fall colors. Traveling up Hwy
50 and back down 88, seeing some of the devastation of the Caldor fire
was hugely depressing, but we were thrilled to see Hope Valley unscathed
and in all it's glorious fall colors!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
Just the other day, I mentioned somewhere how we were not doing too badly with wildfires here in California. And then I woke up this morning. The air is choke with smoke despite being 123 miles from the first big fire to hit California this year: the Oak Fire. Near Yosemite, this one is currently raging at 14,281 acres and 0 % containment. This is looking very bad right now. One on the first things my normal extremely optimistic wife said was simply, "Well, here we go." I always worry when she sound resigned. It's just not like her.
Oak Fire explodes to 14,281 acres, Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency in Mariposa County
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Try to not spook the horse."
-Neil Young
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,340
Earlier today at 3:15 PM, I reported: The Mosquito Fire to the north east of us on near the border of El
Dorado and Placer counties is now at 6,807 acres with rapid growth and
zero % containment. This one is going to big.
Ash was falling all around our place this morning and it was difficult to breath outside.
This is a view looking west from the west end of Placerville late this morning after the smoke had thinned a little:
The smoke has since moved away for the most part but the pyrocumulus cloud has
grown quite large, indicating the intense heat from the fire is
creating it's own weather. This is looking north east from our house.
The cloud looks much larger that this images portrays:
My update since then:
Quick update: Since I wrote the above, in the last five hours the
Mosquito fire has doubled to 13,705 acre with zero % containment. My
wife and I went for a 20 minute walk at sunset a little ways up the road
and caught a good view of the cloud of smoke. It was vast, dark, and
ominous. It was, in a word, awesome. I don't mean like "cool" or "groovy" awesome!
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Comments
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed.
I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic. Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to do this again?" Can you believe that?
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Getting much worse...
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
There is a good kind?
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I am clueless...
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
The air quality here right now is 424, hazardous. I've never seen it that bad here. My car looks like it's been snowed on. Ash everywhere. I'd snap a picture only I don't want to go outside.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I'd like to air my place out... soon...
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Caldor is now 98,149 acres, zero percent containment.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Thom Porter, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said the Caldor Fire was the “No. 1 priority in the nation” for securing more resources to help stave off the damage it could inflict on the popular destination and region, which is home to tens of thousands of people.
“It is that important,” Porter told reporters, adding: “We have all efforts to keep it out of the basin.”
The blaze has destroyed 557 buildings, Cal Fire said. Last week, it incinerated much of Grizzly Flats, a small community 65 miles east of Sacramento.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Caldor Fire, 'knocking on the door' of Lake Tahoe area, becomes nation's 'No. 1 priority for firefighting resources'
STOCKTON, Calif. — A rapidly expanding wildfire is approaching the outskirts of the Lake Tahoe basin and has become the nation's No. 1 priority for firefighting resources, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
The Caldor Fire, which is only 10 days old, has exploded to nearly 123,000 acres and taken out 632 structures including more than 450 homes. It helped spur evacuations and, along with several blazes across the state, led to the closure of nine national forests. Nearly 18,000 properties were still in danger from the blaze, which was 11% contained as of Tuesday evening.
"It is knocking on the door to the Lake Tahoe basin," said Chief Thom Porter, director of CAL FIRE. "We have all efforts in place to keep it out of the basin but we do need to also be aware that is a possibility based on the way the fires have been burning."
Rather unnerving, to say the least.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Appears to require subscription to read. Can you give us a quick synopsis?
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
'We’ve learned how resilient nature is': Animals recovering from California fires get a little help
REDDING, Calif. — This year, Axel Hunnicutt ran through burning forests, slogged through streams and hiked steep mountain terrain trying to find seven black bears injured in Siskiyou County's Lava and Antelope fires.
One he never found. Five were healthy enough to evade him from capturing them. The seventh — a 16-pound hamburger-eating cub dubbed Smokey Junior — went home with him.
Hunnicutt is a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist specializing in carnivores. He and the CDFW are part the Wildlife Disaster Network, a coalition of University of California at Davis vets and other professionals saving animals from this year’s history-making wildfires.
Drought throughout much of the state, triple-digit summers and wind mean fires are moving faster than usual. These can overtake animals trying to flee.
“I have the impression that there have been (fewer) burned animals rescued,” said Lais Costa, a veterinarian and the director of operations for the Veterinary Emergency Response Team at UC Davis. “This might be because there has been a better evacuation effort or because those animals (died from their injuries) and were not able to be rescued.”
Others, like Lava Bob, were saved.
During the Lava Fire in July, Hunnicutt responded to a report of an “emaciated mountain lion” loose on a Lake Shastina golf course.
When he arrived he found an injured and starving bobcat. “His paws were so burnt. He was so skinny — only 16 pounds. I was surprised I could get a dart in him,” Hunnicutt said.
The Siskiyou Humane Society stabilized Lava Bob until he could be taken to Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Redding, then to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue for burn therapies on July 11.
“He was just skin and bones," Gold Country Wildlife Rescue director Sallysue Stein said. "He had second third and fourth-degree burns to his legs.”
The cat is recovering nicely, she said, and weighs around 35 pounds — a good weight for a bobcat.
“Now he yowls and growls and drools, and comes stalking toward us. We must look delicious," she joked. "He’s gorgeous.”
Lava Bob is scheduled to be released later in October, Stein said.
Rescuers cared for more than 2,000 animals due to fires
As for bears, they get burned often during wildfires because their instinct is to climb a tree when there’s danger, Hunnicutt said.
Hunnicutt rescued Smokey Junior — later dubbed "Leo" — from the middle of the Antelope Fire in August. Firefighters kept the cub busy with a cheeseburger until Hunnicutt got there. He brought him home overnight until the CDFW could move the cub to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue in Auburn where UC Davis veterinarians treated his burns.
Gold Country Wildlife Rescue cared for many animals rescued from California's disastrous fires, including bear, fox and bobcat patients with burns severe enough to require the clinic’s special treatments: Tilapia fish skin to cover burns, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, special topical creams and acupuncture for pain relief.
While UC Davis vets care for wildlife through the Wildlife Disaster Network, they also deploy teams to help pets and livestock at fires through the school’s Veterinary Emergency Response Team. Some of the domesticated patients included cats, dogs, pet birds, exotic pets, chickens, waterfowl, horses, donkeys, mules, cattle, goats, sheep, alpacas and llamas.
VERT vets cared for more than 2,000 animals that were housed at four shelters. They also sent field teams to search for injured animals in the Caldor Fire burn area, Costa said.
They also visited more than 200 animals in Plumas County animal shelters, and another 68 dogs and 23 cats evacuated with their people in Plumas County Red Cross shelters and hotels — all while the Dixie Fire consumed 963,309 acres around them.
Most animals rescued from fires have the same injuries, Costa said. That's burns, dehydration, respiratory problems from smoke inhalation, traumatic lesions and hunger — even starvation.
Evacuated sheltered pets who were healthy when they arrived can develop medical problems, Costa said. Sometimes they won’t eat or drink, and are stressed from the trauma of evacuating suddenly and living with so many animals in an unfamiliar place.
Keeping wildlife wild
While pets go home to their owners or are adopted into new homes, most wild animals able to fend for themselves are released into unburned territory as close as possible to the burn areas in which they were found, Shasta Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Karlene Stoker said. That’s after they’re completely healthy.
And grumpy.
“Everyone’s worried if they’re going to be habituated (to humans),” Hunnicutt said, “but vets poke and prod them so much during exams, they can’t wait to get away.”
“(When released), some will run far enough away from you so you can’t re-catch them — then look back at you and snarl,” Stoker said. "Others just keep going."
After fires, many animal populations seem to bounce back, CDFW spokesman Peter Tira said. “We’ve learned how resilient nature is.”
Most animals that escape a fire come back pretty soon after the area cools and vegetation starts to grow back, he said.
The CDFW is exploring ways to make areas more fire-resistant and resilient after fires to protect animals and their territory, Tira said. That includes adding native plants and removing invasive ones that burn easily.
Animals are helping, he said. The CDFW leases wilderness land to cattle, goat and sheep farmers. Their animals munch down dry flammable brush as they graze.
continues....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Oak Fire explodes to 14,281 acres, Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency in Mariposa County
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
The Mosquito Fire to the north east of us on near the border of El Dorado and Placer counties is now at 6,807 acres with rapid growth and zero % containment. This one is going to big.
Ash was falling all around our place this morning and it was difficult to breath outside.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I absolutely detest this new, narcissistic, gift-grabbing ritual. And you’re having a baby; should its gender render such hoo-ha?
I say no!
edit - I see this is from September 2020. Must be what I was thinking of. But still! Everything else, I stand by.