Yet another FIRE!

 

  Was heading up to our local OSH, and there it was, a HUGE "Mushroom Cloud" of smoke rising above the highway a few mile up from the "fishhook" (Hwy1 & 17)  This fire is on Buena Vista Dr, and was apparently started along Hwy1 just west of the CHP office.  I sure hope we don't have a fire bug running around starting these things!  No news as yet how big or how many acres are lit up.
 

Looks to be a few hundred acres at least. Multiple structures lost with HWY 1 closed for a good stretch in the  Freedom/Aptos area. That was around 5pm this evening. Fire started near Taber? road.

I was at pajaro golf course when it broke out, by the time we got finished with nine holes it was real bad. we quit golf early, to try to get home from watsonville to Aptos.

The highway was closed in both directions, so I tried to go Freedom Road, just as I got there, it was closed. They told everyone the only one to the North end of the county was to go to gilroy, take 85 to SJ and the 17 to santa cruz.

I decided to take the mountain roads and try to outflank the fire.

I took green hills road by pinto lake to a mountain road called glen haven road which took me to freedom road north of corralitas and eventualy to hwy 1 north past the fire.
It was touch and go for a while, but I got there about hour later.

What a mess, there was cars everywhere as hwy 1 was closed and everyone was trying the side roads. But not many people know about the mountain roads, I only knew about them by getting lost there a year ago.


Hope all the NCKA people in the area are all right and their families.

all the time I was thinking about being on the water.

take care everyone

stoggie

I was at the fire on Friday...It sucked!

I was returning from Monteray w/ the family when @ about 1:30 pm we saw a fire along the road. it had spread about 30x30 ft and was into the trees. we thought WOW, that sucks.......Then about 100 ft down the road we saw another spot fire, not as big though, but headed for the trees as well.

As we drove north we saw where some Asshole had set fires every 100 ft or so along the road. the spot fires were progressively smaller as we drove. Two other people had pulled over to call 911.

The last few fires were only about 10x10 and hadn't gotten into the brush, but what could I do?.............. I had eight hot spots to deal with and here I am in my shorts and sandals...no tools to work with.

All those homes and animals.............Well the fire sucked!

Slammer

Possibly it's a failing catalytic converter.............I had a Toyota that had a faulty one once and when I backed into the warehouse it was shooting red hot pellets out the tail pipe (circa 1984).

Cigarettes and the exhaust system of cars driving in long grass are prime culprits.  Part of the reasoning against catalytic converters on gas powered yard tools like chainsaws is to reduce the fire hazard of the tool because the converter has to be hot. 

I work for a timber company and was cutting fire line around one of our fires all weekend.  Fires suck.  I reeked of smoke.  My wife suggested that I just take some brined fish up with me in the morning.  By evening they'd be perfectly smoked.  I say F**K lightning.

I'm right smack dab in the middle of silycon valley  (we mover our office next to Great America park) and I can barely just see my Santa Cruz mountains from my cube window now.  Whole valley is smoked in.  Wind came up yesterday and cleared the air some,but the wind hasn't arrived as yet (16:46hr)   News last night said smoke from Big Sur would blow back north,and here it is.....  Grim skies!

It is making for some SWEET sunsets up here the last few days, though. 

Much props to all the firemen/women out there helping to save structures and lives!