Fire on the mountain!

[Drunk Monk]

Buttercup Cakes, one of our favorite places on the mall, is done. The owners of the bakery had homes in the damaged zone as well as their kitchen. They made these expensive gourmet pastries including a gluten-free chocolate cake that Stacy loved. I got it for her for her birthday every year. 

Air quality in our neighborhood is at 117 (150 is bad, 200 is toxic). San Lorenzo High is 487.

[cranefly]

Air quality index in Mountain View right now is 162.  That's labeled Unhealthy.

Yeah, this is lingering too long, and who knows if it goes beyond linger?  LCF and I are thinking about fleeing to Beijing for a couple weeks.

In all seriousness, stay safe all.  So many people hurting in so many ways.

[Drunk Monk]

Been checkin in with friends in my hood. A few more are packed and leaving. Sounds like the fire breaks will save the Cruz but the smoke is still an issue, and there's gusty winds and dry lightning predicted until Tues night. That's when our hotel here ends and we'll have to move on. Not sure what the plan is yet. 

How are you all doing now? Tg, did those fires merge? Greg, we see your air quality index dropping fast - how's the lair?

[Greg]

Our air quality is currently listed as unhealthy but that monitoring station might be down in the city. It's smokey overcast but I can still see for about five miles from the house.

I have a friend Kathy, sister to Ruedi Kaspar, that lives in Ben Lomond. She evacuated to her sister's house in Saratoga. There house still stands but today is going to be the determining day.

The thought of more lightning is madness. You people should have done more raking.

[cranefly]

We have writer friends with a house in Ben Lomond.  They had to evacuate, are staying with friends in Santa Cruz(!!!).  Their house is fine right now, but the next 48 hours will be critical.  Or so their last report said.

Like a lot of people, we're getting very tired of breathing smoke.  But we're certainly not the hardest hit, and don't think our home is at risk.  We're thankful for that.

[Drunk Monk]

Took Darth to the car wash at Mobil. It was touchless and only took off a layer. I’ll have to scrub the rest off, or go to a real car wash.

[Greg]

Lots of flashes in the sky north of us last night. I don't expect good things.

[Drunk Monk]

@tg

Carmel and River Fires Aug 24: Containment grows for Monterey County fires

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Updated: 6:42 AM PDT Aug 24, 2020

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[b]SALINAS, Calif. —[/b]
Firefighters have gained some containment on two wildfires that prompted evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes in Monterey County, Cal Fire said Sunday.
The River Fire burning south of Salinas and the Carmel Fire burning east of Carmel Valley have created a series of evacuations as they burn less than two miles from each other. As of Sunday morning, the fires had not merged. CLICK HERE for the latest evacuation map.

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The River Fire was last reported as 48,424 acres and was 20% contained. The Carmel Fire was last reported as 6,695 acres and 15% contained.
Dozens of structures have been destroyed by the two fires, as of Sunday evening:

• River Fire: 21 structures destroyed -- eight homes, 13 minor structures
  
  
• Carmel Fire: 37 structures destroyed -- 35 homes, 2 minor structures
  

More than 19,500 structures are threatened between the two fires, Cal Fire said.
Four minor injuries have been reported in connection with the River Fire.

[Drunk Monk]

Redwoods survive wildfire at California's oldest state park

Updated: 6:49 PM PDT Aug 24, 2020

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By MARTHA MENDOZA, Associated Press

[b]BOULDER CREEK, Calif. —[/b]
When a massive wildfire swept through California's oldest state park last week it was feared many trees in a grove of old-growth redwoods, some of them 2,000 years old and among the tallest living things on Earth, may finally have succumbed.
But an Associated Press reporter and photographer hiked the renowned Redwood Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Monday and confirmed most of the ancient redwoods had withstood the blaze. Among the survivors is one dubbed Mother of the Forest. 

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"That is such good news, I can't tell you how much that gives me peace of mind," said Laura McLendon, conservation director for the Sempervirens Fund, an environmental group dedicated to the protection of redwoods and their habitats.
Redwood forests are meant to burn, she said, so reports earlier this week that the state park was "gone" were misleading.
The historic park headquarters is gone, as are many small buildings and campground infrastructure that went up in flames as fire swept through the park about 45 miles south of San Francisco. 
"But the forest is not gone," McLendon said. "It will regrow. Every old growth redwood I've ever seen, in Big Basin and other parks, has fire scars on them. They've been through multiple fires, possibly worse than this."
When forest fires, windstorms and lightning hit redwood trees, those that don't topple can resprout. Mother of the Forest, for example, used to be 329 feet tall, the tallest tree in the park. After the top broke off in a storm, a new trunk sprouted where the old growth had been.
[i][b]Related video: Redwood National Park is home to some of the world's tallest trees[/b][/i]

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Trees that fall feed the forest floor, and become nurse trees from which new redwoods grow. Forest critters, from banana slugs to insects, thrive under logs.
On Monday, Steller's jays searched for insects around the park's partially burned outdoor amphitheater and woodpeckers could be heard hammering on trees. Occasionally a thundering crash echoed through the valley as large branches or burning trees fell.
When Big Basin opened in 1902 it marked the genesis of redwood conservation. The park now receives about 250,000 visitors a year from around the world, and millions have walked the Redwood Trail.
The park only recently reopened after COVID-19 related closures and now is closed because of the fire. The road in is blocked by several large trees that fell across it, some waist-high, some still on fire.
While there is a great deal of work to be done rebuilding campgrounds, clearing trails and managing damaged madrones, oaks and firs, Big Basin will recover, McLendon said.
"The forest, in some ways, is resetting," she said.
State Parks District Superintendent Chris Spohrer said he was pleased to know the redwoods had survived. He said an assessment team had only been able to check buildings so far, and that he hopes they can inspect the trees in the coming days.
"The reason those trees are so old is because they are really resilient," he said.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Good news.

[thatguy]

I've been checking the news and cal fire updates regularly over the past few days. CarmelFire and RiverFire didn't merge yet. The weather changed and I think that made a big difference. They lifted the evac orders for the zones closest to us. Helicoptor fly-by's are much less regular. Air quality is much better. We unsealed the doors and windows and actually let the cat out on the balcony last night (where she got into a screaming match with a neighbor's cat).

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

And we’re back.

We took the coast hwy. It was blue sky almost all the way with some hints of smoke in the distance. There’s a faint smoke odor in the Cruz, but we attenuated to it quickly which is probably why my neighborhood friends kept saying they couldn’t smell any smoke anymore.

It’s good to be home... even better to still have a home.

[Drunk Monk]

Our air quality is now down to 117 from a high of 366 this morning http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...6#pid40716

Soquel was flagged as one of the top five worst - can't remember if that was world or nation (Stacy saw it this morning).

What air quality maps are you using?

[Greg]

I did a google search for the AQI and then I found out there was an app for AQI in the App store. Google said Raymond air quality was moderate in the 90s, but the app says we are 131.

[King Bob]

There's an interactive map for AQI, and it shows where the sensors are located.