July 13, 2024 - Park Ridge Lookout

 

Title: July 13, 2024 - Park Ridge Lookout
Hike Info : Description :  Background :  Extra Photo's 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

CalFire Warning

I got up at 0530 and did my lightning report. There were some cloud-to-cloud, but none hit the ground. So the report was rather simple. I was done by 0615. Then I started working on getting the car loaded. Not much excitement here. We had decided to go out to the Train Depot for breakfast. We get there by 0850, with a few minute wait. I had a Frankie’s Omelete. Filling and good tasting It was just before 1000 before we got back, in time for Steven’s game time with his friends.

Sherri and I get the finishing touches on what we are going to take up to Park Ridge Lookout. In the meantime, I get an email asking that a couple of people want to be added to receive my lightning report. Interesting that this little niche report which I thought a few people might be interested in has become a useful tool. Anyway, Wendy and I also talked about the concerns of the day. That is lightning. Fire Weather has today with an LAL of 2, then going to 6 this afternoon. See Background below for more.

Park Ridge Lookout

By 1130 we are on our way. But first, we stopped at a furniture store. Sherri orders some sofa pillows there. By the time we leave it is 1230. Sherri drives up to Big Stump and we talk about what today might be like. It is said that normal people run away from danger while firefighters and the police run towards it. I am thinking this is more of an exercise of walking towards danger-we know there are safeguards in the lookout so, we are not too concerned as long as we take care to do our part.

I drive up to Panoramic Point and then to Park Ridge. There is a spring which turns a small section of the dirt road into a quagmire. But we make it through without trouble. We get to the lookout at 1430. I think Peggy, the lookout which we are relieving, is glad to get out of the tower before the lightning starts. She lets us know what the status is. Seems like it has been a good morning for her. I asked her about a person I had read about in a book, Cool, Gray City of Love. Turns out she will be having lunch with her soon.

After Peggy leaves, I start bringing up stuff and then the wind starts to blow hard and the rain starts in. I am thinking it feels like it will rain hard, but it just sprinkles enough to turn the dust on the car to mud, but not enough to wash it away.

Cells in the Sierra

I hear on the radio that Division 3 and Buck Rock Lookout are talking about the status of Buck Rock. Buck Rock is saying that he is not seeing lightning. But as he says that I lookout and note a strike to the east, a little north of where Buck Rock is located. But I am not sure where the strike is as there are hills and ridges blocking my view. I relay this information to them.

There is activity down south, enough so that Peggy has said the Hume Lake area is using a different command channel than they are usually using. Turns out they got hit hard with lighting which has started several fires. One of them, the Trout, keeps getting mentioned.

On our end of the world, Buck Rock notes there is a cell going up Ten Mile Canyon. But there is no lightning seen. That turns out to be the most excitement weatherwise we have. It generates some wind and rain, but the rain is away from us. Buck Rock and us do discuss the weather and what it looks like on each other's areas.

Then we get into hearing about oddities. Not from Buck Rock, but from Porterville. A smoldering stump has been reported at Jennie Lake. Not one hit by lightning, but somebody had built a campfire into the stump and did not put it out. Maybe they did not realize how hard that would be. It is late in the afternoon, so DIvision 3 says they will send someone up there tomorrow. And then we are back to the normal interesting things like a tree falling across the road into Cedar Grove around Grizzly Falls.

Normally, we would go out of service at 1800, but we will be on extended hours today and tomorrow. Buck Rock has a drive home, so they are leaving at 1800 after checking in with Division 3. Delilah is going out of service with Sierra, but somehow it gets communicated on Porterville’s channel. I talk with Delilah and they have it straightened out. They also had a shift change about that time and I will be talking with Delilah for the rest of my time at Park Ridge.

The reason why we have extended hours is because of serious conditions. In this case it is the lightning. I usually get to experience it during holiday weekends. After 1800, the shadows make it hard to see too much, but we look, concentrating on where visibility allows us to see. We also have our lasagna dinner-sorry, no pictures. In 2000, we went out of service.

Sherri and I get ready for bed. The light is starting to fade. But we have enough time to go for a short walk down the road, maybe about 100 yards and then turn around. The sunset is good. Between Park Ridge and Delilah, I think Park Ridge has a little bit better sunsets. It may be because Park Ridge has a nice wide catwalk facing west. After getting our reward for being up here, we settle down to our bedtime routine about 2145. I am out by 2215.

Background

LAL. Lightning Activity Level: The idea behind this item is to alert people to the potential for lightning and what type it is. There are six levels, but levels are not like hurricane levels where it designates the strength of the activity. Rather it talks about the likelihood of activity and the types. Such as a 2 says there may be isolated thunderstorms and a 3 says widely scattered thunderstorms. But a 6 says that like 3 there will be widely scattered thunderstorms, but it is likely to be dry rather than having rain associated with it.

 

 Extra Photo's

Moon through Park Ridge's stairs

Magical evening time

Last light of day