November 10, 2024 - Delilah

 

Title: November 10, 2024 - Delilah Lookout
Hike Info : Description :  Extra Photo's 

Hike Info:

Type: Lookout

Description:

I got up even earlier than yesterday after a good night's sleep. The smoke which covered the land below us yesterday is still there, but not looking like a sea of white. Today the quality of smoke is more wispy.

The sun rises and we need to start packing. Today a crew will be coming in starting at 0930 to close Delilah. it is good to get our stuff out of the way.

 

We have breakfast after going into service at 0800. Then as Sherri us about to go down to put stuff in the car, I see a cloud of something over by Cherry Gap. Is this a fresh smoke? Smoke from the Happy Fire spilling through the Gap? Sherri is also looking. I realize this cloud is over from Cherry Gap, more like down from the Chicago Stump area. The cloud is more of a tan color and seems to be freshly descending. We realize that the cloud is dust, being raised from a vehicle on road 13S03. Scare resolved. This kind of false smoke is something we train on to detect, but it still gets the heart going, particularly initially. Also glad we do not need to deal with this while trying to close the lookout.

We do some cleaning up, wiping off the counter glass and mopping the floor. About the time we get mostly clean, the first person of the crew comes up, Judy, our friend. We talked for a while and observed the area. Then others come. In all, we have Richard, Mich, Kathy, Neil, Greg, Judy and us. Also P31 is here to help and as the representative of the Forest Service. Mich, who also works for the Forest Service, pretty much takes command of getting the cab broken down so that things are safe over the Winter. Yours truly tries to be helpful without being in the way. About half of us go downstairs and receive what we send down. Also they work on the shed.

Finally, everything is set in the cab. It is time to go out of service. Because I went in-service, I was chosen to go out. Going out of service for the season with Sierra is pretty straight forward and they are appreciative of our service.

But going out of service with Porterville is like the rest of the season with the radio--interesting. First, we had already pulled the base radio, so I used the handheld to get a hold of Porterville. No response. I tried several times. Then Judy tries. P31 is picking us up on his radio, so we know it is getting out. Then P31 looks at his phone and sees that Porterville is not able to respond to any radio communications, so we are to contact our duty officer. So I signal Division 3 and go out of service with him. About three minutes later, Porterville asks if we were trying to reach them. Affirmative and we officially go out of service for the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                     Video provided by Richard Kinney

During the last year, we have had two of our lookouts passed way. One of them was a very talented metal worker who spent a considerable amount of time maintaining the lookouts. He is missed, particularly since he was an all around good person. He would always be there to open and close the lookouts. One of the traditions was that at the end of the season, there was a pumpkin dropped from Delilah. Jim was the one who would have this honor. Today, the pumpkin was thrust into my hands. After Richard saluted Jim and did a countdown, I dropped the pumpkin. I was thinking I may not have gotten it far enough out, but it missed the bottom strut and the picnic bench. It was a successful drop.

                                                       Video provided by Mich Michigan

We then close up the cab and go downstairs. We enjoy a time of snacks. Nobody seems like they want to be the first to leave. But we do leave, about 1315 is when things break up. It is that kind of thing, being a fire lookout. We do not see people for most of the year, maybe about three or four times a year, if we are fortunate. When we do get together, we d not want things to end. There is a sense of community and a sense of enjoying each other.

Sherri and I leave and make our trip back to Fresno without incident. I had promised a friend that I would stop in on the way and look at her plumbing. But another friend has fixed the issue, so I am free. After I heard this, I was a bit relieved. Being in the lookout for three days, I am interested in getting home and taking a shower and then eating. Which is what we do.Our dinner is at DiCicco. A good way to end the weekend.

 

Extra Photo's