Description:
The smoke is above Patterson Bluffs towards the east and
I realize that is right around BlackRock. I try to call Sierra
dispatch and my old phone-the current phone is broken-has Sierra’s
old number. So I drive for a little ways and reach Buck
Rock by phone. They have just
arrived and have not looked around yet. So I continue on driving to
the tower. As I climb the tower I still see the smoke. So when I get
into the cab, I phoned Sierra if they have heard anything in the
area. No. So I will radio out a report when I have more information.
Sometimes on the radio, you hear some strange chatter.
You only wished that you had recorded it. Around 1245 I hear from SNF
that there is a request for a tranquilizer. Why and what for is not
said. I am wondering if I heard this right as I do not think I have
heard this before. Then a few minutes later there is chatter coming
from the Ferguson fire, which only started a few days ago-I have
switched off of the normal SNF command channel to channel 2. Still
occasionally something pops up about that fire. This time, there is
an estimate about when a drone is coming in-about two and half hours.
First time to hear that also. I really need to get my ears checked,
followed by my head.
In the meantime, I am up here at Delilah and now looking
around for signs of smoke which there is none. But there are are
clouds. Looking towards the northwest, there is one solitary monster
cloud rising up. I wonder where that cloud is and after plotting it
out, I realize that is above the Ferguson Fire, 60 miles away. If
that cloud is that far away and that large, it has to be of monstrous
size. I talk with Fence
Meadow Lookout and he concurs that
is from the fire. After about an hour the cloud disappears.
For some days in a lookout, life is placid. That is not
today. For starters, Sherri has been not feeling well, so I am going
to be up in the tower for three days. The other item is that Mom fell
yesterday and Steven is tending to her. So I will be interested in
seeing what happens there.
I woke up early, around 0540, and cannot get back to
sleep. So I tie up some loose ends-I have not been here for awhile
and need to take care of bills and stuff. I get out a bit early and
readying myself for my 90 minute drive up and is off around 0710. The
drive up 180 is peaceful and I turn onto the road up to Delilah,
another 45 minutes of mostly dirt road, which should be also
uneventful.
The operative words are “should be.” There is a
layer of smoke right around 6800-7000’, either from the Lions
Point fire or more probably the
Ferguson
fire. When I drive in, I glance
around to see if there is any smokes I should be concerned about.
Looked over at McKenzie
Ridge-nothing; Park
Ridge-nothing; Rodgers
Ridge-nothing; Patterson
Bluffs-smoke. SMOKE! and a large
three columns of smoke.
 |
| My "Smoke" at Black Rock |
I got the azimuth and put my binoculars on the smoke to
get a better idea of the location and found the layer of smoke and
found Black Rock. But where is the smoke? I see the three pieces of
granite making up Black Rock but not the three columns of smoke. Wait
a minute! When did that smoke turn into granite? Ohhhhh! I hate being
so wrong and embarrassed the first thing in the morning. I called
back Sierra dispatch and confessed my sin. Then called Buck Rock to
inform them they do not need to look any more there either.
And now to start my regular day.
I take the weather status and go in-service with both
Sierra (SNF) and Porterville (PV)-Sequoia National Forest at 0930.
Then do a scan and get my paperwork together. The weather is pretty
clear, except for the smoke mentioned before, which is cutting down
visibility. Not much activity on my part. After the 1000 weather and
staffing report, I do some more scans. Also I start arranging for my
three day stay. Kathy calls me around 1030 to check to see how I am
doing. I explain the situation with Sherri and my mother. Also the
fiasco this morning. She is highly sympathetic. She says that any
lookout who has been around for awhile reports a false smoke-so
welcome to the club. Both Kathy and Wendy understand we are
volunteers and will make mistakes. The important part is to be able
to recovery quickly from them. At 1100, is the normal SNF lookout
check-in, which I do.
Around 1130 clouds are starting to surround me to the
north all the way to the southeast. Some mighty big ones at that.
They will not reach Delilah today but if this keeps up, I may see
some action by Tuesday.
 |
| Clouds starting to surround Delilah |
Now the days gets more personal. My son had called
earlier that my mother was having troubles getting out of bed. After
discussing the situation, he called the Kaiser advice nurse and now
they are sending my mother to the emergency room. I will need to
understand what this means and if I need to change my plans for the
next several days.
 |
| Cloud from Ferguson Fire |
The rest of the afternoon got spent on the phone. Some
with my brother, some with the ER doctor and some with Kathy about
status of the lookout. Through all of this, I try to keep an eye for
smokes, but I can only say that I am not as alert as I should be. I
suspect that a smoke would have to be right in my face before I would
notice it. Not because of despondency of what is happening, but
trying to make good decisions about what to do with my mother.
During all of this, Delilah Doe appears below me, along
with her fawns. Something peaceful looking at them and seeing them
gently walking across the trail into the trees.
As the time approached 1700, I decide that Kathy needs
to see who can work Monday and Tuesday. I will go back to Fresno
tonight to see if I need to go to the Bay Area. If I am available and
no one has stepped up, I will come back to Delilah and work it.
At 1800, I go out of service and then lug my stuff down.
We usually clean up before we leave, such as mop the floor and stuff.
But today, it is more just do the more basic stuff-turn off
equipment, put away stuff and get my stuff out of there. Then it is
off I go to Fresno.
On my way out, as I come up onto the Davis Road/Delilah
Road junction, I see something laying across the road. I am coming up
on this something at about 10-15mph, wondering what is it? Then when
I am right on top of it, I realize it is a snake! Did I kill it? What
kind of snake is it? I curl back around expecting to see tire tracks
across its body. But what do I see? It curled up, looking around
saying what just happened and why is it coming back again? I take a
few pictures and then leave it along. After looking at a nature book,
I think it was a gopher snake, not a rattler like I first thought.
I make it home by 2000, tired, but wondering what
tomorrow brings. Sherri fixes me something to eat, and I make some
calls. My mother seems to be OK now and will be transferred to ICU.
So I best go on over to the Bay Area tomorrow. Time to get packed.
Trail Lesson:
What is planned will change.
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| Delilah Doe |
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| Delilah Doe and her fawns |
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| Gopher snake alive and well |
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| More of the gopher snake |
