I slept pretty well last
night. A bit cold, even in the cab. I put on socks during the night
and that helped to keep me warm. When I awoke this morning with first
light, I decided that it was better to snuggle inside of the sleeping
bag. So I finally got up at 0730. A bit late for me. Even stayed
inside of the bag for awhile. We are slow getting started, but we
will open for service at 0930.
Mill Flat Creek coming out of Sequoia Lake
Part of the reason why I
lounged in my bag was that I finished reading an article by Michael
Kunz in the Pacific Journal called John
Muir and Pilgrimage through Sacred Land. Besides
knowing Dr Kunz, what was interesting to me was the journey he took
to retrace John Muir’s route to look at and ponder the Sequoia
trees of our area. Muir explored the area of Sequoia
Lake and the Converse
Basin, Grant
Grove and Giant
Forest, and some further down. But Dr Kunz retraced Muir’s
travels starting at the Kings
River. He says that Muir went up Mill
Flat Creek till he hit the Millwood area. All of this, along with
the Converse Basin and Grant Grove is in direct observation of
Delilah. I spent a lot of the day just gawking over the area,
imagining what both John Muir and Michael Kunz saw in their travels.
Maybe it is because I know the area or Michael, I enjoyed the
article.
Shuteye
One of the good things about
yesterday’s front coming through, even though it left things cold,
we have a spectacular view! Shuteye
Pk, 41
miles away is crystal clear. We can even see the peaks in southern
Yosemite, such as Sing and Madera.
If I really am able to convince myself, that I am seeing Red
and Merced
Peaks,
about 60 miles away. This is sort of like last year on our last day
at lookout, we had a clear and spectacular view. Sort of like a
reward for serving the forest all summer long.
Sing, Madera, Red and Merced Peaks
We go in service at 0930 with
the weather being great. And then we settle down into our normal
life-as great as it is. I show Sherri about setting the handheld to
scan so that you can hear radio traffic out of the cabin. Also we
look at certain things on the base radio-which leads us to a bit of
oops. We have a conversation with Buck Rock. She says that she tried
to raise us on R5 Project, but we did not hear her. Sierra had done
the lookout check-in without mentioning Buck
Rock, so
she was wondering if we heard her-affirmative. I figured out why we
did not hear her-we had not returned the base radio to scan. Not the
worst thing in my life.
No smoke towards our Mud Creek
Then we hear about aircraft
being called out for an FKU incident. Where is that. A lot of our
viewing incident is for CalFire, so should be able to see a smoke,
particularly if calling out aircraft for it. This sets me to
scrambling, wondering where it is. After scanning the area and coming
up negative, I am desperate enough to turn on the radio for CalFire.
Pretty soon we pick up a transmission about a Mud Fire in FKU land.
Since fires are normally named after something in geographical
proximity, I look for a future in our area with the word “Mud” in
it. All which we can see in FKU territory is a Mud Creek about 22
miles to the west of us, just beyond Tivy Mtn. But there is no smoke
and no planes. Then I start hearing about closing off roads in
Monterey and Fresno Counties. Aha! No wonder. We are not blind! This
is 90 miles away from us. Relief is off. Now to go back to the normal
bit of looking for a smoke.
Sherri studying the fire finder map
Monarch Area
Yesterday Sierra missed us on
the 1000 lookout check-in. Today it was Buck Rock’s turn. That gets
cleared up quickly. Around noon, a new incident occurs down near
Kernville. It does not really affect us, except that some of the
aircraft is moved to support fighting the River Fire. Later that
afternoon, our regular radio channels with Sequoia is restricted so
we move to an alternative set of channels. That is about the extent
of our excitement for the day. At 1600 there is the lookout check-in.
Shortly afterwards at 1630, we go out of service for the day. And in
our case, for the season. Delilah
will
still be staffed for a couple more weeks. But all the available slots
are filled up. It looks like today is our final time up here. Sort
of a time to say goodbye until next May.
On the way back, we stop in
Squaw Valley for a pizza. Then head on home. It is nice getting back
with a full stomach by 1930.
Menu
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Oatmeal
and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.
Tang.
We thought last weekend would
be our last time at Delilah
for the season. But it was going to be unstaffed for several days, so
we offered to switch over to Delilah instead of Park Ridge. They were
able to fill Park Ridge, so we are back here for one last hurrah this
season.
I got up at 0545, took a
shower and had breakfast. We took off shortly after 0700. Sherri was
already packing coffee, so we did not stop along the way. Along the
Delilah Road, a white truck pulled over so we could pass, but his
window was rolled down. So we slowed down and said Hi.They
asked if we were going to Delilah-affirmative. Then we talked
some-you could tell there was some knowledge of lookouts and how the
Forest Service operated. We finally met Shelby who worked as a
battalion chief a few years ago. He was the one who saved the Hume
Lake area during the Rough Fire by setting a backfire in front of the
dam, forcing the fire to go around the lake and the structures in the
area. This was an honor meeting him.
Clouds on Pine Ridge
We get to Delilah at 0900 and
start loading stuff up, as well as take the weather and raising the
flag. At 0930 we go in service with both Sierra and Poterville. Buck
Rock
came in early and will be leaving a bit early, so we do not hear her
go in-service, but we do hear Park
Ridge.
The fire which happened a week
ago, the Ridge Fire, has been declared out. On a small fire like this
one, it seems like they will wait 3-5 days with everything out before
calling a fire out.The term they use is No
Heat, No Smoke.
We heard Patrol 33’s voice
today. We were getting concerned with what happened to her. It is
good to hear her.
At 1315, I take the weather.
It is colder than this morning. Also the wind is between 13 and 15
mph. But it does not look nearly as hazy as it did in the morning.
Also the RH is pretty high, around 65-70%. Which greatly lowers the
chance the chance of a fire starting, either spontaneously or set.
But the thing which looks interesting is that clouds have been
hanging around to the west and are starting to close in.
View from the Delilah Lookout cabin
At 1350, those advancing
clouds attacked Delilah and pretty much overwhelmed her. We could not
see out, so we told Sierra and Porterville we had no visibility
because we were in a cloud. There is a beauty and grace when clouds
dance around you. They puff on by, waving their whitish tentacles at
you. But there is also menace hidden there. When we look out, we see
a darkening gray and blackness to the north-nothing happens today
though. After about 45 minutes the cloud gets tired of playing with
the lookout and passes on by. There are still clouds above us which
looks like, with a little encouragement, will drop down on us. So it
is not until a little after 1500 and a phone call from BC31 saying it
is OK to go out of service if it does not get better. We let Sierra
and Porterville know that we now have a stable 10 mile visibility. Here is a 30 second video to give you an idea:
But both Buck Rock and Park
Ridge now are playing with the clouds and they will not be having
good visibility for the rest of the day. So they go out of service.
Not much happens, except we
admire the clouds and the shadows on the land around us. Then at
1630, we go out of service for the day. We are staying over tonight.
But before eating, we decide to go for a walk. Probably distance
wise, not too far, about 40 minutes worth. But this is not like
walking in Fresno where things are flat. We go down a high and climb
back up the other side. This leaves us panting a bit. When we come
back down, Sherri steps on something-turns out to be a small stick,
which gets driven through her shoe. With a bit of ingenuity, it gets
removed and we resume our walk.
By the time I visit the
outhouse, Sherri almost has dinner ready. So we get a nice view of
the setting sun for our dinnertime atmosphere. We read and stuff
before going to bed. Sorry-no evening pictures.
Seemed like whichever way I
turned my head last night, I ended up with a headache. Eventually got
up at 0645. Just sort of mozied around until Sherri got up. Then we
had breakfast and got ready for the day. It is the usual stuff as we
take our stuff down to the truck-today is the last day of our three
day stint up here. It might be the last day at Delilah
for the
season.
To back up a bit, while I said
I mozied around a bit, I did enjoy the morning light coming over Park
Ridge.
The shadows from the ridges recede from the golden sides. The air is
still and all is quiet. It is a good time to be up here, even if it
is a bit cool. Or maybe the coolness helps to enliven my senses.
Deer Love
At 0929 we go in service with
a low RH : of 15 to both Sierra and Porterville. We then settle down to
our routine of scanning, radio listening, and identifying places.
Sherri and I talk a bit about our experiences, or lack thereof, of
identifying smokes. As you go through this, you learn the terrain
better, so that part is faster in figuring out where the fire is.
Also you understand it is good to get an approximate location out to
the Forest, then give them more details. We are still working through
what is a real smoke and what is an illusion.
Is there a smoke close to Nelson?
As if right on cue, Sherri
sees something suspicious. Is it a smoke? Or is it a haze or
something else. We start figuring out where this is-the
South-Southeastern flank of Mt
Nelson,
probably about 17-18 miles from us. Whatever it is, looks like it is
behind Poison
Ridge,
probably past the McKinley
Grove area.
But it does not look like anything is really showing. So we monitor
it and continue to try to figure out what we are seeing. We get
Celeste involved, but Celeste only sees trees and granite. Then Kathy
calls, our expert in all such things. She gives us some
recommendations, including talking to Buck Rock and Sierra’s
Battalion Chief 42. Sherri calls Buck Rock, but does not see
anything, so we are content to monitor. As time goes on, the haze
clears out and the white rock gets more visible.
By this time, it is lunch and
we have our sandwich, between scans. Our looking around continues,
with not much exciting. To tell you what keeps us “entertained”
is we are listening to an incident way to the south, beyond Mineral
King in
the Sherman
Pass
area. A SPOT message was received and an ambulance is sent and keeps
asking for directions about where to pick up the victim. We keep
wondering, where is Sherman Pass? We figure out where it is and start
thinking about visiting it one of these days.
It is getting close to
quitting time. As the days shorten, so does our duty houses. We will
be going out of service at 1630 today. But at 1600, we hear a report
off of Dinkey
Road at
the Bald
Mountain Trailhead
that there is an out of control campfire. It will be named the Glen
Fire. A passing contract logger calls it in. can we see it? No, but
we do look for it. Sierra is on it right away. It will take the next
7 hours to put it out, but they caught it early.
A bit of orange close to Garlic Meadow
At 1630, we go out of service,
getting packed up. Sherri notes that it took awhile for us to get out
of the lookout today, about 40 minutes. But thinking about it, the
Glen Fire got us occupied close to quitting time, so we did not get
things ready before the end of our shift. We meet Steven in Fresno
and go out to Sweet
Tomato’s
for dinner.
This may be our last time at
Delilah for the season. The next weekend is unstaffed. We are over at
Park Ridge Thursday and Friday, but have told folks that if they want
us over at Delilah, we are willing to shift over, whichever is more
important and is harder to staff.
Background
RH. What is an RH? it is a
measurement of how much humidity there is in the area. Less than
20%, the forest wants to know about it. At this level, any spark can
take off, particularly in the dry grass we have at this time of year.
More than about 60-70% it is awfully hard to start a natural fire
Menu
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Oatmeal
and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.
Tang.
The light is just starting to
creep through the windows. I am wondering if this is enough to get up
for or even wake up to. Reading is such a good option, particularly
when your sleeping bag is warm and the air seems cooler than I want
to get up to. But around 0630, some natural urges take over. I layer
myself with two long sleeve shirts and a lookout T-Shirt. Then upon
considering things, I also put on my jacket before going down to the
outhouse.
View from the outhouse
Later on I reflect that a trip
like this, that is down to the outhouse, one must plan on the
journey. You see, going to do one’s business at
Delilah
is not just stepping out of your bedroom onto a cold bathroom floor.
No, it is a full blown process. First of all, you live in a glass
house when you are up there-fortunately, nobody can see in. Still,
you have to go down 67’, 80 steps on the outside of the lookout.
Like this morning, the railing is cold and there is a nice bit of
wind. By the time you get down to the outhouse, you are thankful to
have made it in time. But there is a reward. From the outhouse, there
is a magnificent display of autumn leaves right outside of the door.
What a reward.
I then go on a short walk,
which was almost immediately interrupted by three deer staring at me.
So I stared at them right back. Eventually, they got either tired of
my staring, or got used to me. They trotted off down the hill, away
from me after a bit. So I continued my morning walk.
Dinner time
When I got back up in the
tower, Sherri was up and going. I started our oatmeal breakfast up.
We then got ready for the coming day-just the usual. So when 0930
hit, we went in service. When I went into service, I forgot to report
that we have another morning of low
RH. So
another radio transmission to report that. After the weather and
staffing is broadcast, I call the duty officer to report on the
status of our water. Sounds like we may get another load tomorrow or
Monday.
Except for a couple vehicles
circling the lookout, we don’t get any other action today. We do
keep looking at the burn scar of the Ridge Fire, but nothing to
report there.
Moon over Park Ridge
Because it is quiet and dark
will come soon after we go out of service, Sherri fixes dinner a bit
early. We eat and take a final scan. 1800 comes and we go out of
service. Then we take a short walk while it is still light enough.
Sunset is pretty nice, along with a full moon. When we get back to
the tower, it is about to become dark, so we get ready for the night.
Not much of a day to report-that is a good thing.
Menu
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snacks
Oatmeal
and add-ins, such as dried peaches, strawberries, nuts, granola.
Tang.
Happy Birthday Sherri! We
definitely will not, or maybe we will already be out for Sherri’s
birthday dinner. We will go out to breakfast at the Train
Depott.
The price is that we will need to get up a bit earlier. I take a
shower as I probably will not have one for the next two or three
days. Breakfast is good,
Sherri and I left Fresno about
0715. After stopping at Starbucks for her birthday coffee, it was on
to Delilah.
We made pretty good time. We turned at Millwood Road/Davis
Road and
started the second half of our trip. When the pavement ran out, there
was some barricades saying that the road was closed due to a
wildfire. Do we go on? Last night the Delilah Webcam did not show any
smoke. So we started phoning up folks and eventually got hold of
BC32. He said we are authorized to go in. Feeling pretty privileged.
Then we met Engine 31 at the burn site. It was a bit different place
than I thought. Right next to the road, but on the other side of the
ridge from Delilah, just barely. We talked with the RidgeIC and got
the scoop that they would be here today and tomorrow. Later on we
heard on the radio that the Ridge Fire was 3 acres. The Horseshoe
Hotshots are also there.
Delilah Lookout
Got to Delilah at 0900. Just
in time to get the keys, go up the stairs and take the weather. It
says that our relative humidity is 15%-that is getting low. So when
we go in-service, we also say that we have low
RH. That
pretty much gets to be the excitement for the day.
Sometimes the Ridge Fire is
spoken of on the radio, but more in terms of status and size and who
will be where. Later on in the day, there is a status which says
that it is showing No
Heat, No Smoke and
they want to change the status into patrol. This means that a patrol
will come by and check on it. Also we take an extra look at the area.
But we also do not see any smoke either.
We do talk with Kathy and get
some more background on the Ridge Fire. Also just some general idea
of what has changed. Always good to talk with her. She has a way of
being supportive, calming, and giving direction without being
overbearing.
Mid-morning there is a fire
which Sierra is responding to called the Acorn Fire. From the
location report, we think we might be able to see it-close to
Auberry. It turns out it is on CalFire land. We look and report we do
not have a visual on it, even with Celeste we cannot see it. That is
the extent of our excitement there.
Gary ready for dinner
At 1800, we go out of service,
with the other lookouts. Sherri has fixed a meal of gnocchi, bread
and lettuce. The things I have her do on her birthday. By the time we
finish eating, it is getting close to being dark. So we make a quick
trip down the stairs and then return to bed down. A good and tiring
day, even without excitement.
