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adam d
climber
CA
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May 11, 2009 - 01:50am PT
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Mongrels thoughts make sense, but it is challenging to generalize about chaparral as it takes so many forms. From sparse waist high scrub to 40' tall elfin forests and with a wide range of possible species makeup. It seems to me that without fire suppression, most chaparral would not go 50+ years without burning (certainly not with the rate that humans have been lighting fires lately in SB county and elsewhere). Some of the chaparral in SB is downright enormous. Big difference lighting up a field of black sage vs a stand of 50 year old ceanothus or scrub oak.
Even though most fires in chaparral will burn everything above ground, it seems that the ultimate scale of the fire and the impact on humans would be quite different depending on the makeup of of the chaparral and the amount of fuel out there.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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May 11, 2009 - 08:11pm PT
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hey john--- sorry to hear you lost that hat. good thing you documented it with photos.
at least you got to keep the house.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 11, 2009 - 08:26pm PT
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jstan, modelling what may be the missing hat, at last year's FaceLift. Hopefully it will be found safe and whole. And I hope jstan is also, in between climbing on roofs, dodging fires and fire fighters, and (possibly) climbing into culverts.
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labrat
Trad climber
Nevada, CA
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May 11, 2009 - 11:21pm PT
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John,
Best wishes.
Erik
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jstan
climber
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May 12, 2009 - 12:51pm PT
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTvu_y_up58
Turns out these puppies have a cult following. Lift 2700 gallons of water (rated load 20,000#) using two 4500 hp turboshaft Pratt and Whitney engines. Located in Oregon Erickson Skycrane has a fleet of eighteen so the ones we see here probably come down on lease as needed. Each one has its own name. A firefighting version purchased by Australia was named Elvis. The design started out as the Sikorsky CH54 but was eventually bought by Erickson who now manufactures them.
Cant find a price anywhere. Governments buy them.
Instead of getting a Saturn 5 for Christmas I now want a SkyCrane.
I know. I know. Fickle
EDIT:
Tue: 3PM
Glendale just picked up the length of hose they had left at our hydrant. Going home.
Seems like every time you gain something you also lose something.
Sad feeling.
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scuffy b
climber
Bad Brothers' Bait and Switch Shop
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May 12, 2009 - 12:53pm PT
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Saturn 5's are pretty hard to come by.
You might, just might, get a SkyCrane...maybe it will be
bringing a pony, too.
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MisterE
Trad climber
One Step Beyond!
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May 12, 2009 - 12:59pm PT
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Glad everytrhing is fine for you, John
Jeff: so sorry to hear about the loss - that's a heart-breaker.
Erik
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tom Slater
Trad climber
CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 14, 2009 - 12:05am PT
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30 goats bit the dust. The fire is stil going. Crazy. More winds too, but they say it might miss the area and stay south. Were any climbing areas torched?
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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May 15, 2009 - 08:31pm PT
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I wonder how jstan is doing? His e-mail has been OOO since before the fires.
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jstan
climber
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May 15, 2009 - 09:00pm PT
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Sorry for not replying quickly. Worrieth thee not.
The cold has had me down also since before the fire and I took more than a full year's supply of smoke into the lungs in just one week. Getting better now. My email is dead dead mostly out of laziness.
The Sky Cranes have been going constantly, this afternoon a survey helicopter was thoroughly checking out the fire line which our house is right on, and this morning the roads were full of pumpers headed back home. Saturday I expect they will announce containment is 100%.
Believe it or not when I went into the neighbor's (unoccupied) house and saw the chair I had been sitting in while watching the TV in an attempt to find out what was happening, I got an attack of nostalgia. I want never to do it again but it really was an incredible experience.
Wildone's house is still there and even Dempsey the friendly neighborhood watch dog. She is a truly excellent watcher. Tomorrow I will try and recover my Thom Scheuer baseball cap. It was the Mohonk Preserve's 2002 Land Stewardship Award to me so I really need to get it back.
Contrary to Kerwin's fervent hopes, my usual hat was never in danger. It spent the fire buried and lost somewhere under the stuff I threw into the truck.
A couple of coworkers at the plant got together to try and decide what it was they most needed to put in their trucks to save. Their wives' shoe collections were the obvious choice. When done they got together and settled, again immediately, on the rest of their wive's wardrobes. Their own jack hammers, saws, and other tools were much more easily replaceable.
I may be wrong but I suspect these two items would have been the last the wives themselves would have selected. Mind you, if wrong, I won't admit it.
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tom Slater
Trad climber
CA
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Topic Author's Reply - May 20, 2009 - 09:39pm PT
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for visuals go to :
http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2009/05/santabarbarawildfire/
Photo 43 and 58 were favs...
Anyone local know if any crags are closed?
Heading up Mem. Day and will give a report.
Fire Status
8,733 acres burned
All evacuation orders and warnings lifted as of May 13, 2009
Residences threatened 500; commercial properties threatened 0
80 homes destroyed; 15 homes damaged
1 commercial property destroyed
2 outbuildings damaged, 79 outbuildings destroyed
1,857 personnel on scene: 111 engines, 57 crews
1 air attack tanker and 4 helicopters
30 firefighter injuries to date
Cause under investigation: Tip line: (805) 686-5074
Air quality warning remains in effect
Estimated costs to date $17 million
Expected containment 5/20/09
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Jim Wilcox
Boulder climber
Santa Barbara
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May 20, 2009 - 10:29pm PT
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fire crags-open
lizards mouth- open(went there today)
San Ysidro- open
Brickyard- closed-originally marked that it would be closed until Sept. but heard rumor that may open sooner.
Playground-closed(same situation as Brickyard)
Gibralter-unknown
If you had a specific area in mind, let me know and I can find out.
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kevsteele
climber
Santa Barbara, CA
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May 31, 2009 - 08:48pm PT
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Coming into this thread late - it's been a few weeks. I live in Mission Canyon, ran Jesusita trail every other day. Fire came to within a few hundred feet of the house.
I was also shooting for the press - kevsteele's blog has some images.
A couple of 20 image galleries of the fire are here and here: the second is while embedded with fire crews, very close and personal.
Here is the Gibraltar Rock area as it smoldered in the late stages of the fire. Climbers were up there today as I rode my bike along the road and I plan to head up there again tomorrow to look closer...
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jstan
climber
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May 31, 2009 - 09:31pm PT
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KS:
You must have had some really good filters to deal with the smoke.
Great stuff!
Edit
So far I have seen only San Roque Canyon. It was really hot there and Kevin's pictures make it appear it was generally hot on Inspiration Point. Not like the Day Fire. This one may be awhile coming back.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
Sprocketville
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May 31, 2009 - 09:41pm PT
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boy, that looks like a hot one.
did it sterilize the soil?
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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May 31, 2009 - 09:56pm PT
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Just burn it & get on with it.
Sheez.
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tom Slater
Trad climber
Central Coast CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 1, 2009 - 02:00pm PT
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Kevin, thanks for the images.
Gibraltar is open and cooked... wow.
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kevsteele
climber
Santa Barbara, CA
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Here is the Gibraltar Rock area up closer today.
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Slater
climber
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Wow, glad I got some pictures when it was green! What a wasteland! So, it is open then to climbing? It'll be a trippy experience for sure.
Thanks for posting that photo.
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kevsteele
climber
Santa Barbara, CA
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technically, the road is closed to through traffic for a month while crews trundle rocks from the uphill slopes Mon-Fri 8am-4pm. But you can drive past the sign and up, i guess as long as you are not continuing to the top you are not "driving through" - if you do it during the week you may have a delay from the road crews.
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