Dear smoke-sieged brethren and sistern,
21,000 acres now. Still 5% containment. More resources coming in from outside. We're #3 on the state priority list, after Butte and Shasta Counties.THANKS to everyone who is sending information! Please include descriptions of where places are - for example, if you refer to a creek or a mountain, please place it geographically for those who have never heard of it. It's amazing how little I know about the geography of inland Mendocino County. You could even mention a physical address so people can google it to find out where it is.
I've been working a lot on the area around my yurt and on the larger ranch I live on, so I haven't had a lot of time to phone around for information today, but here's what's come in:
Running Springs Ranch?(This from 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, June 25), via Dan Wentworth, who is keeping people on Running Springs updated:
From Rod March, of Running Springs.
Unfortunately, there are 2 pieces of troubling news from the fire department.
1. The fire that has been burning on the west side of Montgomery Woods has pushed east so that the fire crews are concerned that it is going to come across onto the ranch over the west side of our parcel where we border Montgomery Woods.
They are talking about lots of ways to try to stop the fire in Montgomery Woods, but until it gets to our place (#4450), the trees are too thick and the land is too steep to make a break. They said that the air attack has not been able to work because it is so smoky in the valley.
Since there are so many houses on the south side of Running Springs, they are hoping to stop the fire before it gets to Running Springs Road.
They are currently cutting a road along our ridge to try to get down into Montgomery Woods and create a break along the ridge or down the hillside, but if that doesn't work out well, they are considering the following (this is the second piece of troubling news):
2. They may have to create a controlled burn to clear out the "fuel" on this side of Montgomery Woods. This burn would be on the north side of Running Springs Road. It would be mostly our parcel, but also possibly some others on this side of the road.
They said this will be done carefully, taking care when they burn near any the buildings in the affected area. I have to go to get ready, but I thought you would want to know. ?We still don't have phone service, so email is the best way to contact us.--Rod March
[mendocommunity-BB] Orr Hot Springs
Date:June 25, 2008 8:34:11 PM PDT
Just ran into the owners of the springs on my way out of Greenfield. They said the flames had started down the hill towards the buildings, but it seems they have been extinguished...hopefully. The fire crews don't have the staff to just wait to see what will happen, so the owners are hanging there to watch for flames and will call 911 should they see any...and then 911 will notify the fire folks to come out.
This same fire is close to Peterson property (sorry don't know which Peterson) and close to the spring's owner's residence.
Lots of people out on Greenfield helping to clear around houses. Radical ridge had some firereach properties, but seems no structures have been hit. Everyone is working hard to keep things at bay.
From Greg Lieberknecht in the Heartland, southeast of Greenfield, 4 miles west of Parducci Winery.
I just got home from two frantic days in Ukiah doing as much as I could
around my house to protect it from possible fire coming through.? I wanted
to let you all know about what looks to be a good fire map site I just located
From that site, you hit on Wildfire Mapping and in the new screen, in the
upper right, there's a box that says Jump to Wildfire. Click on that and
select Mendocino Lightning Complex. You'll then see a large map of the
whole area of Lake and Mendocino Counties. There's a zoom in feature and
you can locate the pointer just to the west of Lake Mendocino. Click that
point three times and you'll get a closeup of our site, with the two fires to
the west and northwest of us looming large. At this moment (5:15 pm), the
latest update of the fire perimeters was done at 9:30 am today, 6/25.
FW: Clean air to breathe - Use this version, Kate
Date:June 25, 2008 2:08:20 PM PDT
I've been watching the satellite photos since Monday about 5:00 p.m.??As far
as I can tell from the photos:
The Ft. Bragg area has had clean air consistently.
Right now the coast from approximately the Navarro River in the south, going
northward to Ft. Bragg and then about the same distance north again -- looks
very clean.
In the Westport/Rockport area there may be smoke.??Either the Westport area
fire has heated up considerably, or it's being vigorously suppressed (= more
smouldering and smoke, and/or more steam) -- this based on the plume.??On
the current satellite photo, the Westport/Rockport area looks potentially
smoky; though previous to this morning it had looked quite clean.
The very northwest corner of Mendo County looks clean.??This is north of
Rockport and west of (approximately) 101.
Going north on 101, there's an abrupt transition from very smoky to very
clear in the northernmost part of the County.??I'm not sure where the
transition is currently.
Humboldt County has had very clean air consistently since the lightning
strikes, according to my husband who's been up there most of the time.??Lots
of fog, even some rain up there.??Take warm clothes.
The best escape route if you want to go to Humboldt County appears to be:
Highway 20 from Willits to Ft. Bragg.??Up the coast on Hwy 1.??Follow Hwy 1
til it rejoins Hwy 101 in the Leggett area (you may encounter smoke here).
Then 101 northward into Humboldt County.
The plume from Westport area fire, plus Rockport, seems to be coming down
101 so I don't recommend driving 101 any more than you have to.??The 101
corridor seems to be a smoke trap.
You cannot escape the smoke by going south into Sonoma County.??The Navarro
Ridge and nearby plumes have been going into Sonoma County.??On the
satellite photos, Sonoma Co. looks very bad.
You cannot escape the smoke by going east.??Lake County and eastward has
been very bad.??The Central Valley appears to be sucking up smoke from both
the west and the east (Sierra fires).
Now, for clean air wherever you are:
Good half-mask respirator:??North 7700; you can buy combined HEPA and
hazardous gas cartridges.??This mask (black silicon plastic) is much more
comfortable than 3M half-mask respirators (more rigid, gray plastic).??You
might find a local source; and Air Gas in Santa Rosa is a good source and
can advise you on which cartridges would be best.
You can buy HEPA plus charcoal household air filters; also ionizers.??Buyer
beware -- there's a lot of ineffective junk out there.??Take the time to
find a really well-built filter.??NEEDS (Syracuse, NY) -- find it on the web
-- is one source of high quality air filters.??If you drive a lot, auto air
filters and ionizers are available (try NEEDS).??Allermed (look on web) is
another good source of high quality air filters.??
Given how long the smoke is likely to last, having a good air filter AT
LEAST for your bedroom would be a very good idea (you spend about a third of
your time sleeping).??Bring your pets into filtered air as much as you can.
I hope this info is helpful.
Reply to query about masks:
Re: [mendocommunity-BB] SMOKE INHALATION and types OF MASKS NEEDED
Date:June 25, 2008 2:21:23 PM PDT
You will probably want NIOSH N95 masks. They filter down to 0.3
microns. Some state 0.1 microns, but don't count on it.
Here's a list of NIOSH certified manufacturers:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/n95list1.html
More data from the FDA:
http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/ppe/masksrespirators.html
When purchasing masks, make sure that they are N95 certified and/or
the exact models named on the list. For example, 3M model 1860.
My preference is 3M, but Moldex and many other brands are great, too.
Home Depot, Friedman's, Mendo Mill, Rainbow, other hardware/
paint supply stores, gardening supply stores, and possibly auto supply
stores may have the non-medical versions (I'd say "should," but I haven't
verified the fact).
Drug stores like Myers, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Long's, Raleys, etc., may
have the medical N95s.Be aware the "N" refers to non-oily particulate matter - don't get any oily stuff on them or they don't work. P95 masks can handle the oil.
Be sure to read the instructions on the package, or preferably, on the
manufacturer's website, prior to use to use them correctly. An example:
http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediawebserver.dyn?6666660Zjcf6lVs6EVs666iLYCOrrrrQ-
Unfortunately, County Health Officer Marvin Trotter, MD, was recently
quoted in the Ukiah Daily Journal stating that such masks are not very
useful for this type of smoke. That's not consistent with data from NIOSH
and other authorities. His exact statement was: "Most of the problem is?
with particulate less than 10 microns. It goes right to air sacs so in
general surgical masks don't help." (UDJ, 6/23).
Are you running a true HEPA filter within your home? If not, I highly
recommend you buy a true HEPA (not a "HEPA type") machine ASAP.
These will remove the majority of smoke from your inside air.
Unfortunately, there may not be any more available locally. Consider
amazon and do two-day shipping (they are offering a free one-month
trial of their amazon Prime service which gives you free two-day shipping).
My recommendation is Honeywell, but other brands that offer true HEPA
certification are fine. Some models have permanent (cleanable) filters, and
offer the best value even though they're sometimes higher cost initially.
If anyone seeks N95 masks locally here in MendoLand and is not successful, consider these suppliers and use overnight or other priority shipping:
http://www.northernsafety.com/
http://www.masksnmore.com/
http://www.gemplers.com/
http://www.labsafety.com/
Disclosure: I have NO connection to these suppliers, and gain nothing if
you purchase from them. Except for perhaps satisfaction that you are protecting you and your family!
Links to an example product, 3M model 1860 or model 8210:
http://masksnmore.stores.yahoo.net/3m18hecapare.html
http://www.labsafety.com/store/Safety_Supplies/Respirators/Disposable_Respirators/36146/
http://www.northernsafety.com/cart/cart.cfm?PROD_NUM=150-8210%2001&Action=01&PFM=S
http://www.gemplers.com/product/8210/3M-8210-N95-Particulate-Respirator-20-box
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