Buck's Babble

Here's the latest on Ang's fire. She was supposed to be released today but they told her that yesterday too. So, who knows when she'll make her way back to their station , and then home. Incident: Harding Released: 2005-08-30 11:00:00 Sierraville…The Harding Fire in the Tahoe National Forest is 100 percent contained with 2,270 acres burned. “The fire was well tested by the wind and the lines held”, said Val Lambeth, Operations Specialist during the red flag winds event yesterday. The fire and an estimated control date of Friday, September 2. The fire began near Highway 49, approximately 2 miles northeast of Sierraville and then burned towards Antelope Valley. Approximately 100 personal are continuing fire suppression mop up and rehabilitation efforts that include constructing water bars along fire line to minimize slope erosion. The fire will occasionally smolder in a few isolated areas well within the perimeter probably until the first fall rains put an end to fire seas...

More thanks from local kids at the Harding Fire where Ang is 

What's known as a 'crown' fire 

Some gratitude from local kids 

S61 getting ready to suck up a load of water 

Looks pretty wicked, huh? 

Pray for Ginger as Katrina approaches. Sam talked to her today and she didn't sound too worried but stay safe. Dad is not at home so he's safe. Additional prayers for Christy and John in Iraq. Here's the latest news release on Ang's fire: Incident: Harding Released: 2005-08-28 15:30:00 Sierraville Ranger District 317 S. Lincoln Sierraville, CA 96126 Contact: Kathy Hardy (530) 994-3401 ext. 6666 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPON RECEIPT Date: August 28, 2005 Fire Fighters Lift Vehicle Off Pinned Sierra Valley Man Sierraville…. On Friday August 26, the Mormon Lake Hotshots (from the Coconino National Forest in Arizona) were returning to the Harding Fire camp after a long day on the firelines, when a Sierra Valley woman frantically waved them down and asked for help. At a nearby ranch they found a man who had been trapped when his Dodge Dakota fell on him. He had been under the vehicle for about 15 minutes. The 20-person Hotshot crew immediately lifted up the vehicle, extricat...

With the wonders of technology, I can see what and where Ang is from the InciWeb site listed in hte news releases below. Enjoy the pics and pray for Ang.

An air tanker hitting the head of the fire 

Map of the Harding Fire w/ perimeters. Red is head of fire, black is burned, and solid line is hand-line. Div are where the various agencies and firefighters are located 

Sunset at the Harding Fire 

Here's a update on Ang. These are official news releases from Inciweb wehre I get most of my updates, pictures, and maps. Incident: Harding Released: 2005-08-26 06:00:00 Sierraville….The 2,000 acre Harding Fire burning in the Tahoe National Forest is now 30 percent contained. The fire began near Highway 49, approximately 2 miles northeast of Sierraville and then burned towards Antelope Valley. Fire crews worked through the night keeping the fire South and East of Highway 49 and West of Antelope Valley road. Good progress was made on constructing and holding fire lines. Over 450 personal are working the fire, including handcrews, helicopters, airtankers, engines and watertenders. The cooperating agencies include US Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Sierra Valley Fire Protection District #1, Sierraville Fire, Sierra City Volunteer Fire Department, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans and other local agencies and contractors. A public meeting is sc...

So Ang managed to get a hold of me on my cell from the engine phone today. On the way to the Barrell Fire the whole strike team was diverted to a different fire. She was in Tahoe when she called. The official report on its first day is as follows: NEW Harding (Northern California Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management): 600 acres at 20 percent contained. This fire is two miles northeast of Sierraville. Structures are threatened. Sierraville is right on Hwy 89, north of Truckee. Its in the Tahoe National Forest. School for everyone today, including me. Soccer practice for Emily tonight went well for the first one. Corn Dogs, tater Tots, and veggies tonight for dinner. Last nights meals have included: taco salad (2 meals), pork tri-tip roast, casserole with roast leftovers. Love all.

Well yesterday I picked Ang up for her two days off and her first day today, she got called for her first 'off-forest' assignment. She's been waiting for this but really wanted her two days off and was tired. At least she got to see the kids off to their first day of school this morning. Went great. She has gone with a strike team of 3-4 engines and a handcrew and heading to the Barrell Fire . From the NIFC site the official latest report is : Barrel (Northern California Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management): 7,000 acres at an unknown percent contained. This fire is 13 miles northeast of Fort Bidwell. Heavy fine fuel loading, rugged terrain, winds and low relative humidity are hampering containment efforts. Extreme rates of spread, spotting, downhill runs and fire whirls were observed. That report tells me this is some rough terrain and bad conditions. I saw the fire double in size in no time and even found a report that it was 14,000 acres. This location is ri...

Any 'Back-To-School' donations will be gladly accepted.

Too bad, but all things must end. YEAHHH!!!!! School begins on Wed, Tues for me. Been working, shopping, school supplies, etc. Absolutely crazy and hectic. Ang still hasn't gone off forest and actually got 2 days off this week. It was awesome, great, everything. Tonight we had pork roast, wonderfully marinated, slow roasted in the crock all day; garlic fried potoatoes, and yellow zuchinni from our garden. Ang made it all and WOW was it awesome. Emily got 5 million totally awesome outfits and some got his usual collection of silky, athletic pants, shirts, and even some new shoes for basketball season in Dec. Can't believe summer has ended and last part of year approaching...again. Love everyone.

Yeah!! At the top 

The pictures below are from our trip to visit Ang when she got lookout duty one day. It was awesome and the views were incredible! This week has been our local fair and life halts when fair comes to town. 8 1/2 hours on Thursday, 4 hours Wednesday night, and another 5 hours on the last day, today. Went to the destruction derby with Emily and we loved it. Exhausted, tired, you name it. 1 week off and then school starts back up for the kids and for me. Love everyone.

Zoomed to the top 

Emily makes her all by herself and wants to move in 

40 Feet of tower on the top of 6000' foot Orr Mtn 

Ang at work with her first visitor 

Looking south towards Mt Shasta 

Sam was scared to death!! But he managed a trip up on his own after a while 

The master lookout giving instruction 

The apprentice at work finding a smoke 

From top of the tower looking north 

Not much, or too much. Crazy, hot summer just whizzing by. Getting ready for our big Siskiyou County Fair the 10th-14th. Been working for extra 'fair' cash so the kids are going to end their summer with a great week. The fairgrounds are walking distance from the house and I got the kids all-day ride tickets. I like just checking out all the eye candy and people coming out of the woods from everywhere! Ang's engine is now on, what they call, off-forest rotation. That means the next out-of-state assignment goes to them and she could be leaving any day to who knows where. We had a fire in a field just one street away a week ago. Pretty scary and the kids were really freaked out. You could see the flames from the house in some trees and the wind was really going nuts. Had a chopper do some drops and fly right over the house. Anyway, our great local firefighters got it quick with no property damage. The whole family headed to Lake Siskiyou a few days ago and spent th...

Beautiful Lake Siskiyou, just a few minutes away 

Sage kept having to swim out to me in the lake....until I really went way out!! 

Cool water on a hot day 

Family at the lake, Sam and Emily taking a nice cooling swim 

Yup, pup got good and wet too!! 

Heli dropping on the fire just one street over in the field 

I'm on the roof of our house keeping a close eye on this fire