[UPDATE 8:38 p.m.] Vegetation Fire North of Shelter Cove
According to scanner traffic, a vegetation fire has been reported in the Horse Mountain/Saddle Mountain area north of Shelter Cove. Cal Fire, Briceland Fire and Shelter Cove Fire are responding but the area is quite remote. It will take some time for engines to access the area.
“A good size column is visible,” says Capt. Diana Totten with the Briceland crew over the scanner about 7:45 a.m. She indicates that at least one dozer is headed in to the area.
UPDATE 8:01 a.m.: Capt. Totten tells dispatch that the fire is about 5 acres already. She says it is burning in timber and is midslope burning uphill but there is not much wind.
UPDATE 8:06 a.m.: Totten says, “I don’t believe we’ll be able to get engines into the fire at this time.”
UPDATE 8:16 a.m.: Totten, who is the incident commander for the Horse Fire, says that the fire now looks to be 10 acres with “active torching” (that means trees are bursting into flames.) Engines are staging at the Horse Mountain Creek Trailhead. Larger equipment including the biggest engines are staging at the intersection of Kings Peak Road and Shelter Cove Road. This is a terrain and fuel driven fire, Totten says.
UPDATE 8:31 a.m.: Photo from Jeramias Deselva
UPDATE 9:02 a.m.: Scanner talk states that there are no structures threatened and there is the potential for a 100 acre fire.
UPDATE 10:29 a.m.:
UPDATE 2:10 p.m.: According to Laura Coleman from Cal Fire, the fire is holding at 15 acres. No homes are currently threatened. She also wrote, “I don’t believe they have closed the bike trail but they have contacted hikers for information on first site of fire, doesn’t appear to be anyone in the area of the fire.
UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: KMUD does interview with local resident.
UPDATE 7:23 p.m.:
UPDATE 8:38 p.m.:
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This area has a “Fire History” and can have potential to burn hot and fast if not quickly extinguished.
Been watching from Wilder Ridge. Smoke is heading north. It seems to have been burning for a while. No CalFire spotter yet.
They have specific start up and shut down times. Should be overhead shortly.
I should be hearing em leave Fortuna in 9 minutes. Will let you know.
That is an odd place for a fire. No roads out that way. Trails are pretty far and few between that high up on the mtn. Any overdue aircraft? Missing Hiker/hunters?
I think there are a few brutally steep top to bottom connecter trails in a few spots off of Horse Mountain. Or maybe just one.
First chopper on scene.
This is really going to get big. Very sad, everyone needs rest and now this.
Super scary with fire suppression efforts already tapped elsewhere. This has the potential for being a huge fire. It looks like it could have been campers who didn’t put their fire out.
dire
2 or 3 choppers dipping buckets out of the Matole near Ettersburg and hauling them west.
OMG The DC10 just rolled in. Never seen that before!
[…] a new blaze burns in the King Range north of Shelter Cove, we’ll keep you informed on what is happening on […]
yes !
We all need a MIRACLE!
Sheesh! Not again….
Any updates on this fire?
Can we get some new pics of the fire, anyone?? Jeramias Deselva, got any newer pics you can post since it has grown? Stuck in the office and can’t get out to check the progress.
Being so close to ocean why can’t helicopters get water from there instead of the mattole?
Better fresh water than salt for the plants, and they will be taking it out of the Mattole where it’s almost not going to be fresh water anymore anyway. No harm, no foul, river-wise, on this.
Dipping water out of the ocean is problematic. I worked a fire in that area where the chopper pilots were not happy with ocean filling. It seems the sensation when a swell rolls over your bucket is not fun. Actually had a chopper over rotate trying to lift a bucket out of a swell that was pulling the chopper down and a Ericsson sky crane pilot refused to do it again. Wound up finding a hole on the Mattole and used that instead.
It’s too foggy over the ocean for it
I would think the swells in the ocean could pull a helicopter out of the sky, plus the salt water would ruin the equipment.
You can dip out of the ocean. You just time it between swell and dip offshore. As far as the equipment you can run distilled water through the jet engines at the end of the day and rinse/wash the rest.
We used our water tender hose to flush the turbines on the choppers when they came back from the ocean.
Get updates on the fire at http://www.calfireupdates.com. We have over 19 fires burning in CA right now.
It seems that page hasn’t been updated since Aug 2, I will stick with Kym’s page, she is on top of it!!! 🙂
This is the web page> http://www.calfire.ca.gov
It was updated last night (Tuesday). The fire was at 30 acres, zero containment.
I didn’t see the giant 3 engine DC10 tanker fly in, but I did see a smaller DC-9 (aka MD87) tanker fly in at 12:03pm from Telegraph ridge. I think this is a contract tanker operated by Erickson Aero Tanker according to the fire Aviation website. The tail number is their 105 tanker .
Wasn’t much to see from the Telegraph Ridge side of the King Range today except for the copters going back and forth for refueling. I could see them flying back and forth from the Mattole above Ettersburg. They were busy all day long and didn’t stop until sunset. That’s not a copter in the photo—it’s a member of the Mattole Air Patrol.
How might this affect hikers on the Lost Coast Trail? I have some loved ones on it right now, in Big Flat which appears to only be a few miles away.
I’d estimate Big Flat is five miles north of the fire and about a mile inland as the crow flies. Might be best to vacate the area just to be safe. Are you in contact with your people? You can call the Shelter Cove Fire Dept. 986-7507 for info on which direction the fire is moving.
Correction: Fire is about 1 mile FROM THE COAST as crow flies.
Just another red dawn this morning.
Anyone know any updates on fire? Is area smokey? I was thinking of coming this wknd, wd next wknd b btr?
just came of the mt. did a repair on a pickup…they got a huge crew of men,cats and choppers…..busy place..
Hey Kym what’s going on you haven’t updated since last night can you please give out more details planes and choppers all day which way is this fire heading?
Just updated–250 acres and 5% containment. As yet don’t know which direction.