# Nervous Night - Dixie & Morgan Fires



## MrWhoopee

We've been on alert for a week now, packing the cars and trying to remember everything. Having 6 cars and plenty of warning makes it easier to take everything as long as I can get enough drivers. Thinking about loading my roll-away in the truck, need help with my top-box. Tools are heavy. The current situation is the fire is on the south side of Mt. Lassen. Yesterday the park set a backfire near the south entrance to protect the visitor center. Distance from the backfire is about 12 miles, 15 or so to the main fire. Red flag goes into effect this evening, so we get a Public Safety Power Shutoff until about 10 pm Thursday. Internet will likely go down, landlines may also. I'd put the generators in the truck but we're going to need them. Winds are forecast from the southwest, which is good for us but no so much for Susanville. Power shutoff couldn't happen at a worse time, the next couple of days are going to be very critical and we won't have access to the most current and reliable sources of info.

Pray for us.

The red arrow shows our location.


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## Ken from ontario

The waiting must be most terrifying, I hope you 'll hear some good news soon and won't have to pack up and leave your home.


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## Martin W

Yikes! Really must be terrifying. Stay safe.
Martin


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## FOMOGO

Here's hoping the Gods are with you. Sounds like you've done all that you can. Mike


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## rwm

You have our thoughts and prayers.
Robert


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## Papa Charlie

My thoughts and prayers to you, your family and to everyone affected by this. The scope of this fire is terrifying. 

Take care.


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## Janderso

Craig,
Don't forget family pictures, Grandma's quilts and your important documents, files, policies, passports.
The rest can be replaced.
Fortunately you won't be stuck in gridlock while the world around you burns.
945 square miles so far and 36% contained.
I'll keep positive thoughts for you and yours.


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## rwm

Hey, I am curious what kind of buffer zone it would take to give your home some decent protection? Is this idea feasible or are the fires just too large? I have heard people recommend this.
Robert


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## Janderso

Ken from ontario said:


> The waiting must be most terrifying, I hope you 'll hear some good news soon and won't have to pack up and leave your home.


The positives today, the temperatures are in the 90's. It seems like it's been over one hundred for two months.
Plus, the wind shifted. I hope it pushes the fire back on itself.??


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## Janderso

rwm said:


> Hey, I am curious what kind of buffer zone it would take to give your home some decent protection? Is this idea feasible or are the fires just too large? I have heard people recommend this.
> Robert


In these parts they say 100 feet.
The problem with big fires is you are on your own. There won't be a fire truck and a crew to save your home.
When we left our home for the last time, I locked the front door? Explosions were going off, homes on our street were fully engulfed.
100 feet wouldn't do a thing when the whole world is on fire. The blowing embers get sucked into your attic, dry leaves, pine needles on your roof burn.
OK, have to stop now.


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## Papa Charlie

I have known a few forest fire hotshots, they have told me 100 feet or better, depending on the trees around you. The higher the trees the more you need. Even at 100 feet, a fire can be intense enough to ignite a structure under the right circumstances as the heat can be very intense even from that distance. 

Then you also have the ambers which can drift long distances. I have friends that have rigged sprinklers on their roof that can pull water from either their well or their pool using the generator. But there is nothing fool proof.


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## MrWhoopee

rwm said:


> Hey, I am curious what kind of buffer zone it would take to give your home some decent protection? Is this idea feasible or are the fires just too large? I have heard people recommend this.
> Robert


They call it "defensible space" and how much depends on the fire and your property. Worst case (major, crowning conflagration) the radiant heat is so great that trees will literally explode at distances over 100 ft. The current recommendations are 2 zones, 30 ft. and 100 ft. around buildings.




__





						Defensible Space / PRC 4291
					






					www.fire.ca.gov
				




I've been working on mine for several years now. Not easy when the lot is 100 ft. wide and neighboring lots are undeveloped.
Just found out about this stuff, too late for this one.








						Barricade Fire Gel
					

Barricade Fire Gel Retardant forms a unique thermal protective gel-coating that stops fires from burning homes, structures, vehicles, fuel tanks, and other.




					firegel.com


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## MrWhoopee

Janderso said:


> Fortunately you won't be stuck in gridlock while the world around you burns.


I recall vividly seeing the cars with melted and charred fenders driving around Chico after the Camp Fire.


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## rwm

Damn scary. Too bad you can't get a 100 ft welding blanket! Best of luck.
Robert


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## Suzuki4evr

I can't and don't realy want imagine what you are going through right now thinking that you might loose everything. My hopes and prayers are with you. Keep God with you and stay safe.

Michael.


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## Gaffer

My son is on a hotshot crew and spent the last two weeks on the Dixie fire. This morning they're headed to the Sequoia's, but it seems every time they head toward a fire, they get diverted at least once to another. I wish Mr. Whoopee and everyone living in the fire regions all the best. Very scary!


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## DiscoDan

Based on the experiences of members on here it might seem prudent to take a lot of photos and videos of everything in your house that you can so that you have records for insurance purposes.


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## Mill Lee farm

Agreed. 
If there's time and all the important stuff is done, a slow walk through video of your house with slight pauses on all the valuables seems to be a good idea? (I remember in the early 90's when my insurance agent told me to borrow a camcorder and do that, then to bring the tape back to the agency office for storage.) 
You could maybe open all your toolbox drawers etc?
Cloud backup would be great (like iPhone iCloud). Email/text it to friends or family otherwise just in case. Things happen to cellphones all the time in non-dangerous or stressful situations...

But most importantly, remember what's important. I've seen enough programming and testimony from survivors and the escape window came down to seconds for some... When it's time to leave please don't dawdle. 

My thoughts are with you and all the others out there dealing with this!


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## Aukai

Be safe, and best wishes.


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## Norseman C.B.

Prayers sent.......Been choking on the smoke from all of the fires here in the Klamath basin


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## Aaron_W

I know we have members in the area. I've been working the dispatch center in  Quincy and was here when Greenville burned. The Dixie is doing as it likes, at best crews can herd it around towns, at worst watch them burn and try to help residents get out.

When I started in fire in the 90s 5000 acres was a big fire and you might hit one or 2 a that size in a year. Now 30000+ is common and these multiple hundred thousand acre fires happen every year.

Hoping the best for all in the path. I spent 6 month on the August  complex last year, which went around 1 million acres.


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## matthewsx

Stay safe and don’t hesitate to get out when you’re told.

Anything can be replaced but you have to be around to do it….

John


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## francist

Fingers crossed for you, MrWhoopee.


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## pontiac428

The smoke has been blocking the sun and dropping temps up here, but respite from the heat isn't worth the cost of so much destruction.  I hope the blaze avoids you.  Stay safe!


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## silence dogood

MrWhoopee,  Hope that this does not happen, but make sure that you have more than one escape route.  Those roads can get crowded at the worse times.   Last year just east of Salem, Oregon, my son was part of a Chinook crew  to dump water on the fires.  They were grounded because the smoke was so bad that the pilot would not be able to see.  They stayed near the chopper so that it would not be vandalize  (yeah, I know, don't get me started on that).  They also had to make sure that the fire did not get too near, otherwise the rotors could delaminated from the intense heat.  Hoping the best for you. Mark


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## MrWhoopee

Insurance pictures have been uploaded to the "cloud".  First filled car has been shuttled 10 miles down the hill to the daughter's house. Saw Frontier setting up a generator at our local phone switch, so we will have internet and landline. Updated PSPS notice says power will only be off until Wednesday night instead of Thursday. Hopefully that's a reflection of reduced wind expectations. 

Remaining hopeful.


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## Janderso

Gaffer said:


> My son is on a hotshot crew and spent the last two weeks on the Dixie fire. This morning they're headed to the Sequoia's, but it seems every time they head toward a fire, they get diverted at least once to another. I wish Mr. Whoopee and everyone living in the fire regions all the best. Very scary!


As far as we are concerned, those of us in California, your son is a true hero.
This is tough work. I can't imagine working in the conditions he is working in.


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## Janderso

pontiac428 said:


> The smoke has been blocking the sun and dropping temps up here, but respite from the heat isn't worth the cost of so much destruction.  I hope the blaze avoids you.  Stay safe!


My wife went up to Seattle for a week to get out of the smoke and heat.
Not this year.


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## Gaffer

Janderso said:


> As far as we are concerned, those of us in California, your son is a true hero.
> This is tough work. I can't imagine working in the conditions he is working in.


Thanks. He put this video together for his crew last season.


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## Dhal22

rwm said:


> Hey, I am curious what kind of buffer zone it would take to give your home some decent protection? Is this idea feasible or are the fires just too large? I have heard people recommend this.
> Robert




I lived in Kansas for a couple of years as a kid and saved our house with back fires.   Nobody home after school and I saw a massive prairie fire coming our way.  I ran to the house for matches and started fires upwind all the way around the property.   The flames could not burn fast enough upwind it seemed.   In a roar the wildfire was past our house and gone in the distance.  My parents were very happy with my thinking later that day.


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## eeler1

Catastrophic fires suck.  Good luck and take care.


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## Janderso

Mr. Whoopee, Craig,
Any word on your neighborhood?
I’ve been thinking about you throughout the night


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## MrWhoopee

We're still standing! Rough night, took a long time to get to sleep. Despite gusty  winds in unfavorable directions, the line in Lassen Park held. The fire hasn't crossed the main ridge, primarily due to the backfire set by LNP to protect the Kohm Ya-mah-nee visitor center. Still quite windy and forecast to continue into tomorrow, but PSPS is scheduled to end tonight. The morning dawns brighter than expected.


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## brino

@MrWhoopee 

Wishing the best outcomes for you and everyone else (on both sides of the border) facing these issues right now!

-brino


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## mmcmdl

Just saw the videos of this fire on the Weather Channel Craig . Stay safe and wishing you and all others in that area some good luck will come your way .


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## MrWhoopee

Things are much better today, though I woke up much too early.  The fire line in the park has been stable for 3 days now, despite the winds. We are still without power, but that's the least of our worries. The helicopters have been checking the power lines and they are being re-energized as they are cleared. Hopefully later this afternoon ours will be back on, tired of listening to the generator and juggling the loads. The cars are still packed. It could go sideways at any time, but for now the air is clear and it's a beautiful, mild afternoon. Time for a nap.


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## Dhal22

Hang in there.


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## MrWhoopee

Dhal22 said:


> Hang in there.


Power is back on, tequila over ice, watching "No Country for Old Men" with one ear on the scanner.....

Vehicle fire on the highway 10 miles down the hill! Please, give me ONE DAY OFF!


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## rwm

You should have picked a more uplifting drama!
Robert


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## Nutfarmer

Whishing you well. It has to be hard on the nerves. Son was at the fire last week to rotate out with one of the firemen from Sutter County. The local Fire department has had an engine and crew on the fire from the begining


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## MrWhoopee

rwm said:


> You should have picked a more uplifting drama!
> Robert


Makes my problems look small.


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## MrWhoopee

Here's a video of Highway 89 thru the park shot yesterday (8/19), traveling north to south. It begins a short distance below the summit. Lake Helen, with Lassen Peak behind it, appears at 1:30. It ends at the Sulphur Works, which is 1 mile above the visitor center. This area has been largely spared so far.


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## Papa Charlie

Are you in a crane truck or lift truck? Pretty country around there, been a long time since I have been in that area. Glad that you are alright, hope that they get a handle on this fire soon.
While insurance can replace items, it can't replace the memories and such. I pray that everyone is well. I heard that they arrested an x professor for arson in relation to the Dixie fire. In fact I have heard that people have been arrested in the case of all the major fires going on right now. I hope they punish them accordingly.


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## MrWhoopee

Papa Charlie said:


> Are you in a crane truck or lift truck? Pretty country around there, been a long time since I have been in that area. Glad that you are alright, hope that they get a handle on this fire soon.
> While insurance can replace items, it can't replace the memories and such. I pray that everyone is well. I heard that they arrested an x professor for arson in relation to the Dixie fire. In fact I have heard that people have been arrested in the case of all the major fires going on right now. I hope they punish them accordingly.


That is not my video, the entire park is closed. The author must have had special permission or is a member of one of the fire crews.
The Dixie fire was started by PG&E equipment, same as the Camp fire that burned Paradise. They did catch that former professor setting fires in the area of the Dixie fire, but it was already well established at the time. Most of the other fires in this end of the state were caused by lightning strikes.

We had a scare here just before the Dixie started threatening our area. Some fool in a nearby off-grid neighborhood was burning slash (!!!) and it got away from him. The neighbors had it under control by the time the fire department arrived, but we were already mobilizing.

Hangin's too good for 'em, burn 'em at the stake.


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## Gaffer

Kid just got back from NorCal. Look at this beast of a tree!! He climbed up a ways to gove perspective


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## MrWhoopee

Gaffer said:


> Kid just got back from NorCal. Look at this beast of a tree!! He climbed up a ways to gove perspective


Sequoia/Kings Canyon I presume. Glad to see them still standing. Thank him for all of us.


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## Aukai

Glad he's safe, that's a tough MFn' job.


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## Nutfarmer

Glad he is home safe


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