Sorry for the quality of these. I photographed them from the Friday and Saturday Monterey County Herald Newspaper. You have to be in awe of the professional and volunteer firefighters, and our military who are out in these unbelievable conditions, working 12 plus hour days.
Friday July 11, 08 Herald: "A military C-130 air tanker drops retardant on advancing flames off Tassajara Road at the Basin Complex Fire in Carmel Valley." Orville Myers photo
July 11th, 08 Herald: "A helicopter dumps water against a backdrop of smoke on Tassajara Road." Orville Myers photo. (I am not sure you can make it out in this size of the photo, but the water bucket is in the clear spot between the two smaller smoke billows in the front of the picture.--John--Note: A few people have asked about the two vertical lines in the smoke cloud, I did not notice them when taking the picture and since they are parallel, I am thinking they might have been where the newspaper was folded.)
July 12, 08 Herald "National Forest Service firefighter Jose Ribera sets a backfire near the Oliver Observing Station on Chews Ridge on Friday." Vern Fisher photo
July 12th, 08 Herald: "Flames more than 100 feet high crest a ridge near the Oliver Observing Station on Chews RIdge in Tassajara Road area on Friday." Vern Fisher Photo
FLIR CAMERAS USED TO VIEW HIDDEN WILDFIRES
Now this site is really interesting. FlIR is using their Infrared Cameras to view the fire lines hidden behind smoke clouds. It is a very welcome tool to the firefighters, giving on site views, making it easier to make decisions on fighting the fire, and safer for the firefighters.
dang penguin them are some wicked flames they be dealing with
ReplyDeleteI'm very aware of your plight up there John..and are hoping the best for you....The big fire last year here, burned up the mountain to our front yard...many neighbors lost it all...we only lost the landscaping, and feel fortunate...so my heart is with you all up there. I see your from Monterey..I know the guy who owns the Whaling Station, John Pisto very well..anyways, stay safe up there friend.....
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad for my fellow Californians right now... It's usually Southern California that gets it, but every now and then NoCal gets it bad too. Some of our guys from my company are there, 'tis not pretty. Thanks for the photos.
ReplyDeleteHi John....well I would say maybe I'm trying to tell you something but there is just fire everywhere. At least down there you have the ocean breezes so I'd be staying put. These photos show just how terrifying the fires can be don't they.
ReplyDeleteLarry is also working on the Six Rivers so he sais they are hoping to have the road open by tonight.
The worst thing up here now is that some of the residents are blaming their losses in Concow on the firefighters for back burning when and where they shouldn't have. I don't know if you remember the Rattlesnake Fire but it was just near me here in the Mendocino. 15 firefighters, mostly missionaries assisting were lost in that fire due to lack of local knowledge.
What a time eh.....Larry said to me this morning. The whole State is burning. Amd it's off because it does give you a taste of what the end of the earth would be like.
Be careful and be safe.
ReplyDeleteWe were getting some bad air last week. This week is ok, but with Carmel being close I am sure we will see and smell the smoke too.
Bless those people involved.
wow, be safe out there!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe that they are still having so much trouble with the fires...how long have they been raging now?
such scary fires John...be careful!
ReplyDeleteAlthough the fire we had here was nothing compared to what you are enduring out there , I remember these water bomber planes and the work they did here a few years ago, they are fantastic, they would swoop down in the bay right by my house and fill up and fly back to douse the fire over and over, although fire is not a great thing to happen , watching the planes and helicopters was very exciting !!
ReplyDeleteI hope it will start to get better there soon, I heard earlier that there were fire fighters there all the way from New Zealand. Take care !!
looks scarry
ReplyDeleteWow John, I am so sorry for all of you over there. Please keep us posted on how things are going.
ReplyDeleteI've got friends and family back there and will keep you in prayer, please stay safe.
Had the greatest respect for those spending all the time and energy fighting those fires but after seeing these pictures ~ that respect and my prayers take on a whole other dimension. I just can't imagine the heat... the frustration they must feel at times! Thanks for the post, John. So many of us so far away want to know what is happening around our friends and loved ones.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos, you sir are braver than I. I don't think I could go into harms way to get these kind of pictures.
ReplyDeleteHope you are safe.
Keep us up to date on what is happening.
Most importantly stay safe.
thank you for sharing these. i feel sorry for people in Cali whose lives are affected by these fire.
ReplyDeletehope all's well with ya. take care and don't eat much watermelon:)
LOL Thank you Mark, but I took these in the safety of my house, leaning over the kitchen table with the newspaper spread out before me.
ReplyDeleteJohn, this is so scary. I can't believe the extent of hard word it takes to save people. Sometimes in the safety of our homes we forget how unsafe our world can be.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very hard profession to be a firefighter, I admire them. It must be very hard also for their families who watch them go to work in such conditions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young and in my teens, I was a firefighter for the forest service.. Fire fighting can be a very hard, and dangerous job.. Many a night I spent on the fire trail exhausted from a 12 hour shift. I remember very distinctly at one fire when we thought the fire was down to mop-up stage. I was placed on the line all night to watch for sparks, and report any wind buildup. I had worked all night and was very tired, and fell asleep. When I was asleep, the fire broke out from a snag that had fallen across the fire trail and started another blaze.. It was coming straight at me. I quickly got on the radio and called it in. Then I ran down hill through the ash in time to escape.. When daylight came they picked me up and the next day I was fired for sleeping on the job. I had been with the forest service for 3 years, and it was the first time, and last time, I was ever fired..Good money, but hard, and dangerous work.
ReplyDeleteI hope the fire fighters in California will soon be able to bring these fires under control.
The pics are scary, the efforts admirable, thanks for sharing them John. Take care.
ReplyDeleteBless their firefighter hearts!
ReplyDeleteIt is heart wrenching to hear about these devastating forests in that beautiful area. We were married along that coast and there is some of the most breathtaking forests and dramatic mountains imaginable there. I imagine it is very difficult for the firefighters to get into some of those steep and remote ravines. I have a print of your current background on one of my walls. I never get tired of gazing at that red headed maiden.
ReplyDeleteWow! What breath-taking pictures - the power of fire is amazing - let us hope that these fires are under control soon. Brave firefighters!
ReplyDeletewow amazing pictures John!!
ReplyDeleteThat is heart breaking to see! I always think of my father when I see pics like this. He was a forester and always was involved in dealing with forest fires. People used to say he could read the fire better than anyone and was always in demand to help where to position the guys and put in counter breaks to fight the big forest fires we used to get.
ReplyDeleteOh Eileen my dad was a forester too...!!!
ReplyDeleteWell what do you know! I can feel my Dad around me when Table Mountain burns and I can hear him yelling at the people they are putting their guys in the wrong place, the fire is going to go the other way and he was always right! :-) I don't think we ever had a Christmas lunch with my father at the table, he was always screeching down the road with his siren blaring and his Christmas hat pulled low over his ears to put out a fire and rescue his beloved mountains from the flames! :-)
ReplyDeletegreat photos johno. All these fires ...... very scary !
ReplyDeletewow! Thought I recognized that plane.. C-130's were my 'bread and butter' for 10 years! What a work horse they are!
ReplyDeleteI hope they get things under control out there soon.
Terrific shots John!
ya know John. I hope and pray we never have to face that kind of fire. I thought the one's i've helped fight were bad enough. but ya know........if we did have one like that.....I'd be there doing my duty as always. smilessss
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