Bucks Lake

It is a little after 8 pm. We have a new, potentially troublesome fire in the area. I do not even know the name of it yet. This afternoon, smoke blew up past the wildnerness area across Bucks Lake. Apparantly a Union Pacific train ignited several fires on its way down the canyon. The major fire is now 100 acres, in the area of Rich Bar and Rush Creek, burning on both sides of the river. 70 IS CLOSED AT THIS MOMENT. According to a Forest Service bulletin the fire is behaving aggressively, with groups of trees torching. Stay tuned.

And, yes, the camera has a problem. We have tried to tweak it, to no avail. Tomorrow we will dig into it, and I am dreading that, since it has been so probematical.

Important news: The Bucks Lake Homeowners Association meeting has now been re-scheduled for Saturday, August 2, 9 am, Haskins.

Smoke and fire info: The big effort now is to control the Scotch Fire, which is about 6,000 acres, burning on both sides of the Middle Fork, below Hartman Bar. Extensive burn out and back fire operations are planned for this week, but then the smoke should become considerably less. Our fire department has responded to two incidents of fire fighter injury on the Scotch Fire.

Highway 70 is open as of today, but with one way, escorted traffic, with a pilot car.

We get twice daily reports from the team in Quincy, and the team working around Paradise/Oroville. In the last couple of days it is clear that they are now making measurable progress in their fight. Mostly now it seems the extreme terrain in the Feather River country is their biggest obstacle. But you can tell from the language they are using that they feel they are winning the fight. Almost 4,000 people have worked awfully hard on these two fire complexes. Hats off to them!

Due to the unsettled conditions with fires and smoke, the Homowners Association meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, has been CANCELLED. It has not yet been rescheduled.

A better day here for smoke. We can see, sort of, across the lake again.

Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, SR 162 is open all the way through to Quincy.

Warm here today and this week, but NOTHING like it will be in Sacramento and Reno. (Had to rub it in.) The smoke comes and goes, with the most difficulty coming in the late afternoon and early evening. Other than that, we don’t notice it much.

Don’t forget the Homeowners Association meeting, next Saturday, 9 am, at Haskins.

And, of course, the meeting on Sunday with Jim Saake, the contracted Forest Service appraiser. We will meet him at the Pawelczyk cabin, which is the A frame at the west end of Quarry Road. I can’t remember if it is at 1 or 2, but I will confirm that and put it here.

Highway 70 closed again today about noon, and the wording of the closure announcement indicates it will now stay closed until fire authorities and Caltrans can be assured of motorist safety.

The Caltrans phone number is: 1-800-427-ROAD. Also, the information line for the “Butte Lightning Complex” is 1-530-538-7826.

We were on an accident on the Oro-Quincy Highway earlier today, and except for the accident, traffic was heavy, but moving adequately.

We had pretty good looking air for most of today. This afternoon the smoke has come back in, so a lot depends on the wind.

The smoke haze cleared long enough this morning for us to be able to see a large column of smoke rising from the wilderness area. We have heard that that fire is still pretty much out of control.

Even though the haze has gotten thick again, it is a little less each day. There is little wind, bright sunshine, and smooth water conditions, and it should stay that way through the holiday weekend.

An excellent web site for following all the California fires is: www.yubanet.com. I recommend it strongly.

The annual Fire Department pancake breakfast is scheduled for Saturday morning. Come early, have a good breakfast, and have a look at our brand new Engine 7951. We have just put it into service. Purchased with grant money, it replaces our 1968 Chevy rescue pumper.