Tomorrow morning I might be burned out at our campground we got last year with our life savings. It's where I just put a cabin for my wife; her dream was a little cabin in the mountains. The Dotta Canyon Fire in Plumas Co CA is just 4 miles SW of us, and the wind is blowing to the NE.

Lightning started the fire about 2:40 pm, and at 9:30 tonight it's 0% contained. Our good friends had taken their trailer up early today and spotted it for a long 4th of July holiday. The Plumas Co Sheriff came by about 4:45 and advised them to evacuate. We're all loaded up and ready to pull my tin boat and RZR up in the morning.

I hope it still looks like this when this fire is contained. If it's gone another 105 families will have suffered the same fate.

Hoping for a safe outcome for you and your wife.

🦫

Thanks, Beave. She went to bed crying just a minute ago.

No doubt...Scary situation, emotionally and financially.

My BIL and his wife went through the same situation last summer at their main residence. They had 12 hours warning there zone might go Red with a mandatory evac.

With outside help from people, we got a lot of their things out and stuffed at friends and families homes outside the fire zone.

They still would have lost a butt load of valuables. Their area went Red....Unbelievably the fire got contained a 1/4 mile from their home. Smoke damage and heat still messed up their home.

🦫

Wishing the best for you guy's.

That really sucks. Best wishes that it works out. God bless fire crews!

Prayers for you and your family and your possessions... and for all of those in your neighborhood...

Every damn summer the west has to put up with this crap....

Prayers for a good outcome, I'm always the optimist.

Good luck and stay safe.

Don’t [bleep] around with that [bleep], I lost a home to a “controlled” burn, even 20 years later im Pissed.

Damn. Hope you folks get spared.

Looks like it could be a hell of a fire season.

Stay safe.

That's all that really matters in the long run.

Hopefully they get it contained real quick so lots of folks can be spared.

Praying for a good outcome
Please keep us informed

Hoping they get it out, or the wind changes. Dam.

Hoping you are spared...
Wildfires are horrifying.
Most can't understand the magnitude.
I think my son is on that fire right now.
Prayers sent.

Hoping for the best for you all. Stay Safe..

Best wishes for winds and outcomes in your favor.

Hoping for the best for all concerned and especially you guys, Safari.

hope all turns out for the best.

Damn Bruce, how tough would it be to get the cabin out of there?

Praying this works out for you guys.

Best wishes for a positive outcome. We have been barely spared twice in the last 3 years, but it was stressful. One thing you have going for you is that it is early in the season, so resources may not be stretched as thin as later in the season. I have the utmost respect for the people who fight wildland fires.

praying for a good outcome Bruce. Fire scares me and i Ain't afraid of nuthin!

The road in and out is closed, Jim. The expected fire path goes right across Dixie Valley. The fire is at the west end of the valley, and our cabin and trailer are only a mile or so away. We're hoping the fire crews hold a line at the west end and think they might concentrate some effort there, due to all the camps and some seasonal homes.

Good luck to you and your family.

That is quite the bummer situation for you folks and am sorry you have to deal with this mess right now in your lives. I pray they can get the fire under control and a more positive outcome for you and all the residences in the area.

Couldn't have anyone better than your son on that crew, my friend. I have followed you and your son here for many years. I've always been impressed with him.

Agreed

As long as people are allowed to purchase real estate and build in what is called outlying forestry areas they’re gonna get burned out! What amount of IQ does it require to avoid these areas remains a mystery!!

Hoping it works out for you luv2safari, sometimes these fires do strange things. The small town of Lytton BC just burned down last night.
We have been evacuated twice in 30 years, I expect this to be the worst I have seen, its early yet in the fire season.

Don't believe this is the time to have this discussion!

Wishing for the best.

Who isn’t shocked when an addled minded, old as fûck, Quigley Down Under wannabe, living in a care facility, say’s something inappropriate?

🦫

This^^^. My hell seriously 😳

At some point in time, one would think we would start asking questions about the ability of the USFS to accomplish it's mission. The 20,000 acre Lava fire, contained on day 1 and then abandoned (see San Francisco Chronicle public apology) only to explode the next day has now cut the main Pacific Coast freight routes, US Hwy 97-closed..Interstate 5-closed, Burlington Railroad, Calif to Wash. closed long term. The only north-south highway capable of any freight volume is US 395, 2 lane, numerous mountain grades. USFS epic fail..I'm not ranking on the young folks on the firelines...I'm ranking management, USFS has become a primarily feminist run agency...with predictable results.

Wishing for the best outcome for you guys. Hang in there and let the firefighters do their job. My son is a wildlands firefighter and them guys do some amazing stuff.

Wish there was something we could do to help. We who live in the Sierras live in a tinder box.

Pretty much my opinion as well. Same goes for Bureau of Land Management. The firefighters I have come in contact with have done all they can to control the situations. Management and government regulations are the problem. The other day someone said OSHA regulations won't allow them to fight fire at night. Can't move ground equipment into wilderness areas.

I feel for you Bruce. We had a fire ~3 miles from us last year during the blow-up. Luckily we were upwind of it.

Hang in there. It's amazing what those fire fighters can do.

I am really sorry to hear of this. Prayers for all out there, from us in N.C.

I’m praying for you! That’s a tough situation ! I hope everything works out for you guys!

Hey beaver10…..KISS MY ASS!!

As of now the road into the Dixie Valley is open from the east side. We're heading out to see if we can get there and move some items out...generators, furniture, etc. My "friend" who has a 5th wheel equipped truck and spotted my trailer was up there yesterday with his trailer and came right back...said he would help move mine. I always welcomed them up to use the camp at any time. But, his controlling wife is too inconvenienced and had him take her on their planned excursions around the area. He used to have some balls, but she cut them off. They now won't even answer their phone call from me.

Hope that your area don't get burned up and you get your goods off the place.

That's some bullshit. Neighbor's and friends need to stick together.

LOL

🦫

Bruce, sure wish I could help you out some from here. At least according to news reports I just read, Lassen-Modoc Cal Fire is sending resources down there to get on that one before it gets worse.

Relative in San Diego was at dental cleaning yesterday, her hygenist's boyfriend was heading up from there by copter. Sure hope it works out for you and the others there.

Sorry to hear that news. Hope the fire fighters can prevail and contain the fire before it gets to you.

WTH, I hadn't heard about them having it contained and letting it get away. Started smelling smoke from that one, the Tennant, and maybe from some small ones near Canby last night at our place. Was quite smoky in Tulelake, Merril, and K falls yesterday. Imagine it's worse today.

And, wonder of wonders, in this heat wave and likely a near record drought, the powers that be still are allowing giant tents full of fireworks to be sold in Southern Oregon. One was to benefit the local Moose Lodge. God forbid the Mooses lose out on a season of fireworks sales.

I guarantee no one, not a single person, from NorCal went to OR to buy fireworks this year. And none of them would be so bright as to light them off around here.

Oh well, can't regulate stupidity, so maybe not a worry about those big tents.

On a side note, I had a trip over to Ashland and I like the OR 66 road, little traffic, stop at Tub Springs and fill my water bottles in the car. So I head out of Ashland after my appointment and get to where the hill starts and what's in front of me? A friggen WalMart trailer. Heading up a length restricted road. Conventional tractor with a sleeper, CRST leased to Wally's. 53' trailer. Had to be close to or over 75' and the limit for logging trucks, is 65' and they're articulated double trailer rigs. I'm betting he got to Ashland, found out 5 south was closed, didn't want to turn around and head back to Medford and take the truck route, and his GPS sent him up 66!



He hadn't even reached the really twisty sections and he couldn't keep the wheels in his lane:



When I got down neared to Keno another rig of the same sort was headed over the hill the other way. I wonder how many tried that route overnight? I wonder if any went into or over a guard rail..............where they exist. Coming down that hill into Ashland will test a set of brakes.

Best wishes for a good outcome, luv2safari.

I well know the sinking feeling of helplessness when your place is threatened by wildfire. We've been lucky and dodged total devastation twice in the last three years. Fingers crossed for you and your wife.

Think you are pretty safe in that nursing home eh? Sharpsman? Please just go away. And Be Well, RZ.

Best of luck!

Hopefully they’ll get it wrangled in.

Man oh man, I wish you the best! These fires are really a destructive mess.

My friend did come through. He's old and grumpy, just like I am. I left him a little bit of a terse message, and he called right back after that third message. We shook hands like men do and were both a bit ashamed...laughed about it and it's forgotten.

I want to thank everyone here who sent messages of support. I hate feeling helpless, but we sometimes are helpless. It is what it is, but good wishes and thoughts have me counting blessings, not cursing fate.

L2S

Just saw this. Glad your OK. Hope your Camp survived!

“Terse”? That’s what we call that these days? .

Glad you are well. Even better if the stuff is well, too.

Have you ever been out of LA? Like avoid living in the vicinity of timberland? Laughing. Yep, everyone pack up and move to town.

Wishing you the best of luck.

I’m hoping this means your place is out of danger.

Time to breathe a sigh of relief

Glad situation has improved

I am very glad for you. I'd sure hate to helplessly see my own world consumed by fire.

The same IQ people have had for the last 400 years in this country. Like the same people that build in floodplains and live in Tornado Alley.

It sucks but they might have been trying to pull some resources based on weather for the next week. Or maybe they had another start somewhere. I have been in that scenario and it didn't go good. Some dumbass chief decided we didn't need out dozers and helicopters in spite of our local winds kicking up in the next 2 hours. Yep, it hit the fan and we lost 9 homes after the copters were pulled.

Same kind of stupidity back in 2013 with the RIM Fire in central CA. A plane loaded with retardant spotted it when it had just begun and they could have dropped their load to end it right then and there. BUT they radioed in for permission to drop their load on it and put it out and were denied because it would pollute the Clavey river right next to it. Stupid f ucks ended up letting over 250K acres burn before they got a handle on it. Ended up polluting miles and miles of several rivers because of dumb asses sitting in offices many miles from reality making dumbass decisions simply by looking at maps on walls.

Marquez...it was a 1/4 acre lightning spot fire, manned and completely surrounded with a hand line, when it was turned over to USFS. The Feds decided about 8 years ago it was too dangerous to fight fire at night so they walked off of it to return late next morning to a 220 acre fire at the time of day when the thermal winds pick up on the west slope of Mt Shasta. Also Feds and Calfire have decided that firefighting is too dangerous for amateurs like logging crews, so now only the pros can do it. No more temporary hire pick up crews signed up during lightning events...with predictable results. They shot themselves in the foot, incompetent sons of bitches can own it, meanwhile the huge body of administrative employees have been at home for 18 months on full pay because covid makes it too dangerous to go to work.

Yep and near the Greensprings eatery, the road was down to one lane last year. The southside lane fell into the bar ditch, about fifty feet into the ditch. Your real close to my deer hunting country there!

And another thing, since I'm venting here. My son is a private timberlands manager, they have a small piece of 4 sections of timber just 6 miles north of the Lava Fire, so 2 days ago, he rounds up a couple lowboys and a couple dozers and is going to doze a line between the fire and company property...you think the AUTHORITIES would let them thru the roadblock to try to preserve it? Hell no, and the really sad part is, the yo-yo with the gun didn't know who to contact to try to get permission...all Barney Fife knew, was they told him not to let any traffic through unless it was a fire vehicle...and BY God Barney followed orders.

Safari, hope you dodge this one. Bureaucracies like the forest service often get snared in their chain of command and have numerous useless twits embedded in the decision making process.

+1!!!!

+2!

It's getting tense now. Another fire started just below this one, and they might connect, stretching resources. Having any property in the mountains or our sagebrush country is always a crapshoot.

To add insult to injury I pulled the 5th wheel trailer around by the old garage with low hanging power lines when I brought it back and ripped out all electrical power to my home and well. Been living on three generators and water hauled from neighbors since Friday...just before a holiday weekend. When I do it, I do it right.

Ohhh chit! Wishing you a better luck filled 4th!

Geez, luv2safari. That sucks.

Might as well start drinkin'.

So far, nothing that can't be fixed!

I'm worrying for you, but grateful it hasn't been worse!

When it rains it pours... hopefully.

Get the can of spray paint out and write " Fire Vehicle" on the side of the dozers. Grease gun and finger painting if need be.

Say "there you go Barney Fife".

Gotta love dealing with these folks sometimes.

Sheesh!

Did they ever get their equipment up there? Did the agencies get eqpt up there? How are they doing? I saw last night that one was 25K acres or some such now, and the Tennnant was around 10K acres.

Bruce,

hindsight says..............watch where that trailer's going.

Hope all works out in the end.

No, none, zero.... self made civilian made firelines according to the authorities. In a teleconference Friday, the Forest Service said they had 100% confidence the north line (county highway A 12) would hold. Son said ok , if thats the law.(14 people arrested so far driving around the roadblock).

Well scheidt, I guess they at least have A12 there.

But if I had a dozer and private property, I'd have to do some "landscaping" so I could say I didn't make a fireline.

I bet the roads are closed to that area coming in from the east too?

Well, I wish your kid's company lands the best.

LUV2, Man I feel for ya. I have about your same luck. When sheit goes bad it just keeps on coming.

Best wishes it turns around. I wish I could help, but then you would be P.O'd at me for being the one who took down the wires.

The cinic in my wants to think they close the roads so nobody can watch what they are doing...... (or not doing).

Now just you wait a minute buster!

That really is a bit cynical. But not overly so.

They screwed the pooch on this one BIG TIME!!! They tried to get stingy with resources early on, and now they have the biggest fire in CA on their hands, and it will be in NV soon. Utter incompetence!!

I still can't find an electrician to get my house electrified from my dumb trip with a high vehicle under low wires. No water or a/c in 106 degree heat. Maybe next week...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/t...d-as-beckwourth-complex-grows/ar-AALJV8A

This is what happened, and things immediately got out of hand. Another day or two of mopping up and 40,000+ acres would still be forest and sage, and Frenchman Lake would not have been destroyed for a generation.

https://www.plumasnews.com/containment-grows-on-sugar-dotta-some-crews-head-to-other-fires/