A pic or two, thought I would share.....

[uride2]

You running your own equipment? Interesting, did not know there was private equipment fighting fires. Stay safe!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-figh...s&page=1&pos=1

NAPA COUNTY, Calif.—High on a ridge in Northern California, 68-year-old Ken Edwards finessed a bulldozer up a rocky slope to uproot a tree while, 10 feet away, a manzanita shrub went up in flames.

As the state’s wildfires burn more ferociously and break out simultaneously, stretching state resources thin, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, is growing increasingly reliant on contractors like Mr. Edwards to perform one of firefighting’s most critical tasks.

[Little Big Lost]

This fire is a monster, bearing down on hundreds of cabins/homes in the Pillsbury Lake area. I don't think we can stop it.

[Little Big Lost]

[Djongo Unchained]

You fellas keep it safe and stay smart.

Ski ya soon enough, LBL...

[Little Big Lost]

You fellas keep it safe and stay smart.

Ski ya soon enough, LBL...

Thanks! Cannot wait for it to start snowing.....

[Little Big Lost]

Pink things.

[Little Big Lost]

You running your own equipment? Interesting, did not know there was private equipment fighting fires. Stay safe!

Thanks! Yes, the boys (Rowberrys) have been doing it for a few years. I am the perfect person to run a chase truck - retired. I can go at a moments notice, help with repairs and take orders. I drove truck for them in North Dakota. Great guys.

On day 25!

[Little Big Lost]

Blue tent on the right, my accommodations for the last 27 nights.

[Little Big Lost]

Shit is on fire. Last evenings back burn. They lit shit up.

[skivan]

Shit is on fire. Last evenings back burn. They lit shit up.

Pm sent re: that first pic. Nice work.

[Little Big Lost]

Ran to town yesterday for parts...this along the way.

[new yabyum]

Ran to town yesterday for parts...this along the way.

I've seen this a lot in wildfire country and it comes from the heart. Be safe LBL!

[tgapp]

thought this shot i took in the deep lake region of the winds turned out really well

[panchosdad]

thought this shot i took in the deep lake region of the winds turned out really well

Great shot, love that place.

[Little Big Lost]

Day 44 on the California fires. Headed home now, I'll tell you all about it when I get back to Idaho.

[Little Big Lost]

Have been very busy gathering firewood, so I will let some photos do the talking. Cold Spring/August Complex - 44 days....





Faller fellers....


K-Max




Landed nearby.....pilot had to pee. Seriously.
















Our tents literally just yards to the left.

[Little Big Lost]

Headed home again. 55 days is enough.

[danmelon]

Take care LBL

[Little Big Lost]

Take care LBL

Thanks! Safe at home, trying to play a bit of catchup with yardwork and firewood splitting.

The firefighting transitioned to repression and restoration, heavy on the restoration. Got to know the Mendocino as well as any outsider could, weed everywhere. A Jackie Gleason Connection. Rugged. Steep. Beautiful. Ugly. Gunfire at night, every night in the Round Valley. Long way from home. Love me a good road trip though. Covelo, Clear Lake, Yuba City, Donner Pass, Winnemucca, Nampa Idaho. Then to Ririe the next day . Stopped off to visit Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. He is buried way the ef out in the middle of nowhere. I did not know that. Spent an hour or more with him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baptiste_Charbonneau

It has been snowing here, giving me high hopes of a killer winter. Lost Trail / Maverick and Tamarack on the list. Bring it.

[Djongo Unchained]

Welcome home, dude. Glad your safe and back in the fold.

We'll count on you for updates and all the usual stoke from KC over in the new JH thread.

Very cool you spent some time with little Pompey.

[Little Big Lost]

Yesterday at Targhee.

[Little Big Lost]

Welcome home, dude. Glad your safe and back in the fold.

We'll count on you for updates and all the usual stoke from KC over in the new JH thread.

Very cool you spent some time with little Pompey.

Thanks! Was an incredible experience to go fight fires in California. Almost 60 days away from home. Here is an exerpt from my 'diary'.

September 10, Padded the dozer to DP17. Dozer and chase truck to the top of Hull Mountain. Way the fuck up there. Caleb made some line down a sketchy ridgeline, never to return that way. Didn't think it was possible, the terrain so steep, eventually becoming a 30 mile trek through the mountains of Mendocino National Forest. Part of it Yuki wilderness. Special permission was granted. Caleb didn't make it off the mountain till 1:30 am that first day.

September 11. The drive up to the dozer long and arduous. More line. I sat down the road bit. Out of the way but easily called back. Cell signal. Awesome.

Bears, Tule elk, deer, even a lion. The fucking coyotes keep us up at night. The bull elk doing his thing, bugeling and slobbering keeping all his bitches in line. 7 bulls are vying, it's a bit of a hot mess out on the lakeshore at night, seems like it is the place for mating season.

Spider webs revealed from all the ash that has been falling for days. They are very numerous, way more webs than I would have expected. Very odd spectacle.

September 12, More of the same terrible road. Long way in. More line. More padding. Too much padding. They need to get their shit together. Wasted day.

September 13. The battle on the ridgetop is lost. Strong winds have pushed the fire over the top, and so it begins its relentless forward march down into Pillsbury Basin. Hundreds of cabins in the path. We have a couple of days to prepare. Dozing, masticating, chipping, clearing, laying hose and setting up pumpkins and filling them. And worrying.

When the fire went up and over the ridge, Caleb and I became separated. He on one side, I on the other. We retreated to safe zones and waited for it to burn out. 6 hours later he was able to make it to my location, left the dozer in a safe zone and made it to camp late. Caleb sporting a bit of pink on clothing, Radio communications kept us informed and safe. Video from the day very exciting.

September 14. Long ass drive to dozer, it had been hit twice with retardant the previous day. I cleaned off the windows, the rest can stay till it's over. Walking it out 12 miles to another safe zone.

September 15. Ran up to DP11 to get truck and transport. Load dozer. Bring it to the base at the airstrip. Then putting in line around the cabins at Pillsbury Estates. Me? I watched the planes scooping up water on the lake, 5 planes making run after run, to slow the advance, buying time. Very cool to watch.

September 16. Continue line. Breakdown in afternoon. Shot to Ukiah and Willits. Meds and parts. Underwear and t-shirts. McDonalds.


September 17. Fixed hydraulic line on dozer. Was a bit of a bitch. Got it done by 1, sooner if we weren't called to a meeting that never happened. Met some folks in an engine guarding the Zombie cabin, where the repairs were performed. Nice bunch of firefighters. Water and retardant dumps going on later. One a VLAT 747 roaring overhead. Fucking awesome.


Some cabins are worth saving, many aren't in my opinion. Looks like very few prepared such an eventuality. Properties unkempt and rundown, littered with combustibles. Shit everywhere. Too late for them now, owners are not being let in the retrieve anything. Cars, boats, 4 wheelers and more. Much more, They are even defending the Walking Dead cabin. Sheesh. Caleb putting in more line around the properties alongside other equipment. I am watching and listening to huge trees coming down, excavator and dozer are wrecking shit up. Hopefully it will help.

Glad to be home. Went snowboarding at Pomerelle and had a blast. Cool little adventure.



KC still lacking enough snow to open.....so we wait.

[Little Big Lost]

Elk and Fire...from my campsite. https://flic.kr/p/2kcPNs5

[shera]

Bears, Tule elk, deer, even a lion. The fucking coyotes keep us up at night. The bull elk doing his thing, bugeling and slobbering keeping all his bitches in line. 7 bulls are vying, it's a bit of a hot mess out on the lakeshore at night, seems like it is the place for mating season.

Teehee, this gave me a giggle.

Amazing pics. Have fun this winter!

[Little Big Lost]

Teehee, this gave me a giggle.

Amazing pics. Have fun this winter!

Thanks! I have seen enough elk porn for a lifetime. Honestly grew tired of it. So much of it taking place right outside my my tent. 3 solid weeks of it. I was starting to hate them, waking me several times a night sometimes.

More diary...
September 18. Caleb putting in more line behind the Pillsbury Lake main office. Pushed over a tree and the root ball came up and high centered the dozer. Excavator walked back up and grabbed the tree and pulled it out from under him. Took a bit of yanking, but they got the job done. Backburning scheduled for afternoon brought us off the line, parking the dozer in a nice little meadow turned into a dirt parking lot. Dozer safe from fire, we waited at DP 29 for couple of hours to be called back to continue line, backburning canceled, winds not favorable. Chopper after chopper going overhead with bucket after bucket.

Found out that a Uhaul van tailgating us a few days ago on a wild mountain road were a couple of guys trying to get to their marijuana grow up high in the hills. I hope they got it all out. They weren't supposed to be there in the fire area.

September 19. Woke to smoke hanging low. Serviced dozer and continued to finish off line around entrance/Main office. From the talk on the radio the fire is nearing the community of PLR. Pillsbury Lake Resort. The perimeter is well protected. It may hold. I can hear Caleb up in the hill going Clanka-clanka-clanka....and trees being broken in half. Boom! I think while eating some pretzels a bee got in the bag. I grabbed a few and shoveled some in my mouth. I felt a stinging sensation but thought it was salt in a tiny cut on my tongue. The next thing you know my tongue is swollen to the point that I couldn't talk. Hoping no one would call me on the radio... Swelling went down in an hour or so. Jeeze.

September 20. More servicing, more line. Saw elk with deformed antler. Saw some turkeys. Ate a bunch of garbage. Word is that they are bringing in showers. Yay. Camp is getting bigger. Way bigger.

September 21. Smokey again. Generally speaking the breakfasts are shit but the coffee is good. Two cups please. Deer hanging out with me in the parking lot next to the main gate. Tame, like the elk.

Ash is falling again. Very smokey. Couple of hawks in the top of a snag.

Thinking about the piece of ground on the Salmon, that is what keeps me going. Earning enough to put a down payment on the property would be nice. Pull the travel trailer up and spend a few days each winter month snowboarding at Lost Trail Pass. And summers too.

They lit shit up at dusk. Backfire of incredible proportions. JEEZE.....

September 22. Slow day. Serviced dozer and spent the afternoon washing clothes in a bucket and plunger. Hung them up to dry between two oak trees.

September 23. Ran to Willits again for parts. Bought creamer and a pair of scissors. Spent the afternoon replacing bearing on hydraulic ram and replaced a couple of grease zircs. Took most of the day.

September 24. It has been a month. Another day of standby. Lines are all in, so we wait to see if we are needed. I like days like this. Used scissors to trim beard. Saw some raccoons. Elk are still hard at it. Easy day.

September 25. Lazy day. We are on standby. We earned it after 16 days of wrecking shit up. Pay is the same. Mo money. Moved camp, as we had 'neighbors' move in. Found a better spot, and I am now relaxing on the lake bottom of Pillsbury. Wind is picking up. Saw a cool snake in the campground , yellow and black.

September 26. Wind blew all night. Surprisingly little fire activity in our area though. Mostly out. We are still on standby, probably till Tuesday as they are not releasing resources yet. Works for me. Copter came in and landed by us while working on the dozer, doing a little welding on the blade repairing some small cracks. Caleb then called to do a quick job. We drove the pickup to scope out the site, a steep dozer line up to it. Very Steep, 4 wheel drive terrain to a hotspot they want Caleb to smooth out so they can extinguish it with water. Went back to base and he left for the job. Another copter landed nearby for no other reason than the pilot had to take a pee. - Copy that.

September 27. Another day of standby. Heard that a water tender hit a tree this morning. Listening for any additional info. Chopper evacuation. Truck rolled over. Driver not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from vehicle. Is ok, back pain and lacerations. Very windy today. Spent the afternoon with Ben in his rental car, AC and movies. Good times.

September 28. Jim made it in to camp late last night. Today is another day of standby. Found some shade, hanging out for the day. 21 days with no shower ��, there are none here at spike camp.

September 29. Still on standby. Hope it isn't too hot today. 101 yesterday. Nope hot and boring today. Bedtime comes as a relief. Good night.

September 30. The standby days are wearing on me, mostly because of the excessive heat. California blows, at least this part of it. I have tried to find the beauty of it, but it is hard to do. The forest seems unfriendly, old and over grown, sick if it were. Mirkwood.

October 1. Headed home in a few days. Nice. Still hot as hell. Took a shower as they finally got a shower van in. Been 4 weeks since my last one. Damn. Feels nice.

October 2. More staging. Looking forward to the drive home on Tuesday. Can't wait.

October 3. Hanging out in staging area. Hot and windy. Dispatched to Covelo. Drove the route over to Potter Valley. Caleb has been dreading this day. Had parts to shut airline to back axle suspension. Chained axle up and made the back a drop axle. Shortened the turning radius to be able to make the sharp hairpins into the valley. It worked. Made our way to Covelo. The Redwood Valley. Heavily wooded, the sweet smell of marijuana filled the air nearly the whole route. Eel River, very deep channel. No flowing water. So very dry. Read on the internet that flows can be 100 times greater in the spring than in the fall. Zero running this year in September/October. Made it to Covelo base camp. Very big. Very nice. One of the best meals of my life, pork ribs. Prepared by inmates. Cal Fire uses them. Very polite they were.

Pitched tents and went to bed. Cell service here is very nice and caught up with family. Our dog Cooper passed away. Sad. Only found out a week later because of delayed text messaging. About 40 of them came through at once. Much of the conversations were out of order.

October 4. A breakfast. A meeting , where we got instructions. Get to Hanns Pass. We did, where Caleb is making a Helipad on a ridgetop. How cool is that. Later he cut some more line. I liked this area of the forest better, the reason because of the higher elevation. More open and alpine. Less oak, which is way down on the list of trees I like. Spruce, ponderosa and cedar more dominant up here.

October 5. Day 42. The usual breakfast and morning routine. Back to Hanns Pass. More line and general fireline clean up. Nice and cool up top here. I like days like this. They are preparing for a backfire operation tomorrow. I won't see it, headed home in the morning.

October 6. Replacement did not make it in time. So another day of work. Glad I stayed. They lit shit up. Wow. Up close, very close...enough to feel the intense heat. Woah. That shit burned incredibly fast and loud, very loud. Backburn worked perfect. Glad to be part of it.

Back to camp. My replacement showed up. Ate, showered and headed for home. Drove several hours to a spot to sleep just past Yuba City.