Néstor Morales T. (*)

Con el anuncio de parte del gobierno de postular al Ministro Alfredo Pfeiffer a la Corte Suprema, se han lanzado sobre el tapete político diversas posiciones respecto al rol político que juega el Poder Judicial dentro de un Estado de Derecho.

La necesaria división de los Poderes del Estado planteado desde los fundamentos de la República nunca ha dejado de manifestar problemas y preguntas necesarias para sociedades que buscan estándares mejores de entendimiento y edificación del ideal moderno de entramado de relaciones sociales medianamente pacíficas y que permitan progreso político, económico, social y cultural.

Ya en Roma, la cimentación de las instituciones fue un asunto que, como la construcción de la ciudad eterna, tuvo tracto dificultoso y por cierto progresivo en el tiempo. Así, con la división de los cónsules y demás figuras como tribunos y otros estaba dejado a cargo de patricios y otros a la plebe, para defensa de ésta se decía no sin cuotas altas de razonabilidad, y es que la posibilidad de pedir cuentas a las autoridades, a quienes juegan, en efecto, el juego de la política es un asunto que por más que en tiempos actuales y pretéritos se cuestione sigue siendo clave a la hora de buscar certezas jurídicas, a favor de un pueblo o una Nación.

El mismo problema en Chile no ha dejado nunca a nadie satisfecho. La edificación de la República, más aún de la actual, ha requerido diversos tragos amargos de parte de uno y otro sector dominante de la política. Las nominaciones de jueces en la Corte Suprema han supuesto una lógica de empate en los temperamentos políticos, se dice, desde 1990 a la fecha. Heredando desde el régimen militar una composición que muchos han llamado conservadora ha venido siendo transformada en un aminoramiento de ese temperamento político hacia una moderada actuación de sus Presidentes –salvo excepciones- y la anuencia por parte de la derecha política y la concertación de Ministros sindicados como cercanos a uno y otro sector. Esta cuestión nos emplaza a reflexionar brevemente sobre ciertos elementos que me parecen fundamentales a la hora de perseguir ese ideal republicano que sueña un país como el nuestro, todavía en ciernes de ser lo que se imagina a sí mismo.

Estos elementos pueden ser desglosados jerárquicamente, comenzando por uno de carácter general. La necesidad de tener un Poder Judicial independiente radica en un argumento fuerte y dos débiles. El elemento fuerte trata sobre la teoría (débil por antonomasia) pero que puesto en la praxis se viste con ropajes de fortaleza útil. Así, la independencia del poder Judicial se funda en cuestiones del Derecho Positivo, ese que solemos reproducir con ánimo convicto en las escuela s de Leyes y Derecho proveniente de juristas destacados como Hans Kelsen quien discurre, en un avance de iusnaturalismo racionalista, sobre la tesis de una hipótesis de fundamentación racional de las decisiones sobre la justicia. Esta independencia a juicio del Poder Judicial radica fundamentalmente en la autonomía económica provista desde el Ejecutivo y controlada por el mismo organismo.

Públicas han sido las rencillas que año a año ha tenido la Corte Suprema con el Ejecutivo y últimamente con la Contraloría respecto a la fiscalización de su función administrativa ya que, según la Corte, el órgano contralor y el Ejecutivo se entrometen en cuestiones de decisión autónoma como Poder del Estado y que, en ultima ratio, podría manifestarse en una revisión de la función jurisdiccional que ejerce, temor razonable pero que en una sociedad pretendidamente abierta como la nuestra es de muy difícil sustentación, sobre todo, si de cuestiones de eficiencia económica y de tramitación administrativa se refiere.

Un argumento débil se refiere a la forma cómo se entiende el juego de pesos y contrapesos políticos dentro de las decisiones y direccionamiento del poder Judicial. Es débil en cuanto el equilibrio de un órgano de la República que no se somete al escrutinio del pueblo y que organiza su régimen de sustitución de autoridades a través de un fuerte control y proposición de los restantes Poderes del Estado se queda fuera de lo que la modernidad y el mundo de hoy persigue. Esta fórmula restringe la autonomía asegurando la publicidad de forma indirecta, imperfecta dentro de un sistema político igualmente deficiente que no conoce ni proporciona bien el mayor bien que gusta poseer: el Poder.

Segundo argumento débil, pero que delata formas de reproducción y sujeción del poder en el sistema judicial que hablan muy mal de quienes desde los albores de la República mantienen una actitud  obsecuente hacia el Poder Ejecutivo de turno. Fueron los mismos los que lograron continuar sin tropiezos durante las dictaduras, ensayos políticos y vueltas a la democracia, cotidianas, del siglo pasado. Esto nos hace afirmar que el real temperamento de la Corte Suprema como institución ha sido la de condescendencia con quienes saben bien, maneja las cosas en Chile. Si las decisiones económicas, políticas y sociales avanzan en cierta dirección, el rol del poder Judicial, su verdadero papel en la historia ha sido refugiarse en los Tribunales a la hora de sacar la voz y apreciar sobre su interés los movimientos de la época, configurando así una Ideología Suprema: flotar aunque todo sea una gran tempestad. Este argumento débil y subjetivo puede camuflarse con facilidad con el argumento fuerte de continuidad y mantenimiento del Estado de Derecho en Chile aunque este sea una promesa o una quimera digna de reivindicar.

Un último argumento débil (de brutal realidad política), es el referido como el de la teoría del empate, en este caso (nombramiento de Pfeiffer) es sólo una alarma destinada al fracaso, debido a que la composición actual del Senado hace presagiar que a lo menos 33 de sus congresistas darán su voto a favor de la nominación del Gobierno (se necesitan 2/3 de los miembros en ejercicio, algo más de 25) dudándose mucho que los restantes, ora por filiación, ora por interés, ora por su historia personal entreguen un voto censitario a dicha propuesta, teniendo esta pelea tanto las Agrupaciones de DDHH como los centros de estudios y los mismos Senadores disconformes escasa o nula posibilidad de transformar a su guisa la próxima asunción en el Tribunal Supremo del país de este Ministro sindicado por su opinión y su historia como Conservador y detractor de las normas que pueden favorecer en los casos pendientes y futuros relativos a las lesiones a los derechos humanos.

Con elementos de obsecuencia histórica, de sumisión al empate de posiciones políticas imperantes (que sigue siendo mejor que el rapto por un sector u otro del órgano jurisdiccionales), de inmutabilidad y resistencia al cambio se hace difícil conseguir al breve plazo un Poder Judicial moderno y eficiente.

La misión de los órganos jurisdiccionales más allá de ser la boca que dice la ley es la de construir certeza jurídica, es decir, establecer parámetros de interpretación, posición e imposición de la fuerza a través del derecho construido por los otros poderes por mandato (hipotético) del pueblo, por lo que su alejamiento y deseo de vivir fuera de los límites del sistema político es una falacia y no una quimera digna de reivindicar como muchos de los defensores del actual sistema de justicia señalan.

Una reforma al sistema jurisdiccional requiere no sólo de reformular los procedimientos sino también la transformación profunda al modo cómo se reproducen y se designan los cargos que ejercen el Poder del Estado de Chile que más atrás en la historia permanece. Esa, me parece es la principal meta de la Justicia y por cierto para quienes habitamos dentro de la política no deja de ser un problema supremo.

(*) Director Ejecutivo Observatorio DDHH

Néstor Morales T. (*)

Con el anuncio de parte del gobierno de postular al Ministro Alfredo Pfeiffer a la Corte Suprema, se han lanzado sobre el tapete político diversas posiciones respecto al rol político que juega el Poder Judicial dentro de un Estado de Derecho.

La necesaria división de los Poderes del Estado planteado desde los fundamentos de la República nunca ha dejado de manifestar problemas y preguntas necesarias para sociedades que buscan estándares mejores de entendimiento y edificación del ideal moderno de entramado de relaciones sociales medianamente pacíficas y que permitan progreso político, económico, social y cultural.

Ya en Roma, la cimentación de las instituciones fue un asunto que, como la construcción de la ciudad eterna, tuvo tracto dificultoso y por cierto progresivo en el tiempo. Así, con la división de los cónsules y demás figuras como tribunos y otros estaba dejado a cargo de patricios y otros a la plebe, para defensa de ésta se decía no sin cuotas altas de razonabilidad, y es que la posibilidad de pedir cuentas a las autoridades, a quienes juegan, en efecto, el juego de la política es un asunto que por más que en tiempos actuales y pretéritos se cuestione sigue siendo clave a la hora de buscar certezas jurídicas, a favor de un pueblo o una Nación.

El mismo problema en Chile no ha dejado nunca a nadie satisfecho. La edificación de la República, más aún de la actual, ha requerido diversos tragos amargos de parte de uno y otro sector dominante de la política. Las nominaciones de jueces en la Corte Suprema han supuesto una lógica de empate en los temperamentos políticos, se dice, desde 1990 a la fecha. Heredando desde el régimen militar una composición que muchos han llamado conservadora ha venido siendo transformada en un aminoramiento de ese temperamento político hacia una moderada actuación de sus Presidentes –salvo excepciones- y la anuencia por parte de la derecha política y la concertación de Ministros sindicados como cercanos a uno y otro sector. Esta cuestión nos emplaza a reflexionar brevemente sobre ciertos elementos que me parecen fundamentales a la hora de perseguir ese ideal republicano que sueña un país como el nuestro, todavía en ciernes de ser lo que se imagina a sí mismo.

Estos elementos pueden ser desglosados jerárquicamente, comenzando por uno de carácter general. La necesidad de tener un Poder Judicial independiente radica en un argumento fuerte y dos débiles. El elemento fuerte trata sobre la teoría (débil por antonomasia) pero que puesto en la praxis se viste con ropajes de fortaleza útil. Así, la independencia del poder Judicial se funda en cuestiones del Derecho Positivo, ese que solemos reproducir con ánimo convicto en las escuela s de Leyes y Derecho proveniente de juristas destacados como Hans Kelsen quien discurre, en un avance de iusnaturalismo racionalista, sobre la tesis de una hipótesis de fundamentación racional de las decisiones sobre la justicia. Esta independencia a juicio del Poder Judicial radica fundamentalmente en la autonomía económica provista desde el Ejecutivo y controlada por el mismo organismo.

Públicas han sido las rencillas que año a año ha tenido la Corte Suprema con el Ejecutivo y últimamente con la Contraloría respecto a la fiscalización de su función administrativa ya que, según la Corte, el órgano contralor y el Ejecutivo se entrometen en cuestiones de decisión autónoma como Poder del Estado y que, en ultima ratio, podría manifestarse en una revisión de la función jurisdiccional que ejerce, temor razonable pero que en una sociedad pretendidamente abierta como la nuestra es de muy difícil sustentación, sobre todo, si de cuestiones de eficiencia económica y de tramitación administrativa se refiere.

Un argumento débil se refiere a la forma cómo se entiende el juego de pesos y contrapesos políticos dentro de las decisiones y direccionamiento del poder Judicial. Es débil en cuanto el equilibrio de un órgano de la República que no se somete al escrutinio del pueblo y que organiza su régimen de sustitución de autoridades a través de un fuerte control y proposición de los restantes Poderes del Estado se queda fuera de lo que la modernidad y el mundo de hoy persigue. Esta fórmula restringe la autonomía asegurando la publicidad de forma indirecta, imperfecta dentro de un sistema político igualmente deficiente que no conoce ni proporciona bien el mayor bien que gusta poseer: el Poder.

Segundo argumento débil, pero que delata formas de reproducción y sujeción del poder en el sistema judicial que hablan muy mal de quienes desde los albores de la República mantienen una actitud  obsecuente hacia el Poder Ejecutivo de turno. Fueron los mismos los que lograron continuar sin tropiezos durante las dictaduras, ensayos políticos y vueltas a la democracia, cotidianas, del siglo pasado. Esto nos hace afirmar que el real temperamento de la Corte Suprema como institución ha sido la de condescendencia con quienes saben bien, maneja las cosas en Chile. Si las decisiones económicas, políticas y sociales avanzan en cierta dirección, el rol del poder Judicial, su verdadero papel en la historia ha sido refugiarse en los Tribunales a la hora de sacar la voz y apreciar sobre su interés los movimientos de la época, configurando así una Ideología Suprema: flotar aunque todo sea una gran tempestad. Este argumento débil y subjetivo puede camuflarse con facilidad con el argumento fuerte de continuidad y mantenimiento del Estado de Derecho en Chile aunque este sea una promesa o una quimera digna de reivindicar.

Un último argumento débil (de brutal realidad política), es el referido como el de la teoría del empate, en este caso (nombramiento de Pfeiffer) es sólo una alarma destinada al fracaso, debido a que la composición actual del Senado hace presagiar que a lo menos 33 de sus congresistas darán su voto a favor de la nominación del Gobierno (se necesitan 2/3 de los miembros en ejercicio, algo más de 25) dudándose mucho que los restantes, ora por filiación, ora por interés, ora por su historia personal entreguen un voto censitario a dicha propuesta, teniendo esta pelea tanto las Agrupaciones de DDHH como los centros de estudios y los mismos Senadores disconformes escasa o nula posibilidad de transformar a su guisa la próxima asunción en el Tribunal Supremo del país de este Ministro sindicado por su opinión y su historia como Conservador y detractor de las normas que pueden favorecer en los casos pendientes y futuros relativos a las lesiones a los derechos humanos.

Con elementos de obsecuencia histórica, de sumisión al empate de posiciones políticas imperantes (que sigue siendo mejor que el rapto por un sector u otro del órgano jurisdiccionales), de inmutabilidad y resistencia al cambio se hace difícil conseguir al breve plazo un Poder Judicial moderno y eficiente.

La misión de los órganos jurisdiccionales más allá de ser la boca que dice la ley es la de construir certeza jurídica, es decir, establecer parámetros de interpretación, posición e imposición de la fuerza a través del derecho construido por los otros poderes por mandato (hipotético) del pueblo, por lo que su alejamiento y deseo de vivir fuera de los límites del sistema político es una falacia y no una quimera digna de reivindicar como muchos de los defensores del actual sistema de justicia señalan.

Una reforma al sistema jurisdiccional requiere no sólo de reformular los procedimientos sino también la transformación profunda al modo cómo se reproducen y se designan los cargos que ejercen el Poder del Estado de Chile que más atrás en la historia permanece. Esa, me parece es la principal meta de la Justicia y por cierto para quienes habitamos dentro de la política no deja de ser un problema supremo.

(*) Director Ejecutivo Observatorio DDHH

General Economics: A
Business Communication: B+
Managerial Finance: A

Legende:
A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
F = Failed (alles unter 70% entspricht durchgefallen)

Das erste Semester ist also ganz gut gelaufen. Mit dem B+ in Communication kann ich als nicht Muttersprachler leben ;-).

(DISCLAIMER: By Clicking on "READ MORE" below you

Agree that you are AT LEAST 18 Years of AGE)

11---Click Here to See Video (EN 2008)

10---Julie Newmar (Batman 1966-1967)
. . . She'll give you a bat, man.

9---Alicia Silverstone (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Robin's eggs.

8---Elle MacPherson (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Nice batcave!

7---Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns, 1992)
. . . Holy hooters!

6---Uma Thurman (Batman & Robin, 1997)
. . . Her bat signals are on.

5---Kim Basinger (Batman, 1989)
. . . Sticki Vale.

4---Nicole Kidman (Batman Forever, 1995)
. . . POW! BANG! BOFF! BUTT!

3---Halle Berry (Catwoman, 2004)
. . . Mee-yeow!

2---Katie Holmes (Batman Begins, 2005)
. . . Justits League.

1---Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, 2008)
. . . Gotham titties

Want more of this ,, Check out Mr. Skin

It was with mischief in my heart that I responded to the wonderful DenOfGeek.com's emailed request for Catwoman casting suggestions should the iconic feline fatale make a return to the big screen as a Batvillain following the massive success of second Christopher Nolan Batman film The Dark Knight. What, I thought, would be a typically Nolan-esque move away from the cliches associated with the role?

Catwoman, as we saw in poor old Halle Berry's greatest misfire to date, has plenty of potential to be a misguided fancy-dress spectacle attempting to indulge the leather-clad end of one's fantasy spectrum, rather than grappling with anything so difficult as a plot, and ending up failing on both counts. So, what are the bare bones of Catwoman as a serious character once we eliminate - as surely we must - the cheesecake aspects? Revenge, strength, pitilessness, an equal for Batman. .. Obviously, there's a feline element, which for some reason makes people picture busty brunettes with dark soulful eyes. Physiologically at least, this makes no sense. Cats, unless they've been spoiled by well-meaning owners, are lean creatures, with, more often than not, green or blue eyes.

So I went with Tilda Swinton. Here's the excerpt from DenOfGeek's article (in full behind the link):

Tilda Swinton
Catherine Bray has an off-beat suggestion for Batman's adored malfeasant. Tilda Swinton is no stranger to fantasy film, with The Chronicles Of Narnia and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button under her belt... "Bit left-field this," says Catherine, "but Tilda Swinton would make a striking choice. Six foot tall, alienesque, radiating cruelty and moving far away from all the clichés. Pfeiffer did the Soho S&M version to perfection; time to take it somewhere stranger. Fanboys looking for a cosily cute Little Miss Whiplash figure to flog themselves silly over would probably bitch and moan, but since when have Nolan's Batman pics been about pleasing predictable fetishes?"

As I say above, I'm not at all against the BDSM incarnation of Catwoman when done properly; it's just that it has been done. It'd be like casting a cackling middle-aged rogue in the Joker role. Jack Nicholson's all over that. So the smart money goes elsewhere. Cast soulful Heath Ledger: it might just work. Hence the crazy - or is it? - Tilda idea, which over on Fark.com has generated predictable "but she looks like a man/doesn't have tits/scares me" comments, but also a surprising amount of support too. Good to see some people getting beyond the idea that the perfect Catwoman = whoever-I-fancy-in-leather. (Incidentally, scriptwriters trying to write Sexy instead of Believable is why all female superhero movies so far have been complete gash. Sure, cast a good-looking or at least striking actress - this is Hollywood - but write as if you were writing a normal superhero film, people. Maybe Joss Whedon could get onto it if he's not too scarred from the Wonderwoman experience)

DenOfGeek also emailed Tilda Swinton's agent about this, who apparently replied that as she was filming in Italy they couldn't get hold of her for a comment, but said "I am personally delighted by the concept! Thanks for your support. And good taste!"

Um etwas zu "entspannen" standen heute die Bewerbungsfotos von Thomas auf dem Plan. Eine sehr lustige Angelegenheit, bei denen am Ende auch wirklich brauchbare Fotos rausgekommen sind. Fuer die Fotos wurde sein Wohnzimmer wirklich sehr passend umgestellt.

Er koennte so glatt als Anchorman durchgehen, bei denen sieht man auch immer nur den Oberkoerper. Ich wuensche aufjedenfall fuer die Bewerbung alles Gute!

From Mike Dietrich, Incident Commander:

• It was a great day!
• We began backfiring south of Palo Colorado Canyon towards Bixby Canyon. They intend to continue the burning and get it to the Old Coast Highway tonight.
• Fire made it to the boy scout camp and the fire line held. The camp is secure.
• We’re very close to getting the northern line to the Little Sur River.
• There was a little bit of burning inside Big Sur today. Crews are looking at trees that are a hazard and mopping up hot spots along the highway.
• The line is holding at Dolan Ridge. Dolan had seven residences at risk – teams led the fire down around them and they pulled off a tremendous save. Everyone and everything is safe.
• Plans for tomorrow and the next couple days: continue mopping up inside Big Sur and securing the area. Working Bottchers Gap to Dani Ridge tomorrow – if this is successful we’ll be able to close the door on the Palo Colorado threat.
• Next piece (2-3 days out) is to begin burning along the old Marble Cone line at the north end of the fire. The DC-10 and the Martin Mars (Super Scooper) are working there.
• Current strategy with limited resources is to box things out, work in specific areas then move on to the next hot spot.

From Frank:

• There was a flare up on Partington today, an area we thought was cooled down. It was on the south slope just below one of the houses that had been saved and the fire wanted to move west, which would be a bad thing. A Brigade engine jumped on it and knocked it down while it was easily manageable. (Lots of clapping.)
• The Brigade finished their gelling operation and have gelled 54 structures.
• Re-entry is now at the top of the list and in the planning phase. There is a member of the OES (Office of Emergency Services) team from Monterey County working with Frank on this. "We are working on the first phase that will get us the ability to do infrastructure repair and make it safe for residents to return. The fire is still cooking out there and there are lots of hot spots that will need to be taken into consideration as we start fixing things (laying plastic pipe for instance, would melt right now if it was laid down in some places.) The sheriff is extremely anxious to be as collaborative as he can possibly be with us in this process." This planning will take everything into consideration, including the possibility of returns for in-and-out visits (get stuff, insurance specs), and those who are in areas that have not burned or lost infrastructure.
• No more structures have been lost.

Q&A Answers:

• Frank: There have been two phases of the mandatory evacuation. The first phase gave residents an option to sign a waiver and stay. When the fire got more intense, the sheriff’s office upgraded the evacuation to say that anyone who stayed was subject to arrest. The sheriff's have been working with us to interpret this for the benefit of the community. I recognize that the evacuation zone has the appearance now of being a “prison” of sorts to people who have stayed. But this is not the intention and the people who have stayed have been extremely cooperative with us - so given the circumstances, tomorrow will be another day and we'll look at all the options available.
• Gel questions: Ask questions or come get a Q&A sheet on the gel from Sharon Torrence. (Will post this sheet on the SurFire2008.org site in the Notices section tomorrow.)
• Frank: Residents who are still in Big Sur: If there’s a flare-up that’s a true threat and it’s after hours, please call 911. Please use discretion. We've been called out for a couple stumps in burned out areas that were not a threat and we have limited resources.
• Mike: There will be a substantial heating and drying weather pattern coming in, moderate offshore flow Monday-Wed. with the potential for thunderstorms (and lightning) Thursday and Friday.
• Frank: Houses are gelled on Pfeiffer and things are looking very good there.
• Mike: Near Tassajara the fire has only moved about ¼ mile today and there is air support to keep it moving as slowly as possible toward the Tassajara area.
• Backburning did not happen as planned off the highway near Esalen today, but they hope to begin tonight if the conditions are right - going from Anderson Canyon south to Hot Springs Canyon.
• We have the DC-10 now but it could be moved down to the Gap fire. The super scooper will stay here in the area to use as we need.
• Not every residential area will be represented at tomorrow's re-entry meeting. We’re doing a scaled down group of reps, including three members of the community.

Rob, a rep from the OES was at the meeting and spoke about plans for re-entry.  I took lots of notes on this too, but am clarifying and checking info with him again before I post that.  It will be posted tomorrow.

New Fire-Related Features:

Our favorite fire-related urban rural legends!

A look at the post-fire debris flow danger (includes videos of debris flows in action!)

(Scroll Down to Find our Most Recent Updates)

Losing historic Big Sur homes burns our butt

The barn is gone, but the Bhudda, wrapped in a cloak of living madrone, endures 

A scorched page from Henry Miller's Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch on the ground near the ruins of a Big Sur homestead. Armando, who obviously studied our photo much more carefully than we did, has written to point out that, even more appropriately, the page is from the A Devil in Paradise adjunct to Oranges and that the second page is from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

Note to our Readers:

Here at Xasáuan Today we generally cater to a small audience of aging beatniks, social and environmental justice advocates, cyclists, and backwoods retro-grouch types. We’re a bit overwhelmed to find that so many (thousands) of you are coming to us for information on the fire.

We do not have the capability to stay on top of things all the time or to post as often as new developments occur, so please do not rely on us to keep you informed 24/7. We'll continue to update as, and when, we can. 

Please remember to take all information you find here (and elsewhere) with a grain of salt. The fire is out of control and so, in many ways, are the human institutions affected by the fire. There is no one person or agency that knows everything that is going on. Information, even from the most sober and official sources, has often proved extremely outdated or inaccurate. We do the best we can. Thank you for your many messages of support.

BTW, one of the best sources of breaking news is the comments section at the bottom of this page - new information often appears there long before it makes it into one of our updates or is reported elsewhere. 

Be sure to check our Fire Links Page. If you can't find the fire info you're looking for on the sites we've listed there, it's probably not on line yet at all.

And see our new first person account - complete with photos - of the 1972 Molera Fire. The last fire to burn through the Big Sur valley.

The fire is expanding and so is our Photo Tour of Backcountry Areas Affected by the Fire. As the fire keeps growing, we'll keep adding photos - so check in from time to time.

Click here to read the Opinion piece retired CHP officer, Ken Wright "The Mayor of Big Sur," wrote for the Salinas Californian regarding the screwed up response of the Monterey County Sheriff to the fire in the Big Sur valley.

Click here to read a number of insightful posts by Capt. Mike, of the Firefighter Blog, regarding the failure of the USFS to provide crews for structure protection at the Zen Mountain Center, Apple Pie Ridge, and beyond.

Click here to read an interesting article on the refusal of the federal government to declare the California fires a disaster.

And click here to read our Editorial Comment on the question of allowing adults to make their own decisions about whether to stay or leave during a fire. For reaction to our comment, see the bottom of this page ...

9:00PM July 28 Update:

There was a lot of smoke still drifting from the fire zone today. These flare ups along Tassajara Creek and near the Horse Pasture Trail were probably responsible for most of it:

12:45PM July 28 Update:

It's been over 12 hours since MODIS has detected any hot spots and the USFS says the fire is now 100% contained. Looks like the burning phase of this one is just about over. 

10:30AM July 27 Update:

Looks like the USFS is starting to wind things down. Here's this morning's official update:

Current Status:

· The acreage burned is 162,818 with 85% containment.

· Today mopup, repair of dozer lines and backhaul of equipment are continuing on the East Basin Complex. Fireline repair continues on the Indians Fire and the West Basin Complex.

· Due to the active mopup and fireline repair work on theEast Basin Complex, motorists should continue to use extreme caution when traveling.

· Today, there are 1,034 personnel on the fire, these numbers will be decreasing rapidly over the next few days.

· Cost to date is estimated at $76.3 million.

· Today's weather will be warm and dry with temperatures of 80-90 degrees at higher elevations and 90-102 degrees at lower elevations near Arroyo Seco. There will be areas of smoke.

Status of Public Lands and Recreation Facilities:

· All national forest lands on the Monterey Ranger District, including roads and trails, remain closed to public access except several picnic areas on the Big Sur coast along Highway 1 including Pfeiffer Beach, Mill Creek, Sand Dollar Beach, Jade Cove Beach, Willow Creek and San Carpoforo Beach. Camping is prohibited at these sites. Wood campfires and charcoal barbecues are prohibited, but gas stoves are permitted.

· Andrew Molera State Park is open for day use only at the main park entrance on the west side of Highway 1. The Creamery Meadow, Bluff, Panoramic, Ridge, River trail system and Molera Beach west of Highway 1 are open.

· Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is open for camping. The Buzzard's Roost Trail on the west side of Highway 1 is open. No other trails at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park are open.

· Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park remains closed until further notice; however, Partington Cove on the west side of Highway 1 is open.

· Limekiln State Park is open for day use and camping. Call (831) 667-2403 for further information.

· All other State Parks in the fire area remain closed until further notice. Call the Big Sur Station at (831) 667-2315 for additional information.

· The Santa Lucia Recreation Residence Tract in Los Padres National Forest is closed to public entry. Permit holders may contact the King City office of the Monterey District at (831) 385-5434 for access information.

The only hot spots mapped by MODIS in the past 12 hours have been near the Carmel River in the Miller Mountain area:

6:45PM July 26 Update:

If you're down on the South Coast today (like we were) and wondering about where all that smoke is coming from,  here's the answer:

All around Miller Mountain:

And Willow Creek:

And if you're not at the big Loma Vista shindig right now, well, you should be!

5:30PM July 25 Update:

It's a hot day out there ... and things are particularly hot in the Miller Fork/Miller Mountain area. Looks like they're getting that last piece of fire line behind the Los Padres Dam backfired this afternoon:

10:20AM July 25 Update:

This morning's USFS Fire Update is now available on Inciweb. It confirms that the final section of containment line has been backfired. Here's an excerpt:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 152,211

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 2,287

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 79%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1627

Structures destroyed: 26 residences, 32 other

Resources

Crews: 30

Engines: 108

Helicopters: 13

Dozers: 16

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,415

Suppression cost to date: $72.8 million

Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· With the successful progress on the fire, the MontereyCounty Sheriff will lift all Voluntary Evcuations and County Road Closures at 6 pm this evening.

· Yesterday the final piece of containment line was burned out, tying in the containment perimeter.

· In the next few days, firefighters will continue to work on the containment lines, mopping up to be sure that there are no hot spots within 300' of the outer edges.

· Burning operations using aerial ignition will continue in the interior of the fire to remove the threat from unburned vegetation that could spot over the containment lines. These burnouts will be low intensity to help protect the watershed.

· Acreage figures today reflect the containment line and interior burnout operations, as well as interior movement of the wildfire, as unburned islands are consumed. Acreage figures will continue to grow as interior operations progress.

· Fire suppression repair work is ongoing for the Indians Fire. Repair work and mopup continue on the West Basin Fire.

· Today will be hot and dry with temperatures of 80-90 degrees at higher elevations and 90-102 degrees at lower elevations near Arroyo Seco. Minimum humidity will be 9-18 percent. Ridgetop winds will be northwest at 4-8 mph, with a few afternoon gusts to 12 mph. The upslope and upcanyon winds will be 0-3 mph in the morning, becoming 3-7 mph with gusts to 10 mph in the afternoon.

· Due to the heavy fire suppression traffic and activity in the Cachagua area, residents should continue to use extreme caution when traveling.

9:00AM July 25 Update:

The word is out. All voluntary evacuations and major road closures will be lifted as of 6:00PM tonight.

Meanwhile, the Hennickson's Ridge backfire calmed down nicely overnight:

Most of the active fire last night was concentrated around China Camp, in the upper headwaters of Miller Canyon and Calaboose Creek:

7:30PM July 24 Update:

They obviously weren't kidding about backfiring the rest of Hennickson's Ridge from Chew's Ridge to the Los Padres Dam today. According to MODIS, the whole section is fully ablaze this afternoon - with fire stretching from upper Miller Canyon all the way through Pine Valley to the Carmel River. Assuming this backfire doesn't get away from them (we hear there was a bit of a close call with the backfire yesterday), it looks like they might have this fire just about wrapped up:

12:15PM July 24 Update:

The morning's USFS Fire Update suggests that, with luck, the final backfiring (between Chew's Ridge and Los Padres Dam) could be completed today. Here's an excerpt:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 147,114

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 4,497

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 72%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1627

Structures destroyed: 26 residences, 32 other

Resources

Crews: 40

Engines: 114

Helicopters: 10

Dozers: 16

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,684

Suppression cost to date: $71.4 million

Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· Today, with favorable conditions, crews should complete burnout of the remaining section of containment line. They will be working north along Chew's Ridge to Los Padres Dam. Last night crews made good progress on the ridge.

· Burning operations using aerial ignition will continue in the interior as long as needed, keeping the fire at low intensity to help protect the watershed.

· Acreage figures today reflect the containment line and interior burnout operations, as well as interior movement of the wildfire, as unburned islands are consumed. Acreage figures will continue to grow as interior operations progress.

· Burnout operations were completed around Tanbark yesterday and good progress was made around Arroyo Seco.

· Fire suppression repair work is ongoing for the Indians Fire. Repair work and mopup continue on the West Basin Fire.

· Today will be hot and dry with temperatures of 80-90 degrees at higher elevations and 90-105 degrees at lower elevations near Arroyo Seco. Minimum humidity will be 9-18 percent. Ridgetop winds will be northwest at 4-8 mph, with a few afternoon gusts to 12 mph. The upslope and upcanyon winds will be 0-3 mph in the morning, becoming 3-7 mph with gusts to 10 mph in the afternoon.

· Due to the heavy fire suppression traffic and activity in the Cachagua area, residents should use extreme caution when traveling. For firefighter and public safety, residents are asked to refrain from approaching firelines, dozer lines and firefighting resources while burnout operations are being conducted. Firefighters need to be focused on keeping the fire within containment lines and visitors could distract them at a critical time.

Noon July 24 Update:

For more than 12 hours now, the only MODIS heat detections have been in Miller Canyon - and on the side of the canyon away from the fire line. The map looks like this:

5:45PM July 23 Update:

Well, just like we figured, the Miller Canyon fire has only grown more active as the day's gone on. MODIS now has it stretching all the way back to Pine Valley and reaching way down into Calaboose Creek (over territory we'd swear had already been burned over more than once). The fact that there's still something to burn in a lot of these places just goes to show what a patchwork of burning a wildfire really is in rough terrain and with conditions alternating between damp and dry:

The fire in the hills above Piney Creek is also burning strongly:

And even some of the main fire appears to have come back to life. It's burning across some of the last untouched country between the Basin and Indian fires - in this case the Arroyo Seco Gorge area from above Willow Creek nearly down to the campground:

10:00AM July 23 Update:

Overnight thermal imaging indicates that the backfire moving into Miller Canyon has really flared up. We hope the structures there were adequately protected. We didn't think there could be anything left to burn near the MIRA observatory, but it appears they have been backfiring from there as well, with some of the fire spilling into the Piney Creek headwaters. The marine layer has burned off very quickly this morning, so this fire will probably continue to be active for as long as there is fuel for it to burn:

The lower elevation Blue Rock Ridge backfire, on the other hand, really calmed down with the rising humidity overnight:

And the backfiring above Piney Creek appears to be going well:

3:30PM July 22 Update:

Well, the marine layer burned off early today and it wasn't long before robust smoke columns began to appear in the backfire areas. It certainly looks like the backfires are burning better today and MODIS agrees, finding considerable heat under all that smoke.

This map indicates that fire is now actively burning throughout the previously unburned section of Blue Rock Ridge. When this fire dies down they will probably be able to declare the fire contained along the Blue Rock Ridge fire line - something which the last few days of "highly successful," yet largely invisible, backfires have failed to accomplish:

Up near Chew's Ridge, MODIS has found a couple new hot spots in the Miller Canyon area:

And this fire on the ridges above Piney Creek is also likely a backfire:

Despite the quick lifting of the marine layer today, MODIS has, as yet, found no new hot spots outside of the backfire areas.

7:30AM July 22 Update:

The backfiring operations on Chew's Ridge did show up (barely) in the overnight thermal imaging, with two heat detections high on the fire line above Miller Canyon. We wouldn't be too concerned about one of the spots being placed on the wrong side of the line. MODIS just isn't that exact.

We're more concerned about there only being two detections. For the backfire to be effective, it needs to be hot enough to burn most of the available fuel. Backfires that have accomplished this in the past have always provided MODIS with many more heat detections than we're seeing here. So were these fires just smaller than backfires of the past, and did they do most of their burning between satellite passes? Or, after the heavy marine layer of the past few days, are things still reluctant to burn?

Either way, we suppose any reduction in fuel is better than nothing and with the main fire still laying low (no new heat detections for the second night in a row) a less than perfect backfire may still do the job:

10:15PM July 21 Update:

And you thought you were frustrated with Inciweb. Here's what the Wildfire Today blog had to say about Inciweb this afternoon:

InciWeb is only working intermittently again today. The site that is supposed to provide information about current wildland fires is least dependable when it is most needed. The agencies that operate this site should either fix it or shut it down. This has been going on for years. The organizations that are responsible for the web site are:

• U.S. Forest Service
• Bureau of Land Management
• Bureau of Indian Affairs
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Park Service
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• National Association of State Foresters
• U.S. Fire Administration

Supposedly the website is using "version 2.1 beta". Maybe it's time, after several years, to take this seriously and develop a version that is notBETA. And, invest a few dollars to ensure the hardware is adequate. Or shut it down.

9:30PM July 21 Update:

Here's our usual excerpt from the USFS Fire Update (in this case, tonight's 7:00PM update) recently posted to Inciweb. Although, it indicates that backfiring proceeded as planned today between Chew's Ridge and Arroyo Seco and along Blue Rock Ridge (and we saw plenty of smoke in those areas this afternoon), MODIS hasn't yet detected any heat from those backfires. Since successful backfires have always showed up in the thermal imaging in the past, we're guessing those fires will turn up on the next satellite pass later this evening. The only heat detections in the past 12 hours have been in the Rocky Creek drainage near Arroyo Seco (can there really be anything left to burn along that creek?):

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 137,260

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 0

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 72%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1627

Structures destroyed: 26 residences, 32 other

Suppression cost to date: $66.1 Million

Resources

Crews: 58

Engines: 130

Helicopters: 11

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 22

Total Personnel Assigned: 2,068

Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· Today burnout operations proceeded as planned along Chew's ridge northward toward the end of Laurel Springs road, eastward along Blue Rock Ridge to Los Padres Reservoir and northward along Hennickson's Ridge to Los Padres Reservoir.

· Tonight crews will continue burnout operations to improve and hold existing line.

· Tomorrow a burnout is planned for the remaining segment of containment line along Chew's Ridge.

· Tassajara Road will continue in patrol and mop-up status.

· Today fire suppression repair work began on the Indians Fire. Repair work continued on the West Basin Fire.

· Tomorrow temperatures are predicted to be warmer, 85-98 degrees. Expected weather is mostly sunny with periods of smoke and haze. Expect morning low clouds in the valleys.

· A community fire information meeting will be held Tuesday evening at the Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley Village beginning at 6:00 pm.

· Due to the heavy fire suppression traffic and activity in the Cachagua area, residents should use extreme caution when traveling. For firefighter and public safety, residents are asked to refrain from approaching active fire suppression areas.

2:30PM July 21 Update:

Getting through to Inciweb has been a little iffy today, so we're going to reprint the heart of this morning's 7:00AM USFS Fire Update here. The large increase in acres burned is probably the result of new mapping rather than actual fire spread, as the fire was pretty quiet overnight. Also of note is the fact that the number of structures considered "threatened" by the USFS is going up (they thought 1,400 structures were threatened a few days ago when large portions of the upper Carmel Valley area were under mandatory evacuation - but now, with the mandatory evacuations lifted and many people declaring the fire all but out, the USFS has upped the threatened structure total to 1,627). But the best news is that the total number of structures confirmed destroyed appears to have declined (from a high of 27 residences and 34 other buildings, to 26 residences and 32 "other"). Now there's a trend we hope continues:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 137,260

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 3,142

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 70%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1627

Structures destroyed: 26 residences, 32 other

Suppression cost to date: $65.2 Million

Resources

Crews: 68

Engines: 103

Helicopters: 14

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 20

Total Personnel Assigned: 2,115

Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· Yesterday afternoon burnout operations were very successful along containment lines on the east side of the fire from Piney Creek south towards Arroyo Seco, and along Chews Ridge.

· Burnout operations along Chews ridge will resume this afternoon after the morning's moist marine weather conditions lift. Burnout of small islands and draws in other east side locations will occur where needed.

· Yesterday, burnout operations to reinforce containment lines on the north side of the fire along Blue Rock Ridge and Hennickson's Ridge were postponed due to wind direction. National Guard C-130 airtankers dropped retardant just outside these containment lines in preparation for later burnout operations. Airtankers with retardant will continue preparation work today, and burnout operations along these containment lines will begin with favorable wind and humidity.

· Tassajara Road will continue in patrol and mop-up status.

· Last night crews continued to hold firelines but burnout operations were limited due to moist conditions.

· Today fire suppression repair work will begin on the Indians Fire, repairing control lines and other areas that have sustained ground disturbance as a direct result of the fire suppression activities. Fire suppression repair work is continuing on the West Basin Fire. Fire repair work will also include actions such as the repair of fences, roads, culverts and gates damaged by fire suppression activities.

· Today, after patchy morning low clouds and fog in the valleys, it will be mostly sunny with a few high clouds, with maximum temperatures 86-91 degrees. General winds will be southwest to southeast along the ridgetops 5-10 mph, gusting to 13 mph. Upslope and upcanyon winds will be 1-3 mph, becoming 4-8 mph in the afternoon, with gusts to 12 mph.

· A community fire information meeting will be held this evening at the Cachagua Community Park beginning at 6:30 pm.

· A community fire information meeting will be held Tuesday evening at the Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley Village beginning at 6:00 pm.

7:15AM July 21 Update:

The heavy marine layer continues to work its magic. There have been NO heat detections anywhere on the Basin Complex Fire during the past 12 hours. The fire is still burning and smoldering over a wide area, of course, but it is doing so pretty slowly. 

7:30PM July 20 Update:

Wow ... What a difference a new Incident Commander can make! We didn't fail to notice that the mandatory evacuation of the Cachagua/Jamesburg area was lifted the moment new IC Jeanne Pincha-Tulley arrived and that posting of updates to Inciweb suddenly became much faster. But it just keeps getting better. Today, Inciweb has been stocked with the kind of detailed information on what the fire is doing and what the plans are to fight it that the previous IC treated like state secrets. We only wish they'd given her command of the fire a few weeks ago.

The fire, meanwhile, has continued to be active mainly in the territory surrounding Pine Valley today (Carmel River downstream from Pine Valley, upper Hiding Canyon, on the slopes of Miller Mountain and on the western edge of Miller Canyon). The heavy marine layer may have put backfiring on hold, but it is giving firefighters plenty of time to prepare for the next dry spell.

7:30AM July 20 Update:

The thermal imaging satellites found hot spots in only three places last night.

Miller Canyon:

Along the Carmel River between Pine Valley and Round Rock:

And in a small drainage between Rocky and Calaboose Creeks:

6:00PM July 19 Update:

The thermal imaging satellites have found plenty of active fire today, but all of it, fortunately, is deep within the fire area and safely distant from the containment lines. The Hiding Canyon fire has been especially active, reversing direction and heading south into the as-yet-unburned Blue Creek drainage. It even looks like it may have made a run up the one remaining unburned side of the Double Cone:

It appears that the fire in Rocky Creek has also been active today, burning downstream nearly to the Arroyo Seco River:

And here're a couple of places we haven't seen heat detections near in awhile. The Indians/Arroyo Seco Rd. on the grade out of Escondido:

And along the Lost Valley Trail on the climb out of the Arroyo Seco River:

9:30AM July 19 Update:

This morning's USFS Fire Update is now available on Inciweb. Here's an excerpt:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 133,270

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 3430

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 70%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1400

Structures destroyed: 27 residences, 34 other

Suppression cost to date: $58.2 million

Resources

Crews: 58

Engines: 72

Helicopters: 20

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 19

Total Personnel Assigned: 2,109

Unified Command: USFS, CAL FIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· Burnout operations along prepared containment lines are proving to be successful at widening those lines and protecting communities.

· A community meeting was held in Carmel Valley last night and support for operations was high.

· Burnout operations between Piney Creek and Arroyo Seco west of Carmel Valley Road began yesterday afternoon and continued until the early morning hours. Burnout operations will be emphasized again today. Smoke continues to be highly visible in this area.

· Burnout operations continue east of Devil's Peak on the north edge of the fire, and will continue in the coming days as conditions permit. The northern edge of the fire is backing toward Carmel River inside the containment lines.

· The Tassajara Road area is in patrol and mop-up status.

· The repair phase of fire suppression continues along the west side of the fire. Crews are going into the interior portions of the burn and repairing control lines and other areas that have sustained ground disturbance as a direct result of the fire suppression activities. Crews are also repairing fences, roads and gates damaged by fire suppression activities.

· Temperatures are predicted to be 87 - 100 degrees, with variable winds in the morning, becoming west/southwest in the late afternoon with speeds of 6-12 mph and gusts to 16 mph.

Evacuations:

· Carmel Valley Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation from the intersection of San Clemente Road (Sleepy Hollow) south to the intersection of Arroyo Seco Road.

· Cachagua Road, and Tassajara Road down to the Zen Center, are under VOLUNTARY evacuations.

· Arroyo Seco Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation west of the junction with Carmel Valley Road.

· The Santa Lucia Tract is closed to public entry. Permit holders may contact the King City office of the Monterey District at (831) 385-5434 for access information.

8:30AM July 19 Update:

Things appear to have calmed down again after yesterday morning's flare ups. There have been no new heat detections from the Chew's Ridge section of the fire or from the fire approaching the Hennickson's Ridge fire line in the past 12 hours. These fires are still burning, of course. They just aren't burning actively enough to catch the attention of the thermal imaging satellites.

The Pine Valley and Hiding Canyon fires, on the other hand, remained active overnight - both making moves to the north. The Pine Valley fire is now entering Miller Canyon and the Hiding Canyon fire has spread across the lower slopes of Miller Mountain all the way to the Bruce Fork drainage:

The only other active fire detected by MODIS in the past 12 hours is in Lost Valley. Guess the fire's first pass through there didn't get everything:

8:15PM July 18 Update:

This afternoon's thermal imaging data finds the fire cooling off in the Chew's Ridge "slop over" zone. Only one heat detection in the Finch Creek drainage during the past 12 hours - none in Anastasia Canyon. The Chew's Ridge action has shifted southeast (back inside the original containment lines) to the Piney, Calaboose and Rocky Creek drainages:

The fire appears to be entering the lower end of the Miller Fork, but there's still no sign of backfiring along the Hennickson's Ridge fire line:

Fresh fire activity in Hiding Canyon appears to be spreading toward the fire in Pine Valley:

And the fire between Willow and Zig Zag Creeks appears to have become more active this afternoon, as well:

10:30AM July 18 Update:

Info from this morning's 7:00AM USFS Fire Update (now available on Inciweb):

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 129,732

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 1,382

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 65%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1400

Structures destroyed: 27 Residences, 34 Other

Suppression cost to date: $53.8 Million

Resources

Crews: 53

Engines: 72

Helicopters: 17

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 22

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,923

Unified Command: USFS, CALFIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· A public meeting will be held in Carmel Valley tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Tularcitos Elementary School.

· Last night's burnout operations went well along Carmel Valley Road. Burnout operations are expected to extend southeast along the containment line as conditions permit, with units mopping up along Carmel Valley Road behind the fire.

· Burnout operations will also proceed east of Devil's Peak on the north edge of the fire, and will continue in the coming days as conditions permit. The northern edge of the fire is backing slowly toward Carmel River inside the containment lines.

· The repair phase of fire suppression continues along the west side of the fire. Crews are going into the interior portions of the burn and repairing control lines and other areas that have sustained ground disturbance as a direct result of the fire suppression activities. Crews are also repairing fences, roads and gates damaged by fire suppression activities.

· Today winds from the north/northwest are expected from 5-12 mph with gusts of 17 mph on the ridgetops. Relative humidity levels are expected to drop in the early morning hours, which will increase fire activity.

Evacuations:

· Effective at 10:00 a.m. this morning, the mandatory evacuation in the area along Carmel Valley Road between Martin Road and Piney Creek Road will be downgraded to a VOLUNTARY evacuation.

· Last night, the mandatory evacuation in the Lower Cachagua and Tassajara Road areas were downgraded to a VOLUNTARY evacuation. This includes the full length of Cachagua Road and Tassajara Road down to the Zen Center.

· The area of Upper Cachagua remains under a VOLUNTARY evacuation.

· Carmel Valley Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation from the intersection of Carmel Valley Road and Arroyo Seco Road to Piney Creek Road.

· Arroyo Seco Road is under a VOLUNTARY evacuation west of the junction with Carmel Valley Road.

· The MANDATORY evacuation for cabins in the Santa Lucia Tract remains in effect. For further information about access to the cabin tract, permit holders should contact the King City office of the Monterey District at (831) 385-5434 and ask for Barry Peckham or John Bradford.

10:15AM July 18 Update:

Overnight thermal imaging shows the big burn out on Chew's Ridge finally beginning to cool down. Once again, we wouldn't worry too much about the heat detections placed outside the fire lines. Even if the fire has spotted over the line in this area, this is open ranchland where putting out a fire should be less difficult than it was further back in the mountains:

Just as we predicted, the fire along the Carmel River appears to be starting to climb toward the Hennickson's Ridge fire line. Better start lighting those backfires:

Meanwhile, in Pine Valley, a heat detection has appeared uncomfortably close to the location of the English Cabin:

And there's even appears to be some reawakening of fire near Arroyo Seco:

10:30PM July 17 Update:

The emancipation of Cachagua has begun! The mandatory evacuation of the Cachagua and Jamesburg area has been lifted. The mandatory evacuation along the Carmel Valley Rd. from Martin Rd. to Piney Creek Rd. will remain in place until 10:00AM tomorrow (Friday) morning.

Since only a few hours ago residents were being told the evacuation would remain in place for at least another 72 hours, we're guessing it took something more than just good news from the fire lines to create this sudden dramatic change in policy. So here's a big thanks to all those in positions of authority who've been working behind the scenes to restore common sense to the job of balancing public safety and individual rights in the fire impacted communities. 

8:15PM July 17 Update:

The latest thermal imaging shows the burn out fire on Chew's Ridge still large and active, but burning safely behind the containment lines:

The situation in Pine Valley remains virtually unchanged, but the fire descending from Elephant Mountain appears to have reached the Carmel River near Bluff Camp and to be poised for an uphill run toward the Hennickson's Ridge fire line. We're thinking they'll need to get busy with backfiring this line pretty soon:

1:45PM July 17 Update:

New thermal imaging data shows the burn out fire continuing to spread through (from left to right) the Calaboose, Piney, Finch and Anastasia drainages. Looks like quite a conflagration they've got going this afternoon:

And it looks like the fire near Pine Valley may finally have become the fire in Pine Valley:

Here's the standoff between the backfire on the lower end of Blue Rock Ridge and the main fire descending from Elephant Mountain:

12:15PM July 17 Update:

The two latest posts at the Firefighter Blog provide the best analysis of the management of the Basin Complex Fire and the current situation in Cachagua that we've yet seen. Highly recommended.

11:45AM July 17 Update:

Our friends in the mandatory evacuation zone have written this morning to ask if anyone can recommend a good hostage negotiator to intercede on their behalf with the Sheriff. They're still trying to figure out how exercising their right to stay with their property justifies their being held under house arrest for a protracted period of time without access to necessary supplies, etc. We can't understand it either. They're not criminals. They're not engaged in civil disobedience. They're doing something which even the Sheriff has conceded they have a right to do. So what exactly is the problem?

Anyone know a good hostage negotiator?

10:30AM July 17 Update:

For the second day in a row, Inciweb is not only up, but actually has the most recent USFS Fire Update. In case you're less lucky in getting through, here's the heart of this morning's 7:00AM update:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 123,350

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 370

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 61%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1400

Structures destroyed: 27 Residence, 34 Other

Suppression cost to date: $51.0 million

Resources

Crews: 50

Engines: 45

Helicopters: 14

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 19

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,967

Unified Command: USFS, CALFIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

·� TONIGHT: There will be a community meeting at the Big Sur Multi-Agency Facility at 6:00pm to share information about the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) process.

·� Several National Forest picnic areas in the Big Sur area along Highway 1 will reopen Friday July 18th, 2008. They include Pfeiffer Beach, Mill Creek, Sand Dollar Beach, Jade Cove Beach, Willow Creek and San Carpoforo Beach. Camping is prohibited in these facilities. Wood campfires and charcoal barbecues are prohibited, but gas stoves are permitted.

·� Last night's burnout operations went well on Chew's Ridge. Burnout operations are expected to extend southeast along the containment line through today as conditions permit.

·� Burnout operations also will continue east of Devil's Peak on the north edge of the fire, and will continue in the coming days as conditions permit.

·� The King City Incident Command Post and Carmel Valley Spike Camp have been combined and relocated to Carmel Valley Road near Tassajara Road.

·� The repair phase of fire suppression continues along the west side of the fire. Crews are going into the interior portions of the burn and repairing control lines and other areas that have sustained ground disturbance as a direct result of the fire suppression activities. Crews are also repairing fences, roads and gates damaged by fire suppression activities.

·� Warmer and drier conditions are expected to continue in the area, with maximum daily temperatures between 85 and 100 degrees. Winds are predicted to be from the west/northwest gusting to 18mph in the afternoon.

9:00AM July 17 Update:

The burn out operation on the Chew's Ridge "slop over" fire is very much in evidence in overnight thermal imaging. There are a few heat detections shown on the wrong side of fire lines, but they are close enough to be well within the MODIS margin of error. We think the most interesting thing is the extent to which the burn out fire appears to have spread to the southeast - but as it is back within the original Big Box containment lines in this area, that may well be part of the plan:

Meanwhile, it looks very much like a backfiring operation has begun on the lower end of the Blue Rock Ridge dozer line near Los Padres Dam. This makes sense considering the increased activity displayed yesterday by the fire approaching this line:

The fire near Pine Valley, on the other hand, seems to be slowing down for the time being:

6:10PM July 16 Update:

Chris Pentony has written us with news of the English cabin in Pine Valley:

As of today, at 1610 hrs., a helo reported that the cabin was still intact and that the fire had not moved very much in the direction of the cabin since yesterday

This is right in line with what MODIS has been showing us.

5:45PM July 16 Update:

It's been a bit warmer and drier today and, just like you'd expect, the fire has been a little more active. Here's what MODIS shows us in the Elephant Mountain area between the Carmel River and Danish Creek. The heat detections in the upper right could be the start of new backfiring operations along the Blue Rock Ridge fire line:

The fire near Pine Valley appears to be moving west toward its June 21st point of origin in Bear Basin:

And here's what MODIS has to show us on the Chew's Ridge "slop over" area. Not a lot of heat detections for an area that's supposed to be in the process of a burnout. But considering some of our past experiences with this fire, that may be a good thing. The two heat detections on the right appear to be right along the Tassajara Rd., suggesting that the reports we've heard today about the backfiring above Nason's taking place from the road, rather than from the new fire line (drawn in yellow), are true:

11:00AM July 16 Update:

USFS BAER Team Leader Kevin Cooper, BSVFB Fire Chief Frank Pinney, and Danny Marquis from NRCS will explain the plan for rehab of burn area to the community Thursday, 6PM at the Multi-Agency center in Big Sur. This will be an important meeting for anyone interested in seeing what, if anything, can be done to avoid the mudslide problems that plagued the Big Sur valley after the '72 fire.

10:30AM July 16 Update:

Inciweb is working this morning! Here are the key details from this morning's 7:00AM USFS Fire Update:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 122,080

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 100

Fireline to build: 0 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 61%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1400

Structures destroyed: 27 Residence 34 Other

Suppression cost to date: $48.9 million

Resources

Crews: 50

Engines: 45

Helicopters: 14

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 19

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,967

Unified Command: USFS, CALFIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· The slopover north of Chew's Ridge continues to be moderately active. Burnout operations will continue as conditions permit. Yesterday, the burnout operation started on the west side of Tassajara Road and progressed roughly a quarter mile east along the prepared containment line. Overnight, the fire progressed well down into the Anastasia Creek area. Burning operations in this area will continue through the coming days as weather conditions permit.

· At the south end of the fire, along Carrizo Trail, only a small number of hotspots remain.

· Burnout operations will continue east of Devil's Peak on the north edge of the fire when conditions permit.

· Today's weather is expected to be slightly warmer and drier than yesterday, with temperatures between 85 and 100 degrees. Winds are expected to be west/northwest 6-12 mph.

10:00AM July 16 Update:

Here are a couple more images from the overnight MODIS data. This one shows the fire still active near Pine Valley, but there is no sign that it has reached the camp or cabin yet:

This one shows the fire creeping toward the Blue Rock Ridge dozer line. The heat detections on the left are in the Johnson Creek drainage. The heat detections on the right are near Danish Creek, just upstream of the Rattlesnake Creek confluence. This fire is getting close enough that they may have to commit some resources to backfiring the Blue Rock Ridge line soon. We hope that won't leave the Chew's Ridge and Rodeo Flat slop overs too badly understaffed:

9:45AM July 16 Update:

We get mail from old friends --

7:45AM July 16 Update:

Thermal imaging found some increased fire activity on the northern end of the fire overnight - especially in the area of the "slop over" fire on Chew's Ridge. The white line is the main fire line (that the fire got over), the yellow line is the new dozer line surrounding the "slop over," and the thin blue line is a hand line that appears on the USFS map. MODIS locates the bulk of the fire in Anastasia Canyon, but once again places a heat detection in the upper Finch Creek drainage, on the other side of the hand line:

11:00PM July 15 Update:

We've drawn the new dozer and hand lines into Google Earth (based on the info from the USFS map - meaning the southern end of the new dozer line is a guess - but probably a good guess). The new dozer line is in yellow (just like we used for the Mescal Ridge Fire Line after the Little Sur "slop over") and the hand line is thinner and blue. We're hoping they're "only" planning to burn out the area to the right of the hand line and within the dozer line - but fire did get onto the other side of the hand line a couple of days ago, so maybe they are planning to burn it all out. We guess we'll find out soon enough ...

10:00PM July 15 Update:

Well, the Willow Creek heat detection, we're glad to say, appears to have been a MODIS glitch rather than an actual fire - and high relative humidity still seems to be keeping a fairly good lid on the real fire. Here's hoping the USFS can pull off the big Anastasia Creek burn they seem to be planning without any more "slop overs." Now that they're right up against people's homes there's no more room for "contingencies."

4:45PM July 15 Update:

So what's this new heat detection near the top of Chew's Ridge. Is the burnout operation beginning? Or is the fire just flaring up a bit?

And even more interestingly, what's this? Has a new fire broken out in the Santa Lucia's or is MODIS just delusional? This heat detection is high above Willow Creek (near Plaskett Ridge):

3:20PM July 15 Update:

And now the Life in the Fire Lane Blog has posted an actual USFS map of the area to be burned. It confirms the report previously provided by Cachagua Store. The southern portion of the burn area is, unfortunately, not covered by this map.

But look at the size of the area inside those lines! Whenever it happens, that is going to be some serious burning. No wonder they've asked so many people to evacuate.

3:00PM July 15 Update:

Well, in the absence of any news from official sources it's been open season for rumors and speculation again today. What exactly do the (we hear the number is up to five) "information officers" do all day that's so much more important than providing the public with details about what's going on? Details like where, exactly, they're planning to burn and whether it looks like they'll be able to do it today.

We've sorted through today's stories and the most interesting we've found is posted on the Cachagua Store blog. They're reporting that the burnout operation is intended to cover a much bigger area than most of us had been expecting - possibly even reaching the Carmel Valley Rd. in the Cahoon Ranch area (but certainly not stretching along the Carmel Valley Rd. all the way from Martin Rd. to Piney Creek Rd. as reported in the Herald). The description of the area to be burned is pretty detailed - lending this unofficial report an aura of credibility conspicuously absent from most rumors. The only problem we're having in believing this story (call us naive if you like) is that - even after everything that's happened since this fire began - we're still having trouble believing they would make a decision to use the Carmel Valley Rd. (even a small part of it) as a fire line and not share that information with the public. What happened to the new "8-mile fire line" they were building a few days ago to contain the "slop over?" Was the Carmel Valley Rd. always an unmentioned part of it? Or did the fire get over that line without them telling us about it? Just what in the world is happening up there and why are they so resistant to explaining it?

While we're still trying to believe that the lack of information is the result of incompetence (never underestimate the power of incompetence) and an arrogant attitude that the public doesn't have a need to know details, rather than a deliberate effort to mislead us, others are far less charitable. Ivan Eberle, who's been watching the fire from his grandstand seat at the MIRA Observatory on Chew's Ridge, has placed a message on the Ventana Wilderness Alliance Forum accusing the Forest Service of editing MODIS data to cover up the extent of the fire on Chew's Ridge. 

You'd think all of this would convince even the Forest Service that the current situation is worse than whatever they're afraid would result from just giving us accurate, detailed information. We're still holding out hope that they get the message... And soon!

Meanwhile, the latest MODIS satellite transit (edited or not) has revealed a reawakening of fire near Pine Valley. Nearer, in fact, to the camp and to the English Cabin than ever seen before. It looks like this:

9:00AM July 15 Update:

Inciweb is working this morning and the 7:00AM USFS fire update is actually on it! Here's an excerpt:

Fire Stats

Acres burned: 121,782

Acreage increase (last 12 hours): 1,396

Fireline to build: 17 miles

Date started: 6/21/2008

Percent contained: 61%

Expected containment: 7/30/2008

Injuries: 9

Structures threatened: 1400

Structures destroyed: 27 Residence 34 Other

Suppression cost to date: $46.6 million

Resources

Crews: 47

Engines: 72

Helicopters: 15

Air Tankers: 6

Dozers: 15

Total Personnel Assigned: 1,905

Unified Command: USFS, CALFIRE, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office

Current Status:

· TONIGHT, July 15: A community meeting will be held at Tularcitos Elementary School in Carmel Valley at 6:00 p.m.

· The slop over north of Chew's Ridge continues to be moderately active. Conditions today look favorable for burnout operations. Crews spent the night preparing the containment line. Burnout is planned for this area to protect firefighter and resident safety.

· Monday, the fire spotted over the line near Rodeo Flats Trail. Hand crews worked in difficult terrain to contain the spot. Light fire activity and weather conditions aided those efforts.

· Humidity remains high on the north side of the fire.

· Burnout operations will continue in the area east of Devil's Peak on the north edge when conditions permit.

· Today's weather is expected to be mostly sunny with areas of smoke, and temperatures between 84 and 98 degrees. Winds are expected to be west/northwest 6-11 mph with gusts to 14 mph.

Meanwhile, the Monterey Herald (the same paper that captioned pictures of a raging fire shot from Bottcher's Gap as being taken from Palo Colorado Canyon) is reporting that: "Firefighters are planning a controlled burn today along Carmel Valley Road from Martin Road south to Piney Creek Road."

Unless something has gone very, very wrong, this report is incorrect and will probably only serve to panic people who live along Carmel Valley Rd. in this area. The real plan, as we understand it, is to burn within the new containment lines surrounding the Chew's Ridge "slop over" fire. This is well up the mountain from the Carmel Valley Rd. and certainly will not involve burning "along the Carmel Valley Road from Martin Road south to Piney Creek Road."  

6:30AM July 15 Update:

If the thermal imaging data is to be believed the fire has had a very quiet night. For the first time since the fire began, MODIS has failed to detect heat ANYWHERE in the fire area. The high relative humidity slowing the fire is a bit of a double edged sword since it also makes it difficult for firefighters to get their backfires to burn. Still, extra time to build and strengthen fire lines has to help more than hurt and we hope that by the time this weather pattern breaks firefighters will have the upper hand. Here's the new, red dot free, MODIS map:

11:00PM July 14 Update:

Tonight's 7:00PM USFS Update refers to "tomorrow's burnout operation" offering a clue as to what may be the reason for the new mandatory evacuation order. What would have been so hard about saying rig