Butler Fire 2

[RAT]

Last weekend, everytime I looked at the smoke from that fire I wanted to cry. Nature needs to do her thing, but damn, it SUCKS! Nice to know the residents are relatively safe. I think my pumps got destroyed, they are over by Hanna Flats. Looks like I'll have some work there soon...
Rat

[dirtman13]

If there can be any good news in this the weather reports show rain moving in late this week. Would be a huge help for the fire fighters.

[FishPOET]

Butler Peak Fire Incident #2

Update as of 6am Tuesday, September 18:

The Butler Fire #2 is 14,039 acres and 53% contained. 2,505 personnel are assigned to the fire. The Butler #2 Fire remains the number one wildland fire priority in the nation and Nationional Incident Management Team 1 assumed leadership of the Butler #2 Fire.

Fire officials report that containment efforts to the north have been successful, and the west-bound perimeter of the fire has also seen considerable progress today. Word is that fire crews expect to have the upper hand in fire suppression efforts later today, or tomorrow.

The south and southeast flank of the fire perimeter along highway 18 and 38 seem to be the most stubborn areas as they also contain some the most rugged terrain. Fire fighters from around the state are assisting in this fire fight. Where threatened structures are located fie fighters are removing flammable vegetation, creating defensible space and then positioning them selves between the fire and exposed structures in order to provide a greater degree of protection against an advancing fire.




09/17 1110 Butler #2 Fire; a SEAT (Single Engine Air Tanker), had a fuel light come on and immediately lost power. The pilot determined that he did not have enough time to land at Big Bear Airport and initiated an emergency landing in a vacant field off of Fox Farm Road. At the end of the landing the wheels collapsed and the aircraft came to a stop on its belly and wing. The pilot walked away from the aircraft with no injuries.

The site was secured and emergency medical support was provided by Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City. The accident is under the jurisdiction of San Bernardino County Sheriff.

A "Safety Stand-down" was initiated by the incident management team managing the Butler 2 Fire, which involved stopping air operations until 230 PM for people involved in air operations activities to pause for a reflection on air safety.

The loss of the plane will not adversely affect fire fighting activities on the Butler 2 Fire.

[NAILER341]

wow.. there is a lot going on up there.
this is a real shame.

i am glad to hear the pilot was able to bring the plane down safely.

all of this right before the rainy season.

[sarah]

The wind has definitely changed direction - it's smoky here

[TJSUPE]

This really sucks....

[dirtman13]

I copied this from the NOAA. Hard to believe that we could see snow after all those hotter then hell days.

Special Weather Statement
San Bernardino County Mountains (California)
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
520 AM PDT TUE SEP 18 2007
CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-191300-
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-
520 AM PDT TUE SEP 18 2007
...STRONG SEPTEMBER STORM POSSIBLE LATE THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY
SATURDAY...
A STRONG STORM FOR SEPTEMBER MAY MOVE THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
LATE THURSDAY THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. THIS STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL
TO PRODUCE WEATHER VERY RARELY SEEN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN
SEPTEMBER. THIS COULD BE THE STRONGEST MID LATITUDE SEPTEMBER STORM
FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN AROUND 20 YEARS. SEPTEMBER STORMS WITH
SOME SIMILARITY TO THIS STORM OCCURRED IN 1986 AND IN 1963.
THIS STORM IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHWESTERN BRITISH
COLUMBIA AND WILL MOVE QUICKLY SOUTHWARD ALONG THE WEST COAST TO
NEAR THE BAY AREA BY WEDNESDAY EVENING...THEN WILL MOVE MORE SLOWLY
SOUTHWARD ALONG THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST TO NEAR POINT
CONCEPTION BY EARLY THURSDAY EVENING. MOVEMENT THEN WILL BE SLOWLY
EASTWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY
SATURDAY. THERE ARE STILL SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE TRACK FORECAST AND
TIMING FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AND ESPECIALLY FOR THE
POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP IN ADVANCE OF THIS STORM IN THE MOUNTAINS
AND DESERTS FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THIS STORM SHOULD
BRING MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH COOLEST
TEMPERATURES FRIDAY. DEPENDING UPON THE EVENTUAL TRACK AND TIMING OF
THIS STORM...THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION
AT TIMES FROM LATE THURSDAY THROUGH LATE FRIDAY. THIS STORM WILL BE
QUITE COLD FOR SEPTEMBER WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS AND
EVEN FOR SNOWFALL IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 6000 FEET. THERE IS ALSO
THE POSSIBILITY OF WATERSPOUTS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS AND TORNADOES
OVER ADJACENT LAND AREAS.
STAY TUNED THE NEXT FEW DAYS FOR LATER UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING
STORM.

[JJsKJ]

I am sick just reading this. I Treasure Big Bear. It is my escape from this damnned desert and I love the mountains and lake up there. We were working on a plan to buy a cabin w/in the year and now I am having second thoughts. this sucks.

PLEASE Thank Any fire fighter you see and support them wherever you can. My Father-in-law, bro-in-law, nephew, are all fire fighters and my Grandfather was one too. Firefighters are generally some of the greatest people and they give a lot of themselves, Especially the ones fighting wild fires. I sure hope they can keep ahead of this one and stay safe.

[Materdaddy]

PLEASE Thank Any fire fighter you see and support them wherever you can. My Father-in-law, bro-in-law, nephew, are all fire fighters and my Grandfather was one too. Firefighters are generally some of the greatest people and they give a lot of themselves, Especially the ones fighting wild fires. I sure hope they can keep ahead of this one and stay safe.

I agree whole heartedly. My uncle (who lives in Big Bear) is a retired fire fighter (he was with the Corona department for 33 years before retiring at 51!) and would give the shirt off his back for a complete stranger. I have so much respect for people who put their lives in danger to help/protect others. It's pretty much the complete opposite of people doing things like making illegal trails, not treading 'lightly', etc. that force closures and ruin fun for all the good people.

[Mike]

I just came across this map of the fire. It's hard to be certain, but it looks like all or most of Holcomb Creek (3N93), and the top of Craft's Peak (2N13D or 2N19A) have been claimed by the fire:


A request for warm clothing has gone out on the RIMOFTHEWORLD.net site. The clothing is for the firefighters that are about to be hit with rare winter weather on Thursday and Friday. Although this weather will probably help the firefighters with their battle, it is not what they were physically prepared for. If you want to help, check out this web site:
http://www.rimoftheworld.net/columns...ng_story:_cold

[dirtman13]

Looks like their getting the upper hand. Thank you to all the brave men and women fighting this beast. Awesome job!!!!!!!

Current Situation
Total Personnel 2,346
Size 14,039 acres
Percent Contained 86%
Fuels Involved Grass, Brush, and Timber.

Fire Behavior Minimum fire activity, no fire spread today. A lot of rolling material onto Hwy 18.

Significant Events Significant progress made with line construction today. Evacution for Green Valley, Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake, Lucerne Valley lifted today at 18:00

[JJsKJ]

Looks like their getting the upper hand. Thank you to all the brave men and women fighting this beast. Awesome job!!!!!!!

Current Situation
Total Personnel 2,346
Size 14,039 acres
Percent Contained 86%
Fuels Involved Grass, Brush, and Timber.

Fire Behavior Minimum fire activity, no fire spread today. A lot of rolling material onto Hwy 18.

Significant Events Significant progress made with line construction today. Evacution for Green Valley, Running Springs, Arrowbear Lake, Lucerne Valley lifted today at 18:00

Awesome news!

[FishPOET]

If you compare this map to the map Malachi posted above it looks like 4 campgrounds were in the burn area: Hanna Flat, Grays Peak Group, Ironwood Group and Little Bear Spring Trail Camp. It looks like Big Pine Flat may be just outside the containment. Yellow Post 1 looks like it was spared, but YP 2,3,4,5,6,7 & 33 all look to be in the burn area. Trails completely in the burn area look to be 2N84, 2N84A, 2N84B, 3N93 Holcomb Creek, 2N06X Lower Larga, 2N68, 2N01X, 3N97, 3N97A, 3N97B, 3N97C, 3N16L, 3N90, 3N84, 3N08, 3N12, 3N80, 2N13C. Trails partially in the burn area: 3N17 White Mountain, 3N14, 3N16, 3N12, 2N13, 2N71, 2N70, 2N70A, 2N04X, 2N13D, 2N19, 2N19B, 2N19C, 3N11.

It will be interesting to see what closures go into place in the next 2 weeks. Some of the major routes (3N14, 3N16) would be very difficult to close due to lack of gates and chunks of private property that will need access.

[USMC 0369]

Its good news! Glad to hear the firefighters are getting the upper hand. Now if the weather cooperates, they'll get this sucker licked!

My question is: The aftermath, what can we do to help get these trails back into shape and hopefully opened for next season. I'm assuming that these areas will be shut down for "reforestation" for at least the rest of this year(?) What can we do to help out? Plant trees? Sow native grass seed? Drag fallen trees off roadways? Set up a sniper hide for illegal wheelers to be 'tagged'? (that last one was a joke...or was it?)

[FishPOET]

Those are all great questions. The next OHV meeting will be October 10 at Sizzler on Magnolia in Corona and the next AAT meeting will be at the same Sizzler on Oct 17. Greg Hoffman will be at both meetings and I'm sure the headline topic at both meetings will be the fire and restoration.