Dispatch, Big Sur, Los Padres National Park, California – Part II

--6/26/08
It was hazy and foggy for most of the day. We cut on a steep slope in the black where there had been a burnout earlier in the week. That was a little crazy, I felt like I was rock climbing at times because I was using plant roots to pretty much belay up and down the side of the slope. At one point, my crew boss JT stopped Patrick’s saw and had us listen really carefully – you could hear a seal barking on the beach below the mountains, haha!

We cut and swamped out around a house and there was a lot of poison oak everywhere. I pretty much ended up falling and throwing myself into it for the most part. I’m not allergic to ivy or sumac back home but I’m not sure if such a resistance would transfer. If I’m not allergic, I probably am by now though because I was in so much of it today.

After we swamped out around another part of the house, the saw squad played Throw Things Down The Hill, which was amusing. Bedsheets and I chucked some boles down the hill and I beat him, which was astonishing because I could barely lift mine. While we were waiting for the other two squads to dig line through the cut we made, the saw squad (now apparently known as “Sawsquatch” and answers to the Chewbaca call) had “M&M time” where we all ate the peanut M&Ms from our lunch.

--6/27/08
Some of the crew are already showing signs of oak outbreak, particularly JT and Steakly. We’ve already come up with an idea for a crew shirt because of how the oak will probably be a memorable part of our dispatch: “Stoked for the Oak! I think I got it!”

Today we did a lot of hiking to do more structure assessments and prep. We also cut some low-hanging limbs along a road. There wasn’t much to do today. We actually ventured above the marine layer today. What a difference! The marine layer is this area right above the shoreline where it’s foggy, cool and humid. But it only stretches so high up the mountain ridges. So today we ventured above the marine layer to clear out around a weather station to keep the brush from interfering with the readings and to give it a line just in case the fire got too close. It was super hot above the marine layer. The sun wasn’t blocked by the fog, humidity was really low, below 20% down to the single digits. It was also really dry. We finally understood why we weren’t seeing any action, but yet kept hearing reports about the fire spreading so much – the majority of the activity is taking place above and beyond the marine layer.

This dispatch has been a lot of firsts for me: first time to California, first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. I now get to add another to the list: first rattlesnake encounter ever. We were digging line and clearing out around a house when one of the guys on our crew lifted up a piece of board to move it and the wooden pallet that was underneath. Chilling out under the board was a rattlesnake. It was crazy, we all took a few steps back. Then some guy from one of the crews that was prepping the actual house grabbed a combi and looked like he was going to kill it. We all protested; One, because killing the snake would be unnecessary and two, because what if he missed?! So the guy managed to scoop the snake up and shoo it off into the woods. It all rattled our nerves a little bit (no pun intended).

We would have moved on to another assignment, I think, but we ended up hanging around for a while because the other crew that was up at the house managed to back their rig over the hill and get it stuck on the edge. So part of our crew tried to help them get all four wheels back on the ground, but to no avail.

--6/28/08
Before lunch this morning, we finished clearing out around the weather station. It seemed even hotter today, and it probably was. I think I must have had about three quarts of water plus a Gatorade. And I don’t ordinarily drink Gatorade, so I know I was sweating.

We also cleared out around another house today. It had an amazing view, the back porch hangs out over the mountain on which it's perched and you can see straight down to the ocean. It was beautiful … and completely indefensible, if a fire should reach it – the whole house was constructed of wood that had long been dried out and weathered. It’s a shame. I hope it’ll survive.

In other news, I still don’t seem to have any poison oak. On the saw squad, it’s just me and Bedsheets who remain unaffected.

We also ran into some typical fire dispatch confusion today. JT explained to us that the reason it was taking so long for us to get sent to another assignment is because the structures that they want us to prep could either be considered cleared or still need clearing, it all depends on whom you ask. He also tried to scout an indirect line for us to dig but the marine layer came in and ruined visibility.

--6/29/08
Our plans changed … again. We’re in another division with another supervisor. Last night, single-digit RHs (relative humidity) were being recorded. The dozer lines that have been plowed didn’t hold, so there’s talk of pulling back and trying something else.

We ended up waiting around until about 10 am and then headed up to a house to dig a line near it. That sucked. The hills were difficult for me to navigate. It became very apparent to me how weak of a hiker I am. It was incredibly frustrating. I was the second Pulaski and, at one point, Jordan practically had to push me up the next step. I did not enjoy digging line, I definitely prefer swamping.

But the house was really cool. It belongs to a woman who is about 100 years old. Her late husband was the mayor of Carmel twice. The housekeepers opened it up to us, they said we could use the pool and everything. Alas, we didn’t get to. But we got to enjoy the fresh figs and white plums that grew on the property, as well as some cool shade on the lawn next to the pool.