Oroville, Ca Ophir Fire, Close Call This Morning...

[Goose]

So yeah, A fire broke out on highway 70, south of Oroville, right next to our shop at about 10:30 or so.
Probably some that threw a cigarette butt out the window...
The fire started about a mile away from our shop and Rock Pit, but by the time our worker Richard came in, told me, and i got the skip-loader running, it was a lot closer..
The fast wind was blowing it towards our shop, and towards Power house hill road.
I jumped on our skip loader and headed out into the field next to the blaze and started cutting a fire-break.
After almost having the blaze contained the fire jumped my first fire break around the fence closer to the freeway.
So i cut another one.
But the high winds today weren't  on my side, the fire was fast, hot and ambers just kept blowing over, starting  new pockets of fire on the other side of my second and third fire breaks.
We finally managed to get the fire to smolder out at the roads edge, after taking out a couple of trees and bushes that were going up in flames and cutting more fire breaks around the shop.
The fire continued south, and southeast towards Palermo, where CDF says it has jumped Palermo road in some spots...
We watched two building go up in flames just across from us on power house hill road before CDF had time to get there to help.
Updated: Now over 1200 acres have burned and a few homes and other structures.... Another fire has also broken out in Yuba City..

It Quickly turned into one crazy morning and afternoon..

Heres some pics:
First ones a Google earth image i edited to give you and idea of the size of the fire and how close it got to us..
A couple of a barn down the way going up in flames, some of my fire breaks, and the smoke and fire headed southeast towards Palermo.









<img src="">









My Fire Breaks











Headed Towards Palermo

[Thomas P]

holy nice work goose!

[THK Matt]

DAMN ya'll got lucky

[NorCalToy]

damn, good idea on at least tryin that and actin real quick.

[kneedownnate]

  I kept hearing about that on zrock.  Glad your shop didn't go up, but it sucks that others lost buildings.

[Plekto]

Good job. 

Though, to be honest, I see a lot of dry 1-2 ft tall grass all over the area that wasn't burned.    Looks like the locals need to trim the weeds a bit more often?  (picture 6) The area behind your business looks pretty overgrown.  That's probably someone else's land, but that much dry material would bother me.

[BLACKDOG]

Good job. 

Though, to be honest, I see a lot of dry 1-2 ft tall grass all over the area that wasn't burned.    Looks like the locals need to trim the weeds a bit more often?  (picture 6) The area behind your business looks pretty overgrown.  That's probably someone else's land, but that much dry material would bother me.

 

People don't listen, or have that "it won't happen here" mentality.  Happens every year (not talking about you goose, just in general ) 

Hey goose, how do those houses look down there on the NW side of Palermo and Lone Tree look? you been down that way?

[Goose]

Good job. 

Though, to be honest, I see a lot of dry 1-2 ft tall grass all over the area that wasn't burned.    Looks like the locals need to trim the weeds a bit more often?  (picture 6) The area behind your business looks pretty overgrown.  That's probably someone else's land, but that much dry material would bother me.

There is some low grass right around the shop that hasnt been trimmed. most the rest i already weedeated or scraped.
Yeah the fields all around us arent ours. The field that burned wasnt ours either, i was just cutting breaks trying to keep it from getting so close to us..
Whats bad is i was just thinking earlier that week that when i was done working on the skiploader, i should firebreak the fields around us..
A lil late now haha!

People don't listen, or have that "it won't happen here" mentality.  Happens every year (not talking about you goose, just in general ) 

Hey goose, how do those houses look down there on the NW side of Palermo and Lone Tree look? you been down that way?

Yeah, it happens about every other year where we are.
last year, it burned on the other side of the freeway...
Nah, havent been down that way yet...
I might cruise down there later.

[Goose]

Also, thanks goes out to the grader operator from Granite, and his foreman.
When it first started, they came runnin from the construction site to help, big blade and all.
Since we were the first ones on scene,  and i had our field under control, i told them to go start cuttin roads across power house hill road to keep the fire from spreading northeast towards more homes.
You can see a little bit in pics #9 and # 10(above the tahoe), far left in the pictures where the black stops is his fire break.
Although he was a lil freaked out with his foreman telling him to "just go cut some damn roads by the fire like him", he did an awesome job and probably save the peoples house just north of his line.

[kneedownnate]

Not sure if it's this fire or the one by paradise (or if they're the same one) but I could see a ton of smoke coming from that direction while I was still north of redding 

[BLACKDOG]

Not sure if it's this fire or the one by paradise (or if they're the same one) but I could see a ton of smoke coming from that direction while I was still north of redding 

if you see any Reno rigs, give'm a thats where we sent our strike team.

[Doof]

if you get tired of wrenchin, you could prob get a job with CDF as an HFEO (heavy field equipment operator) which means you basically run dozer and get paid the big bucks

[Doof]

if you see any Reno rigs, give'm a thats where we sent our strike team.

to which fire?

[BLACKDOG]

to which fire?

They sent them to Chico, so they could have gone to either one.  They left yesterday, went to town, and the CDF will send them where they need them

[Doof]

ill keep an eye out

are you bummed you didnt get to come

[kneedownnate]

Last night I think this fire was up over 20,000 acres 

[ToYocRawleR]

Thats the humboldt fire thats up to 20,000.  The ophir fire is out.

Goose, looks like those fire lines werent helpin too much....

[Goose]

Thats the humboldt fire thats up to 20,000.  The ophir fire is out.

Goose, looks like those fire lines werent helpin too much....

Yeah the ophir fires out, the humboldt fires still goin though...
My firebreaks did hold for awhile, but the wind just kept making it jump them..
we had 25mph wind with 40mph gusts...
bad week for fires..

[BLACKDOG]

ill keep an eye out

are you bummed you didnt get to come

and I'm pissed I missed the page for OT when they sent them.  They sent the crews at the stations, so that is kinda luck of the draw, but then they do callback to back fill the stations.  Last callback was at 730, I went to my truck and got my bag (pager inside) at 8!

[Doof]

and I'm pissed I missed the page for OT when they sent them.  They sent the crews at the stations, so that is kinda luck of the draw, but then they do callback to back fill the stations.  Last callback was at 730, I went to my truck and got my bag (pager inside) at 8!

ouch, that fully sucks

ill be going up to forrest ranch today, on the way ill take pics going up 32 and ill hop on my GF's quad and roll down the ridge and see what i can see and ill take my camera with me.... might get some good shots

[ToYocRawleR]

forest ranch is all evacuated now...my uncle lives up there on doe mill ridge.

[FIREBALL]

Saw an engine from Sparks up here but didn't see the Reno rigs. Also Beverly Hill, San diego, L.A., Fresno, Clovis, Denair, Tahoe, Milbrae, and a ton of others.
Looks like Paradise is going to be ok. There were some houses lost in the south west corner of town though.

[Thomas P]

my step father lost his house yesterday, he lived on neal road, he stayed and fought it with a few of his friends and some heavy equiptment but couldnt save it, and barely got away with his dog and his guns....

[Doof]

stayed at mt GF's house on doe mill ridge last night, went to one of our quad spots that looks down the canyon and watched the fire glow get bright, burn a few trees and mellow out. the fire was about 1/4 mile or 1/2 away. a dozer was up the road, we were watching and listening to a dozer down in the canyon work, saw some engines driving up and down and a lot of ppl driving deeper into the canyon. it was pretty chill. it was pretty smokey this morning but wind was dead when we lest about 9 or so

[BLACKDOG]

Saw an engine from Sparks up here but didn't see the Reno rigs. Also Beverly Hill, San diego, L.A., Fresno, Clovis, Denair, Tahoe, Milbrae, and a ton of others.
Looks like Paradise is going to be ok. There were some houses lost in the south west corner of town though.

They're up there    They cruised over with the rigs from sparks. 

Whats the status on the fire now?

[FIREBALL]

Fires looking real good. Paradise side is pretty much a done deal. Just patroling hot spots. The Doe Mill side is still getting some flare ups here and there but I think there getting a handle on it. They are starting to release some of the strike teams.

[FIREBALL]

check out "humboldt fire" on you tube, there's already a bunch of videos on there

[Plekto]

Sweet pic of an Airbus passenger jet retrofitted to dump retardant.

[ontherocks]

yup, that was gay. i was drunk right through that.

[*FFC*]

Goose... I can't believe you work there LOL.  I used to live about 500 ft down 70 from Palermo (Gold Run Ct.) and we used to drive by that place all the time.  I'm so glad ya'll are okay and that the shop was spared! (I always thought that place was abandoned when I was younger.... )

I do have a question though.  I have a friend that lives on Palermo.  I don't know if she's okay cuz I don't have her number, and I know the fire (according to the maps) went right up to her property line and burned out her neighbor.  I have no idea if her place was spared or not.  Do you ever make it out palermo way? Do you have any fire pics of out there? I'm interested in between Lone Tree and Hwy 70 on the North side of Palermo.....