The fire service seem to be holding the fires in Tassajara (above) and Willow (below) Creeks to a slow creep. The lines on these images are the daily fire perimeters for the past week. The red and orange dots are recent hot spots from satellite data - red within the last 12hrs, orange 12-24hrs.
However, the fire is now taking a hold in Church Creek and could have an uphill run to sections of the road above Lime Point.
We're trying to take some time off over the next couple of days, so for a longer discussion of the Basin Fire try Wildfire Today.
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2 comments:
you guys deserve some time off! thanks for all you're doing...
This is an open letter to Chris and Kathleen, Leslie and Keith and the rest of whomever constitutes the Jamesburg Crew. Thank you so much, and by all means take some time off. You've earned it. I greatly appreciate all you've done to keep us informed.
As some of you already know, I've been coming to Tassajara since 1951, had my first birthday there, and have returned to experience the road, the smell of the dirt and burning brakes, the feel of the air, the cool of the creek and the warmth of the baths, the comfort of the dining room and cabins, the pool and the narrows almost every summer since.
In what some might consider total defiance of the best that Buddhist teaching has to offer, I am attached, at a core level, to all that constitutes the gestalt of Tassajara. From the legend that has been moved from the wall of the old baths to it's current resting spot on the wall of the lower student housing, to the shell of the original dining room/zendo, to the slowly being replaced redwood cabins...it/they all hold a significant spot in my heart and my memories.
As a result, I'm experiencing a bit of a head/heart split around all this. The cognitive, rational part of me hears and at some level understands those who assert that despite this fires ability to render all that we know and love into an unrecognizable pile of ashes, the essence of Tassajara can't be touched and will prevail. Yep, and at some level I get that.
But the heart part of me wants nothing to do with that type of thinking and holds on to and out for the hope of saving all that possesses and reflects some trace of Frank and Gala (the coulple who owned Tassajara throughout the fifties and early sixties.), Suzuki Roshi, Baker Roshi, Emila Heller and Michael, Reb Anderson and the lineage of folk who have provided thoughtful and caring stewardship of this utterly remarkable place.
I've never been too big on prayer, but have found myself doing some form thereof as a token gesture/offer to those who are risking much to fight for and hopefully save that which my heart is so unwilling to release it's attachment to.
Additional thoughts and prayers go out to Sonja and to Greg Fain and to all the fire fighters, convicts and otherwise, who have contributed to this effort to save Tassajara. Not that my voice has any efficacy in your decision making process, but please try to keep in mind the profound distinction between sitting with fire and succumbing to it.
Thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts. Oh, I almost forgot, thanks also to Brian Blix. The slide show you posted on Youtube with it's accompanying soundtrack from Sweet Honey in the Rock moved me to tears.
Bill Brown
Chico, CA.
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