Sitting with fire

Anniversary and Publication Date

2011-06-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

The third year anniversary of the Basin Fire coming to Tassajara is coming soon - July 10, 2011. Just three days before that, on July 7, the history of the fire will be published, Fire Monks. It is a really good read, sometimes bringing those days three years ago almost too much to life. Thanks to author, Colleen Busch.

What you don't expect...

2008-12-24T09:04:00.001-08:00

Everyone has been looking to the skies for signs of impending danger. Rain, snow, wind.

And so, on Sunday the earth moved to remind us that it too can cause problems. The houses in Jamesburg shook noticeably with this earthquake.

Sesshin

2008-12-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

If you want to follow along at home, click on the picture to see an enlarged image.

Including the dharma talk and meals that's nine and a half hours of sitting. An hour of kinhin. Over two hours of free time for bathing and whatever. And 40 minutes sauntering towards your seat after the densho bell is struck.

Grading problems

2008-12-12T15:06:00.001-08:00

Driving up the road from Tassajara on Monday afternoon I found an unusual roadblock just below Lime Point. One of Monterey County's graders was stuck with its back wheels off the road where they had removed burnt supports. I turned around and went back down the hill for a bath and a hot drink.

A couple of hours later I tried to drive out again and found that attempts to drag the grader out of the hole were just starting. With each attempt the grader tilted further towards the steep drop without moving back towards the road. As darkness fell it became obvious that the grader would stay stuck overnight until a crane could be driven to pick the grader up and lift it back onto the road.

After they'd moved the tow-truck out of the way there was just enough space to squeeze the car between the workings and the cliff wall. I left the road crew working to clean up the site at the end of a very long day, and with a drive back to Salinas still ahead of them.

One of the sites where the road crew have removed burnt supports.

Ginger

2008-12-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

Rohatsu

2008-12-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

While City Center and Green Gulch are in sesshin Tassajara continues with the normal daily schedule. Yesterday was a personal day with pizza dinner, today the wake-up bell rang at the usual 3.50am.

The 7-day Rohatsu sesshin starts on Tuesday, the day after the 8th. In what is becoming a common practice, several fresh faces will be joining the residents for this sesshin - to receive an invitation you must have close links with an Abbot.

Then the practice period will be almost over. A day off. The Shuso ceremony. A packing day. And finally, the goodbyes.

The winter practice period, lead by Abbot Steve Stucky, starts on January 3rd.

The Third Cat

2008-12-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Concerned about the possibility of large mudslides and debris flows closing the road, Zen Center bought a second-hand Bobcat at the start of the practice period. Shortly thereafter it blew one of the hydraulic seals and had to go back to Bakersfield to be fixed.

A few days after arriving back at Tassajara the seal blew again and the Bobcat had to be abandoned on the road.

We've now exchanged this machine for another which was driven into Tassajara on Wednesday, a drive that took about 5 hours. The driver passed the time listening to Joseph Campbell and Willie Nelson.

The two kittens are now well on the way to being cats. Boy Cat is a total love machine, happy to sit on my lap purring heavily while I watched the early morning coffee drinkers ghost around the courtyard. Girl Cat is more self-reliant, to the dismay of some residents, and keeps herself amused.

Swimming

2008-12-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Some of the practice period students are still regularly using the swimming pool.

The pool is particularly vulnerable to falling rocks even now. When I was taking these pictures there was a small slide, most of which was caught by the fence. One rock the size of a football picked up enough energy bouncing down the hillside that it sailed over the fence into the pool.

After the recent light rains this small slide reached the top of the sandbags which meant some heavy digging for the shop and general labour crews to remove the debris.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving started out as a work-day with that work-day gesture towards a lie-in, the 4.50am wake-up bell. Work ended at 1.15pm and after a break to clean and polish ourselves there was a short service at 2.15pm. This took place in the dining-room before an altar decorated with baskets of produce and tokens (mainly photographs) of people and things for which the residents are grateful.

Thanksgiving dinner then followed at 2.30pm. This year the kitchen spurned the accumulated years of tradition and replaced nutloaf on the menu with an excellent mushroom strudel. This was served with mashed potato, mashed sweet potato, crispy fried kale and salad. Dessert was a hearty cheesecake. Vegan, non-mushroom and other alternatives festooned a side-table.

Kathy, the work leader, was able to join us for both the work period and dinner. She has her left arm in a sling after falling from a ladder last week and breaking the arm in two places.

In the evening the dining-room was converted into a cinema for a dharma-event double feature; Amongst White Clouds and Enlightenment Guaranteed. This started late as four laptops had to be tried before we found one that had a working DVD player and would work with the projector.

The winds of change blow gently through the valley carrying the sounds of laptops from room to room. Can wi-fi be far behind?

Some links...

2008-11-26T10:09:00.000-08:00

Here is a selection of Simon Moyes' photographs of the construction work.

And here is Keith Baker's account of his time at Tassajara helping to move pipes.

Soft rains falling

2008-11-26T09:59:00.000-08:00

It's raining softly but steadily here with the NWS radar showing that we're getting about 0.1inches per hour. While some Tassajara residents are looking forward to a sterner test of the new defence walls, most are grateful that the heavier rains moved to the south of our area.

The trees come down

2008-11-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

We were advised that trees close to the creek bed can act as anchors for debris when the waters rise. In particular we were warned that the handful of trees close to the junction of Cabarga and Tassajara creeks posed a threat to the foundations of the dining-room porch. So now they are gone. Did you notice the difference?

We have also been cutting fallen trees in the creek beds into smaller sections that will flow more readily downstream and felling dead trees on the road up to the water plant.

The walls spring up

2008-11-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

After the fires many people made donations to Zen Center. Of this money, a large amount has recently been spent on preparing Tassajara to withstand the rains of the next 3 or 4 winters.

A crew from Ventana Engineering lived at Tassajara for the first month of practice period and moved a large number of rocks to construct rock walls and gabions. They filled several thousand sandbags and gravel bags and built berms and swales.

When the sandbags were ready, a group of day labourers commuted from Greenfield to place them. They would arrive at Jamesburg at 6am, climb into one of our Suburbans for the drive to Tassajara, work until 5.30pm and then reverse their journey.

I'll post shots of this work soon.

Sesshin

2008-11-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

The seven-day sesshin ended on Wednesday evening with a Shosan ceremony. Thursday was a personal day with a lot of people taking the opportunity to rest after the sesshin. The Abbot, Director and Tanto left for commitments in San Francisco.

Dinner on Thursday was a chinese meal prepared by the Doan Ryo that featured spring rolls produced at an exuberant community rolling festival in the kitchen.

Breakfast this morning offered adzuki bean soup in the second bowl and kimchi in the third.

Boy cat is resting at Jamesburg after a trip to the vet to be neutered.

Some new life on the hills

2008-11-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

We were hoping for early and light rain that would enable the ground cover on the hills to flourish. We got the early rain and thankfully it was light but the ground cover has not come back to the hills. As this shot of the hillside below Lime Point shows, the larger vegetation is making a robust comeback but the grasses are totally absent.

The same is true of the hills above Tassajara. This is the hill above the hill cabins and Stone and Pine rooms.

And the hill above the Kaisando and guest cabins.

Kittens

2008-11-19T09:34:00.000-08:00

Tassajara has two new cats. Kitchen and dining-room cats which for now have to be known as Boy Cat and Girl Cat as in a vivid demonstration of Zen Center dysfunctionality they are still nameless after several meetings and one community vote.

Boy Cat having quickly worked out who is the most important being in the kitchen, seizes the Tenzo's chair.

Girl Cat patrolling the courtyard.

Possible problems

2008-11-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

While the fires are out, the Ventana will be living with their consequences for several years at least. Some of those consequences may be entirely welcome - many people are looking forward to an abundance of spring wildflowers. Some of the consequences are less welcome, with floods and debris flows posing possible threats to lives and property. The report of the State Enmergency Assessment Team (SEAT) states:

As a result of the fire and the burn severity there is an increased risk for storms to result in flooding, debris torrents, mudsliding and debris flows. As storm intensity increases or as duration rises, there will be an increased risk for the storm to trigger flooding, rockfall, debris torrents, mudsliding and debris flows.

So for example, we can expect an increased water yield of 390% for Tassajara Creek at Tassajara, 1141% for unnamed tributary creek at Tassajara, and unnamed tributary to Church Creek road crossing of 855%.

Lots more water than usual, probably mixed with mud, rocks and logs.

More information:
The CPOA website has links to maps from the State Geological Survey showing projected debris flows and probablities and a Google Earth file of the hazard locations from the SEAT report.
Xasáuan Today has a collection of posts on the aftermath of the fires, for example, here are some maps of the soil burn intensity.
SURCATS has a report on a recent meeting that combined a presentation of the SEAT report with a dsicussion of winter preparation. Although this focuses on the problems confronting the Big Sur residents, many of the dangers discussed are present on the east side of the fire area.

Fall and winter

2008-11-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

In the wake of the fires, the wilderness area is springing back to life. Green shoots cluster around the burnt skeletons of the trees and bushes.

In the monastery, the quiet of practice period has finally arrived after several weeks of intense work preparing Tassajara for the winter rains. Tangaryo came and went to the sounds of heavy earth-moving equipment. By the time the Ventana Engineering crew left last week, many walls had been built, endless sandbags filled and placed.

The first, gentle, rains have fallen and we have been shown how easily the hills can flow down to the valley floor. Several small slides came down by the pool and lower garden and the creek bottom is black with fire-darkened silt.

In the months to come, we'll try to keep friends and family informed about conditions at Tassajara and to show you some of what we've been doing to prepare for the winter.

And then...

2008-08-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

The smoke cleared. Well, mostly. There have been no large plumes for a couple of days leaving just a faint, almost not-there, blanket draped over the forest.

Locally this means that sometimes it's smoky, sometimes not. It's certainly quieter as the helicopters have fallen silent.

The guest season is to reopen on August 3rd. Here is a page of useful information about the conditions that you can expect if you visit.

David Zimmerman has finished his account of the fire and it's posted here.

Smoke gets in...

2008-07-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

...to everything. Well, it does when the air is taupe as it was yesterday afternoon at Tassajara. Ash was falling heavily. We'd been thinking of staying the night but that plan dissolved as soon as we arrived. Obviously this heavy smoke layer was reawakening doubts about the timetable for reopening guest season and the wisdom of having a large number of people down there.

It appears that the air is clearer this morning and Inciweb states that today 'will be the last day of firing operations if all goes well. Crews will begin the transition from securing line and mop up to rehabilitation work'. There is also talk that the crews, who are already beginning to leave, will all pack up and go on the 30th.

On the drive into Tassajara there were flames on both sides of the road between China Camp and the ridge. On the way out we were able to see that large areas of Miller Canyon were alight. And a large portion of tree had fallen across the road.

Standing on the other side of the tree was the Ino, Judith, who has been having no luck at all with her journeys across the road. She was smiling widely and shouted out that 'there's a man with a chain-saw'. While he was firing up his saw another truck pulled up on our side of the tree. He had chains and was able to pull the stump off the road. All cleared in about 10 minutes. Many thanks.

The tree from which the roadblock had fallen was still alight. We could see flames about 20ft up where the trunk had burned through and the section had fallen. This was one of many trees festooned with festively red KILLER TREE tape.

Work periods

2008-07-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

This is what I understand:
From now until August 3rd there is a work period to restore Tassajara so that it is as close as we can get to pre-fire. If you'd like to come and join us for at least 5 days out of this work period then you should call 831-659 2229 during business hours.

The guest season will open sometime in early August. We are currently aiming at August 3rd. The end of the work period will obviously dovetail neatly with the 2nd coming of guest season.

And then there will be a return to the schedule as posted. The autumn work period will start on September 15th. If you'd like to come to this work period then you should call 831-659 2229 after August 15th.

Smoky mornings

2008-07-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

The Basin Fire is now over 150,000 acres and 79% contained. The IC says that the back-burning was successful and has now finished, so we're a bit confused about that remaining 21% that's uncontained. Anyway, it's been smoky here this morning (much more so than has become 'usual') as they continue burnout operations to eradicate the islands of unburned fuels.

The number of people fighting the fire is beginning to drop even as thousands of acres burn each day. I imagine that this shows that they have confidence in the firelines.

The roadblock out on Carmel Valley Road was fairly low-key yesterday evening and we hope that the voluntary evacuation will be lifted tonight. All of the roads will then be freely open. However, there is still a lot of fire traffic on the road so if you are coming down, watch out for that.

Abbot Steve has gone into Tassajara to work on the emotional clean-up from the fire. A community meeting was scheduled for last night that we all here at Jamesburg were sad not to be able to attend.

Garage sale

2008-07-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Ann Overton, a Tassajara student from the 70s is having a Garage Sale to benefit Tassajara. These are the details:

Sat. July 26, 10AM to 3PM
2407 Ward Street (near Telegraph) in Berkeley. Ward St. is 4 blocks north of Ashby.

Donations (Yes, please!)

Leaving things at my place when I'm not here doesn't work in this neighborhood. Please don't do this.
I'll be home to receive things on 1) Thursday, 7/24 3PM to 9:30PM and
Friday, 7/25 5pm to 9:30PM. (Apt. 1)
If those times don't work, email me.
Or just bring stuff the day of the sale. (Sat. 7/26)
I also come into the city a couple of times a week. It's possible that I could stop by and pick things up. email me.
Let's avoid stuff more that weighs more than 25 pounds. (If I have to lift it.)

Other things

Come buy things!
If you're feeling unusually generous you could come by and help out with set up, clean up, or just stop in for an hour or so, smile at everyone, and help sell things. email me.
A truly remarkable person would offer to swing by at the end (3pm) and take all the unsold stuff to goodwill. email me.

Just sitting...

2008-07-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Lots of activity here in Jamesburg this morning. Up the road. Down the road. Cheese into fridge. Cheese out of... Well, maybe not yet.

Anyway, over the hill in Tassajara, we think that they're now running on a work period schedule. Which means that zazen is once more on the schedule, and no longer an optional activity as it has been since the fire bounced almost everyone out of the zendo a month ago.

Once more unto...

2008-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's final group of returnees weren't as lucky as their earlier colleagues. They were turned back at the top of the hill after waiting an hour and spent the night here in Jamesburg. The zendo once more bcoming a dormitory.

They tried again early this morning and were again turned back. Told to try again later. This morning's MODIS image shows why (click on the image to enlarge). The fire has moved up one of the small creek beds in Miller Canyon and is now burning both sides of the road and now appears to be burning in the area of the observatory that has previously been back-burned.

Influx maybe...

2008-07-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

A small convoy, 3 vehicles with 14 people, just left Jamesburg for Tassajara. Another part of today's steady flow of returning students.

The phone rings. Myo, driving one of our Suburbans in this convoy, reports that a local resident has told them that the back-burn has jumped one of the lines and the fire service is turning people back. myo is going to drive on until someone stops him but it seems as if the fire really doesn't want to die.

Tim phones from the road-block on Carmel Valley Road to ask us to send down a list of people so that the Sheriff will let them pass. We're confused as quite a few people have got through already with this morning's list. 'We've already sent a list'. After a tense wait, the list emerges and they can at least get this far.

Update 17:20pm: Myo calls again from the ridge. After being stopped at the top of the hill, they waited for 40 minutes until the Head Guy arrived and told them, 'Sure. Give it a try.' So they did and are now on their way down the hill. Probably not in time for dinner, but...

The road less travelled

2008-07-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

After dropping off a large load of recycling and picking up produce for the returning students I drove into Tassajara, stopping to take a few photos on the way.

In some areas the fire is still actively burning, or the firefighters are back-burning around structures.

Some areas are still untouched by the fire.

But along most of the road the fire has stripped away almost all of the vegetation revealing hidden details. This is the Church Creek trail from above.

The valleys are still full of smoke. The horizon hidden.

Tassajara felt dead to me. A ghost-town, stripped of the life that normally fills the summer months. If they can get past the road-block on Carmel Valley Road some 40 students will return today to start the clean-up and bring fresh energy to the valley.

More photos available here.

Now's your chance

2008-07-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

We are accepting applications for work practice students from July 25th through September 26th, for a minimum of 5 days.

As you can see from the state of the pool, we need a bit of help to clean Tassajara and make it ready for the reopening of the guest season. And we also need to prepare for winter and the onset of the rains so there's more than enough work to go round. See the SFZC website for details.

Day with the Phone

2008-07-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

Today was beautiful and mostly clear at Tassajara and at Jamesburg, even though we hear that the burn outs are still going on. Most of the day at Jamesburg was spent making contact with evacuated residents to firm up plans for return on Tuesday. Things are happening very fast again as they drop plans and change directions. Thank you to all of them who are responding so readily to the call to return.

A couple more things from the trip to Tassajara yesterday: The front lawn is amazingly green and lush from all the sprinkler watering on the roof of the student eating area and office. There is a new hatching of Canyon Wren babies at the Kaisando. There don't seem to be many blue jays in the valley; they must have flown away. The road is in remarkably good shape - about the same on the Tassajara side of the ridge and better than before the fire on the Jamesburg side because of fire crew grading and watering.

Trip to Tassajara

2008-07-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Keith and Leslie went into Tassajara and out today. Even though we were both here during the Marble Cone fire, seeing the hillsides so gray and bare was disturbing. We know that rebirth happens when the spring rains come (hopefully gentle and not 100-year storms like in 1977), but
it is still sad.

The air was quite smokey because there are back burns happening in Carmel Valley and the fire itself is working it's way down Miller Canyon. There also seemed to still be fire happening south of Tassajara.

A lot of the trees in Tassajara that seem fine have leaves that are singed or turning brown, but if you don't look too far up the hills or at the fire equipment that is still laying around, in most places Tassajara looks just the same.

More tomorrow. Goodnight.

Busy Day

2008-07-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Many things changed with the downgrading of the Mandatory Evacuation. Tassajara and Zen Center decided this morning that we would invite all of the residents to return on Tuesday, 7/22. So I have spent the day calling people with the great news of "come on home".

We are going to try to open the guest season by August 3. We aren't sure that we can do it, but we will try. Most of what must happen is cleaning up, which we are good at. There are a few fences to re-build and that compost shed to repair.

Many of the neighbors here at Jamesburg are out shopping and picking up their long awaited mail. It is good to see everyone again. We said a sad good-bye to our great benefactor, Jack Froggatt, Branch commander for this area. We hope to see him again some day in easier circumstances. Thank you, Jack.

David's July 9 Evacuation Account

2008-07-18T07:14:00.001-07:00

Look here for David's account of the July 9 evacuation.

WE'RE FREE!

2008-07-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Last night about 9pm, Information Officer Berni called to say that the Mandatory Evacuation had been downgraded (at 7:30pm) to a Voluntary - all the way to Tassajara itself! This means that residents and their employees can come and go freely, but should keep their bags packed in case something changes. They will be checking ID's outside of Carmel Valley through the weekend so that tourists and people in town for some race will not be coming out sight-seeing. There is still a Mandatory on most of Carmel Valley Road from Tassajara Road east to Arroyo Seco.

We want to check again this morning to be sure that someone going in would not run into all those big trucks we have seen going up the road, but this morning there have only been 8 fire pickups coming down. Maybe they all got out without our noticing.

Next step, what is needed at Tassajara before a lot of people can be there. There is a conference call this morning to start working on this. Things are going much faster that I thought yesterday.

An Update from Tassajara from David Zimmerman

2008-07-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

It’s been a week since the fire passed through Tassajara. Four of the Tassajara five remain secluded at the monastery. (Abbot Steve Stücky was able to leave early Wednesday morning.) We are doing fine, with more than enough food and water, and finally also catching up on rest. Most of us haven’t had a day off in the last month, what with the numerous evacuations, fire preparations, staffing logistics, and then the fire itself. We’re now focusing on a number of projects, including documenting the events of the fire, reviewing the damages, considering what and how to begin repairs, replacing the burnt piping to the spring box, restoring the Stone Office to its pre-bunker state, and planning for the work period days prior to the (hopeful) reopening of the Tassajara 2008 summer guest season. We are also looking forward to welcoming back the displaced sangha members and to together reestablishing the rhythms of practice and community that are the heart of Tassajara.

A haze still hovers in the valley, despite what seems like a fairly constant breeze. Without the foliage on the mountains, it seems to be windier down in Tassajara. There’s a hint of fall to the trees remaining on the hillsides, as many of their leaves are turning brown since being scorched. Ash continues to accumulate on the grounds and buildings. The sound of rock slides is heard frequently throughout the day and night. Already the lesions marking the fire’s entry into Tassajara are being slowly veiled by falling oak leaves, suggesting that nature’s healing process has begun. Deer are continually spotted on the grounds enjoying the green vegetation, and the squirrels only seem to grow fatter on the spoils of the compost shed treasure.

I’ve been able to write up an account of the events of July 9^th, the day of the third evacuation and leading up to the morning of the fire. I hope it will help to clarify the many questions people have had about how it came to be that only five people remained at Tassajara. The exercise of writing this account has helped me to better understand—and to allow a new found spaciousness for—how we all respond to the ever-changing conditions of each moment with the best effort we are able to make at the time. The decisions we make may not be the “right” ones, but they are simply the best decisions we can make in the moment before us. And we are never alone in our choices, for the whole universe co-creates with us the myriad dharmas and our responses to them.

On behalf of the Tassajara five, thank you all for your tremendous outpouring of support, concern and love. It nourishes us greatly to know how much everyone cares about Tassajara and the wilderness around it, the well-being of the residents of this valley, the vitality of San Francisco Zen Center, and the continued flourishing of the dharma.

Bows of gratitude,

David Zimmerman, Director

Questions

2008-07-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Of course we all have questions about when we can get back into Tassajara. The main first step is for the road to open. That is up to the Forest Service and the County. No new word on that today, but for sure a few days away at least. They are still burning, hardly any smoke in the air here because the wind is blowing the other way.

The other necessary step is for there to be a viable compost shed at Tassajara before we are all there making compost. Keith and Steve Stuckey are talking on the phone right now about how to do that. In the meantime, I heard that the four at Tassajara are keeping the compost buckets in the walk-in.

Thank you to all those people who have offered to come to help. Please keep checking the Zen Center web site where we will say what we need as we know it. Also, Jane, we are talking about how to gather information that we have all learned in these fires and floods. I heard that Ted and Steve had a conversation at GGF.

I also heard that the trees in Tassajara all seem to be fine, including, miraculously, the big oak at the Birdhouse.

Gratitude

2008-07-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

We at Jamesburg are asked to keep the updates coming, so here's the latest - if uneventful - report:
The phones are quiet this morning. The crew at Tassajara is working on the documentation of the events of July 9th & 10th, with the help of Stuart Carlson & others. Jack hasn't stopped by yet. Yesterday he told us that a replacement crew would be shadowing in the next few days - his tour is almost over. He is hopeful that "the service will continue." We are unspeakably grateful for his hard work and kindness... and we feel relieved for him. There are still about 2,000 personnel working on the Basin Complex Fire. And of course, so many more throughout the state of California. Thank You to each of you for laboring on behalf of us all.

Burn Happening

2008-07-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

The "burn out" seems to be going well according to everyone who has come by. They may make it to Carmel Valley Road today. (Going north along the east side of Tassajara Road from the Observatory to the Nason's Ranch and then east along a dozer line to CVR about 3 1/2 miles SE of Tassajara Rd.) Keith and Leslie took a walk up Kincannon Canyon and could see billows of smoke to the south, right where it should be. There is a nice cool breeze which seems to be blowing the smoke some other direction.

Just wanted to mention that a week ago today when Robert, Sonja and Simon brought a whole lot of granola, milk and apples here to Jamesburg to feed the evacuees, I never thought we would use it all. But we are working our way through it - and happy to have it.

A young buck came to drink at the pond today as we were having lunch. It kept looking suspiciously at the windows, but it didn't seem to be bothered by the trucks going by.

Quiet Morning

2008-07-16T09:19:00.000-07:00

Good morning, folks. Things are quiet here in Jamesburg, although it is much warmer than yesterday, so we have some hope that the firefighters will be able to get their "burn out" going.

Abbot Steve Stuckey came over the road this morning early on his way to San Francisco. Such travels are still not allowed without permission because there are a tremendous number of firetrucks, water trucks, buses, etc. going up and down the road. For safety's sake it is really good that the mandatory evacuation is in place. Steve brought a box of food for us from Tassajara - a reverse town trip.

Holding Pattern

2008-07-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's dinnertime at Jamesburg, with the usual caravan of fire engines coming back down the road, the local news muted in the background and a bit of opera in its place.

It was not a good day for the intended backburns - the fire traveled a quarter of a mile and then fizzled. Our thoughts are with the fire crews - it seems that this "slopover" has become a discouraging problem.

"The potatoes are getting overdone," I'm told. That's my cue.

"Taking a deep breath"

2008-07-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

More road closures in the Jamesburg area this morning, in preparation for the (intentional) firing out from the observatory along the east side of Tassajara Road, reaching down to the Ventana Ranch and east to meet the original dozer line. The humidity is up - they're waiting for a favorable change but hope to put fire on the ground today. That means Tassajara Road remains impassable.

The air at Jamesburg is smoky but the birds seem unbothered as they flutter and splash in the pond outside. Inside the phone continues to ring - neighbors calling for updates, Zen Center personnel staying in touch, Tassajara students filling us in on their many adventures beyond. The crew here is beginning to see the bottom of the fridge, and so, a deep cleaning...

Moments ago Steve reported that the air quality at Tassajara is improving. Some of the folks there are working on the water system. For them, a Thai breakfast. "What's the most important thing?" we asked. "Taking a deep breath," replied the Abbot.

Vacation time

2008-07-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Some of us are leaving Jamesburg, leaving MonkeyBat in charge of a small crew of three. We plan on being gone until next weekend but given the hard road closures up at Carmel Valley Road, we'll be waiting on the outside with the rest of you to see how the fire progresses.

The fire is still not contained on this side of the dozer line so we trust that Jamesburg and Cachagua will still be standing when we return.

You can now find the Director's account of the fire at Tassajara and its effects here. Yesterday a couple of firecrews made it down the road to Tassajara to help with mopping up.

We'd like to thank some people for their sustained hard work in preparing Tassajara for the fire, and whose names you might not find elsewhere. Firstly the 15 who were ordered to leave Tassajara on the day before the fire: Aliyu Turaki, Bryan Clark, Carl Coppage, Devin Patel, Glenn Bradley, Jenine Alexander, Johan Ostlund, Joseph Schommer, Lauren Bouyea, Kim Seibel, Mark Macfarlane, Shundo David Haye, Steph Wenderski, Tim Kroll, Tom Johnson. Two people, Gina Horrocks and Michael Bodman left the day before the final evacuation.

For further information about Tassajara and the fire please see the SFZC website.

Hot Sundae

2008-07-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday afternoon. Hot and worryingly windy. There's been a lot of activity on the road as the fire services try to contain the fires that have slopped over the dozer lines into the White Oaks area. For a good discussion of the current state of the fire try the Cachagua Store.

We're under a Mandatory Evacuation with "hard" road closures so nobody is going in to anywhere around here for a while.

David Zimmerman sent a report to both Jamesburg and City Center yesterday evening. It's too long for this format so it should go up on the SFZC website sometime this afternoon.

The folks down at Tassajara are doing fine. Getting some relaxation while keeping a wary eye out. They may walk up the road this afternoon to check what state it's in.

Jack Froggatt had flown over the area this morning and he told us that the road wasn't in too bad a state and that there was green around Tassajara.

Cachagua Fire

2008-07-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you don't read the comments on the blog entries you're missing an interesting discussion on community and practice that's happening on The Wood Shed post below.

We've been intending to say something about Cachagua Fire for a couple of days now. They're the local volunteer fire service, so if you're taken sick at Tassajara, or need any kind of emergency help while out in the wilderness, it's Cachagua Fire who come to the rescue.

A couple of nights ago, the Sheriff had their roadblock in the wrong place. Preventing residents returning home from a community meeting where they'd been promised at least 24hrs notice of a mandatory evacuation. Cachagua Fire were there arguing with the Sheriff on behalf of their community.

Strangely, as a volunteer service they somehow find themselves outside the provisioning system when tied in with a large fire command structure such as manages the Basin Complex. So the local community has to pitch in and feed the fire crews. If you're in the area, they're selling t-shirts at The Chatterbox in Carmel Valley Village.

Yet another evacuation?

2008-07-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

When Jack Froggatt stopped by for a very quick visit this morning, the news wasn't so good for Jamesburg. The fire has jumped the dozer lines and spot fires are burning in the White Oak area. They are hoping to snuff out these fires before they get a hold so there's a lot of air activity, a lot of engines and crews moving up the road.

The land this side of the ridge hasn't burned in a long while so there's plenty of fuel and the firefighters have to wait for the air support to drench the area before it's safe for them to enter the forest and fight the fire on the ground.

A small crew from Berkeley are now working on preparing this site.

Neighbours report that cars are being stopped at the junction of Tassajara Road and Carmel Valley Road. One of the fire crew believes that this area went to a Mandatory Evacuation in the last 30 minutes.

With the fire so active it will be a while before the road over the hill is cleared.

The wood shed

2008-07-11T18:28:00.001-07:00

Tassajara lost another structure this afternoon when the woodshed by the inside parking lot burned. The pool is now full of debris and rocks. There are small problems with pretty much all of the infrastructure.

There is no helicopter access to the Tassajara site. In previous emergencies we have had to ferry people to the ridge so that they can be airlifted from there. So thank you for the offers to helicopter people in and...

Please do not come to Jamesburg. There is nothing you can do from here to help Tassajara that you can't do just as well from home.

The Jamesburg area has just been moved one notch up the evacuation scale to a Voluntary Evacuation notice. The local fire service seem confident that the firelines will hold the fire which continues to burn vigorously on the north and that the new evacuation order is just precautionary.

Fire crews backburned away from The Observatory today and that is now safe.

Friday July 11th

2008-07-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Basin Fire burned over 9,000 acres yesterday with slope driven runs, spotting and torching in the East Zone. The area around Tassajara is now completely burned out and the crew report that they had a quiet night and are planning to rest today and to start to assessing the damage. They held morning service in the zendo.

To the north, the fire was held at the Pine Ridge trail with helicopters dropping a lot of retardant in an attempt to prevent the fire reaching the dozer lines. Jack Froggatt dropped by this morning on his way to the ridge this morning and said that hand crews would begin fighting the fire on the ground to try to protect this ridge line.

He also told us that it could be a week before the road was open. They have to be confident that the fire is not going to cut off their escape routes before they can send in dozers to begin to clear the many large rocks and downed trees. David reports that the parking lot at Tassajara is now a boulder field.

Jack also told us that the fire burned so hot and fast that it killed off most of the vegetation and that there could be problems from falling rocks and trees for a couple of years.

So what now?

2008-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Yet again that question with no answer comes calling...

Let's start by making the assumption that the Tassajara crew make it through the night safely and that there are no fires started by embers rolling down the hills.

The fire burned a large area today making a sweeping run from the Church Creek drainage up and over the road to Rocky Creek. Burning rapidly up and over Black Butte. Almost all of Tassajara Road from the dozer lines to Tassajara has been burned. Tassajara itself is surrounded by black.

The road is still surrounded in parts by fire and where the fire has passed by, there are large rocks and fallen trees blocking the way. We were told this evening that it will be at least a couple of days before the road is safe enough to send a dozer down the road to clear this debris.

So one answer is that it will be several days before anyone is physically able to drive down to Tassajara.

To get up to the dozer lines we have to get past the CHP roadblock at the edge of the forest, so what about the multiplying layers of legal and administrative closures that have to be lifted before we can freely use the road.

Well, here the story is more uncertain. The closures and evacuations will not be lifted until the fire is much less active and dangerous than it is this evening. We here at Jamesburg are behind a set of firelines that may be severely tested in the next couple of days if the forecast wind shift pushes the fire in this direction. This fire is still dangerous.

Another dispersal

2008-07-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

The 17 people who arrived at Jamesburg yesterday have now moved on. This is a record of their brief stay here.

The caravan rolled into town about the same time as the CHP started preventing local residents going up the hill to their homes. Most of the locals had come from a community meeting where they'd been promised 24hrs notice of a mandatory evacuation so feelings were running high out on the street and inside the house.

A call to Tassajara produced the suggestion that another 8 or 9 people would be useful. When this was put to the evacuated group the unanimous consensus was that their agreement had been to trust the advice of the professional volunteers down at Tassajara who had been training them and helping them prepare the site.

While there was some confusion about the swift change in the advice, from safe to not-safe, they trusted the advisors. They were surprised that the people who had returned had done so outside of the group agreement.

The group was adamant in their desire for some professional guidance that the situation was safe before they returned.

After this meeting, some people went off to stay with local people who had offered space for the night and the rest made dinner and set up tents or beds in the zendo.

The President of Zen Center who had been intending to go to Tassajara, arrived with other senior staff and while they were considering whether to try to get into Tassajara we got news that the fire had crossed the road. A couple of people did try to drive up the road early Thursday morning and were turned back by CHP at the National Forest boundary.

This morning there was coffee, breakfast and a visit from Jack Froggatt who confirmed that the road was closed and could be closed for several days.

We met as a group and discussed the situation and the lack of any answers to the plethora of questions we all have. After dealing with the immediate practicalities of where everyone wanted to sleep tonight we chanted the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo and the Fire Eko and then started to disperse.

So far, so good

2008-07-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

The fire has passed through Tassajara and is making it's way down the creek. Everyone who has stayed is safe and very tired. They plan to spend the night maintaining a watch for embers falling from the hills above.

They report that the Tassajara grounds are an island of green in a sea of black. A testament to the recently installed sprinkler system and the twice daily irrigation of the site.

The fire approached quickly from three sides shortly after 1pm and passed over Tassajara mercifully fast. The crew were able to move around outside the safe space and keep the sprinkler system working.

Several small buildings were lost: the Bird House, the compost shed, the wood shed and the pool bathroom. The radio-phone and half of the lower garden were also destroyed.

Clarification 9:00pm: The front of the fire has passed Tassajara and was burning the meadow below the lower barn early this evening. There appears to be no fuel left to burn in the valley. The remaining danger is from embers falling down the hillsides. This danger may persist for days and diminishes as time passes.

Exodus - partially

2008-07-10T07:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening 17 people arrived at Jamesburg from Tassajara. The other 5 evacuees decided to return to Tassajara when they reached the Forest Service check point and were told that they would not be able to return if they left. Two people transferred from one of the Suburbans to another car and that car along with the lumber truck turned round and went back down the hill.

Now at Tassajara are: Steve Stucky, David Zimmerman, Graham Ross, Mako Voekel and Colin Gipson.

We are in regular phone contact with the group who appear to be on their own for a while as the fire has now crossed the road around Lime Point. CHP is also manning a barrier on this side of the hill preventing any access to the National Forest. The fire has not yet reached Tassajara.

The team at Tassajara plan to keep the pumps fuelled so that the sprinkler system stays on. They do not plan to fight the fire and they are receiving a steady flow of requests not to try to do anything heroic.

The morning satellite data shows the fire approaching the road along a broad front with spot fire above the road.

If you're using Google Earth this file has the fire perimeters up to the 8th together with the dozer lines.

July 9th - evacuation

2008-07-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

On the advice of the experienced Fire Service people at Tassajara we have decided to evacuate everyone. While they have not yet left, we expect them at Jamesburg shortly. The fire has not yet reached Tassajara or the road.

We do not know how long Tassajara will remain empty but the current Red Flag warning does not end for a couple of days. Fire crews have told us of strong winds at the ridge. These winds together with the extreme temperatures and little or no recovery in humidity overnight produce ideal conditions for the fire to move faster than we had hoped.

We appreciate that this news may cause concern but please do not call the Tassajara or Jamesburg numbers as we need the phones.

We have places to stay for the current round of evacuees for a short while.

The wrapping team finished their work shortly after lunch.

There is now a Highway Patrol vehicle at Jamesburg preventing non-residents from driving up Tassajara Road.

Wednesday - July 9th

2008-07-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's hot here. The temperature was already 85F at 11:30am up on Chews Ridge. Mouse over the stations here to get the current weather, the Chews Ridge station is the Indians Port (FRWS-40).

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.

Afternoon on the 8th

2008-07-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

This Google Earth image shows that the fire is still continuing to creep down Tassajara Creek and is now at the confluence with Church Creek. Last night on the drive out we could see flames further up Church Creek thick smoke from Tassajara Creek just above the confluence.

The aggressive helicopter attack on the Willow Creek fire-front appears to have bought some time for structure preparation.

Firefighter Blog has an explanation of why there is less help from the fire services than we've been fortunate to have in the past.

More road closures

2008-07-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Carmel Valley Road is now open only to residents from just outside Carmel Valley Village to Arroyo Seco Road.

The helibase at the junction of Carmel Valley Road and Tassajara Road is slowly getting busier. More engines, cars and trucks, more tents, a grove of porta-pottys.

We're seeing much more activity in the area with convoys of trucks or engines moving up and down the road - they seem to go in teams of 5.

Yesterday afternoon, we passed one such team parked in the shade just above Jamesburg. The crews were waiting outside their engines, some of them passing the time by playing hacky sack in the road. When we returned they were gone.

Wrapping things up - July 8th

2008-07-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

We've just had another visit from Jack Froggatt and he had some interesting news that he said had been a surprise to him last night when he'd been told.

There's a team of 20 firefighters up on the ridge with 17 rolls of protective foil ready to roll into the monastery and wrap the buildings that we most want to protect. That is, if we want them wrapped. They can partially wrap buildings, for example, the side of a building up against the hill or totally wrap them, for example, the isolated hill cabins.

They're planning to offer to wrap structures at all of the isolated sites in the wilderness starting from the Tassajara end of the road and working there way out.

As he walked to his truck he also explained that they're using the helicopters to buy time while they finish off the structure protection and line-cutting.

Update noon: We've just heard from David that they've decided to wrap the buildings and that they and the team (from Indiana) are now taking the tour and deciding what to wrap. The wrapping will provide extra protection and the residents will not have to leave.

Monday evening

2008-07-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

We drove in to Tassajara this afternoon to deliver produce and supplies and remove a load of flammable recyling, and a couple of residents who'd decided to leave.

Along the road the view is mostly hidden behind a series of smoky veils. Each wrinkle in the land adds its contribution to the cloud and soon the hills are hidden.

Arriving there we walked into an empty rainstorm - the sprinklers were on in the main area and only a few people were around before dinner. The baths were deserted and the decks were cool and damp.

Everyone seems to be in good spirits and yet tired of all the waiting. They were wondering why the helicopters were pounding the fire near them when the overall strategy is to let the forest burn within the big box.

I went down to the loft to collect some stuff for an evacuee and was struck by the obvious signs of a hurried departure that were everywhere.

Monday morning - July 7th

2008-07-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

As some of you have noticed the fire made a little run up to the top of the ridge above Willow Creek yesterday and is now visible from Tassajara. This was the fire moving uphill. To reach Tassajara, the fire must now burn downhill which it should do at a much slower pace. Click on the above image for a Tassajara oriented view of the fire's location. The red and orange dots show where the fire has burned in the past 12 and 24 hours.

We've just had a visit from Jack Froggatt the Branch Commander for this section of the fire. He said that they're going to warn David when they think that the fire is 24hrs away and that his best guess is that it's still 72hrs away. So we all shared a laugh at the 3-day fire which has been 3 days away from Day One.

Jack said that he'd been looking at the fire in the Tassajara Creek drainage this morning and there was very little activity there. He could see 'no smokes' from the leading edge of the fire here. The helicopters have been dropping retardant and water on it and seem to have been able to keep it subdued.

He confirmed that the Willow Creek area is the most active part of the fire approaching Tassajara and that they were hoping to hold the fire above the junction with the Tassajara creek so that the fire didn't approach Tassajara upstream.

On the northern edge of the fire, Jack shared that 5 days ago he didn't think that they would need to back-burn from the dozer lines that extend from Chews Ridge. Now he thinks that they'll be burning from those lines in the next 7-10 days.

The SFZC website is now saying that Tassajara is now closed until July 27th.

Later Sunday evening

2008-07-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

The fire does seem to be more active today. David at Tassajara reported that there was a lot of active smoke visible.

On the northeastern edge, the fire has reached the top of Uncle Sam Mountain. Flames are now visible from Cachagua and parts of Carmel Valley.

The collected fire perimeter data for Google Earth from the Western Trails Network is now here. This also includes the northern dozer lines for this, and previous, fires.

Hot Sunday afternoon

2008-07-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's hot and the wind seems fresher today. Not good news for the firefighters and there's hotter weather to come with temperatures over 100 forecast for next week with winds starting off from the north and northwest before an offshore wind on Wednesday.

The east side of the Basin fire has been stalled for a few days with hardly any movement overnight and no hot spots from the past 24hrs that are nearer to Tassajara. Helicopters have been used to check the spread of the fire, dropping water and also performing some limited back-burning.

However the most recent Inciweb update suggests that the fire is more active today with 'Active fire runs with occasional group torching.' in the East Zone of the fire. It also reports that 'Fire is moving down the Tassajara drainage near the fork of Church Creek'.

Recap

2008-07-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

Jack Froggatt stopped by Jamesburg for a chat on his way into Tassajara. He's the Branch Commander for the section of the fire management area containing Tassajara and he had some interesting things to say. So we thought we'd use the opportunity to take stock of what we think we know and what we know we don't know.

How long is the fire going to burn? Everyone from the fire services that we talk to expects the fire to burn until the winter rains.

At some stage they will announce that the fire is contained within the big box of dozerlines and firebreaks. Within that box there will be a mosaic of burnt and unburnt country - it won't all be black. Until the rains come those pockets of unburnt country will occasionally flare into life, sometimes spectacularly as we can testify. On our day off we were able to see a huge column of smoke from such an area within the Indians fire containment zone.

What does that mean for Tassajara? This is where we head off into the things we know that we don't know. Nobody knows how the fire will progress. Where it will burn and when. And it's the path that the fire takes that will govern Tassajara's future and answer questions such as; When can I go there?

As an example of how uncertain the course of the fire may be, we were told when the residents were evacuated that the fire would reach Tassajara in about 3 days. That is still the best prediction we can find.

What does that mean for Tassajara? Everybody seems to be quite confident that Tassajara can survive the fire. Jack said that they expect the fire to either creep down the creek or over the hill on the other side of the creek. They believe that the residents can ride out the fire safely if it arrives.

So what's the problem? The road.

Tassajara is at the end of a long exposed road in difficult terrain. From what we were told this morning, the Incident Command is not willing to send crews into a site where they may be cut off from the outside world for several days. Jack said, 'the problem is not the fire, it's the accident or the heart attack when you're three days out from a hospital'.

Residents can expect little help from the fire services beyond the site preparation work that's already been done. The description of the support they may provide that we heard was 'mellow'.

What should I do now? That's a difficult question to offer guidance on. From now, the whole shape of the summer depends on the way in which the fire makes its way through the wilderness and that will be controlled mainly by the weather.

July 5th - morning

2008-07-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

The Basin fire has now burned 68,712 acres and is 5% contained. The fire is still actively burning on every front though overnight activity was low due to relatively high humidity. You can find the current Inciweb map here. The fire is now the #2 priority in the state with the Santa Barbara fire taking precedence.

Hotter and drier conditions are still forecast for tomorrow.

The firefighters dropped over 50 loads of water on a spillover into the Church Creek drainage yesterday and that now appears to be out. It seems that within the overall strategy of letting the fire burn within the big box, the Incident Command is attempting to manage the speed with which the fire spreads.

Several fire crews from further afield have joined the crews working in the local area. From Indiana, Vermont and other colder eastern states they were reported to be working hard to acclimatise to the heat and terrain. There are currently firefighters from 40 states working on the fire.

The item recorded yesterday at Tassajara by the NBC crew should be shown on the Nightly News tonight. You can see the footage after the news on the Santa Barbara fire here.

Fire progression maps

2008-07-05T11:26:00.000-07:00

Jim from the Western Trails Network has been uploading the fire perimeters and IR maps for the Basin Complex fire. I've shamelessly piggy-backed on his work to produce the above map which shows the movement of the fire's edge from June 30 to July 4. (Click on the map for a larger image)

Each line is red so it's a little hard to see in the image but the innermost line is June 30th, the outermost line is July 4th. Where there are only two line, the big jump was from June 30 to July 1.

You can download the collected perimeter data to Google Earth here.

New theme song

2008-07-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

We went to see WALL-E yesterday, so all day we've been singing along with Michael Crawford.

Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there

Or the words have been rolling around my head. Which makes a pleasant change from reading the weather forecast that shows extreme high temperatures for Sunday and the start of next week. The wind from the northwest should continue to move the fire slowly down Tassajara creek towards the monastery.

Get out your brilliantine and dime cigars

That's in the future which is maybe where it should stay for now. Today the fire has again been creeping down the creek. The maps we receive show little movement for now on the eastern flank of the fire.

We're gonna find adventure in the evening air

The NBC crew filmed a fire-drill, talked to the Abbot and the Director and then left. There still seems to be lots of media interest in Tassajara with an early morning interview on NPR being bumped by the death of a Senator.

Girls in white in a perfumed night

There is now a helibase at the junction of Carmel Valley Road and Tassajara Road and we believe that the helicopters are scooping up water from the Narrows. They have instructions not to drop fire retardant on the rock formations visible from the road as the Forest Service doesn't appreciate their rocks being painted pink or orange.

Where the lights are bright as the stars

Jamesburg action

2008-07-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

We've just had a visit from Steve, John & Ryan (from the right in the photo) from Alameda County Fire. They're part of a California OES strike team that is visiting houses on this side of the fire to check fire preparedness and to do what they can to improve things.

The team of 5 engines started at the top of the hill and has been working its way down. Today they rolled through Jamesburg and the Alameda crew drove up our drive.

After a short tour of the site they cut back a couple of overhanging trees very artistically. A crew from Oakland (Jay, Mark & Justin) then came and helped them clear some ground next to the zendo and after a short drink break they were off to their next site with our gratitude.

They left us with a list of things to do which we'll get to over the weekend, though moving the wood-pile leaning against the zendo might have to wait a while - it does have a metal roof and a bare-earth fire break.

A short while later a water tanker drove up the hill spraying the road with water to keep down the dust. Hallelujah!

On the other side of the hills

2008-07-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

SurFire2008.org have a blog that's updated frequently with news of the fire over at Big Sur.

Xasáuan Today normally writes for 'a small audience of aging beatniks, social and environmental justice advocates, cyclists, and backwoods retro-grouch types' but now they are posting news of the fire. They also have a good page of fire related links.

Ventana Wilderness Forum has a discussion of the fire that often contains breaking news first. As it's an unmoderated forum, they advise you to '...keep it civil and take it with a grain of salt'.

July 4th - morning

2008-07-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

It's cool and still here this morning which is good news. The fire hasn't moved much closer to either Tassajara or Jamesburg overnight. The morning incident report on Inciweb reports, 'Isolated pockets of surface fire with occasional single tree torching and moderated fire behavior due to higher relative humidity.'

We've used a donation to buy better breathing masks for the resident firecrew.

A crew from NBC TV news followed our car over the hill so if you're close to a TV tonight...

Several fire trucks went up the road with flags fluttering as a sign that there's a holiday out there. We hope you however you choose to celebrate your independence that it's safe and heartening. We're planning some cookies here.

Abott Steve Stucky is still in Tassajara.

Some things just can't be rebuilt

2008-07-03T19:32:00.001-07:00

A volunteer firefighter died after collapsing on a fireline in Mendocino county.

On other fires in California, two dozer drivers were injured after their dozers rolled while constructing firelines.

Our thoughts are with their families. And with the families of all of the firefighters on the line.

July 3rd - evening

2008-07-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

The fire continues to creep towards Tassajara.

This map shows where the fire has been burning in the past 24 hours. It shows that the fire is racing north and south at speed but only spreading slowly to the east. To the north the fires now threaten Big Sur where 1500 residents have been evacuated.

The weather, which had been helping firefighters, has now become less favourable. The fire management team are now saying that the fire will not be contained until the end of July.

For a fuller discussion of the fire, try here.

Fear and burning

2008-07-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

"The buildings can burn, but you can't actually burn down Tassajara. Fire can never touch Tassajara's heart."

Devin's words (taken from the LA Times article) ring true to me. Here's part of the reason why.

Lots of people like the Tassajara zendo and would hate to see it in ashes. Yet, this is a building which owes its life to a fire. A temporary replacement for the zendo which was destroyed by a local fire the year after Zen Center students fought hard to defend the monastery against the Marble Cone fire.

While we sit with the possibility of the fire reaching Tassajara we are playing with the idea of how we could take our cue from the seeds that need fire to open and use this fire to renew ourselves, our community and our places?

The dislocated community

2008-07-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

While the folks down in Tassajara are at home, working away at jobs they find meaningful, getting on TV, a larger part of the Tassajara community is having to work, possibly much harder, dealing with the emotional effects of becoming displaced. Torn away from home, job and meaning.

How are you doing out there? Sitting with the unknown, the ambiguity?

Morning July 2nd

2008-07-02T07:47:00.000-07:00

The sky is clear and it's a day off for some of us here at Jamesburg so we're heading out to try to find some clean air for a while. In the meantime...

Inciweb seems to be back up and working. Responsibiility for fighting the Basin Complex fires is split between two management teams, Tassajara is in the East Zone.

This Google Earth overlay shows that the fire didn't get any closer to Tassajara overnight. Note that to get the latest satellite information you have to reload this file so I have the link as a bookmark in the browser and don't save the CONUS data to My Places when I close Google Earth.

Tuesday evening

2008-07-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

Most of the Jamesburg crew went in to Tassajara today to deliver the shopping and pick up the trash. And to bring out a couple of people who need to visit the dentist, and who must now wait out here with the rest of us. This I have been told:

Everyone at Tassajara is in good spirits and seem much more rested now that the schedule has eased off a little. They wanted you all to know that humor is still part of their lives and that they are enjoying having something to do that they believe in. In some unusual ways it's still very much Tassajara.

They asked about the people who had to leave and how they are doing. They wanted to know if there is any way in which they can help them maintain a connection to Tassajara.

One noticeable change to the schedule is that there is now a nightshift watch. Two teams of two people are on watch through the night, the first team from 9:30pm to 2:30am when the second takes watch until the wake-up bell.

Kathleen talked to Stuart Carlson (a fire-captain friend of Tassajara) who was very positive about the work done to construct the defensible space. He emphasised that in his experience the places that survive fires have been those that have made similar improvements, for example, the firelines down to the soil that now encircle Tassajara, the regular watering of the surrounding foliage, the sprinkler system.

Tassajara is now in the area managed by the team from the Indians fire. The Information Officer for this fire is now making daily visits to Jamesburg and today he told us that all he had heard about Tassajara indicated that it can be defended against the fire.

He brought with him this morning's map of the fire which showed a movement towards Tassajara in the area approaching the Oryoki Bowls, and that the fire was now well established in the Tassajara Creek drainage.

The weather forecast for the next couple of days is for north-west winds which could bring the fire closer.

Some photos from the weekend

2008-07-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Shundo sent out some photos from the past couple of days and I'll try to upload them later tonight. This is the view of the road from the Tony Trail.

This is the work-circle with the Fenner Canyon inmate Strike Teams geting ready to leave.

Smokey The Bear Sutra

2008-07-01T11:47:00.001-07:00

The students at Tassajara have just asked for the Smokey The Bear Sutra by Gary Snyder and I've sent it in to them. You can find it here or here and then join in the chanting.

KION news item

2008-07-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

KION had an item about Tassajara on their nightly news last night. You can see it most easily via Zen Center or on KION itself.

Update 14:45pm: Tim sent this comment that I've moved up front as it shows how far the ripples can reach.

CNN aired portions of this video this morning using source footage from KION, apparently not including the local reporter. I didn't catch it, but my mom did. This is what she said about it:

"It was a :30 package with peaceful shots and the interview – then the anchors commented about how they would like to bring some of that same philosophy into their daily lives – Tony [the anchor] took a deep breath and said 'breathe' - may have been the last sound bite if that’s David. They commented on it being an amazing story and how they were doing the right thing to clear the brush and how that's important – almost as much chit chat as the package itself."

Monday night

2008-06-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

We've been out shopping today. Well, life goes on (toilet paper and tissues) and life changes (electrolyte powder, oxygen and hoses, hoses and more yet hoses).

There's news and photos from Tassajara on the SFZC site.

One of the best sites I've found for information on the fire is the Firefighter Blog. When I read this site, I try to keep in mind that the forest needs to burn.

If you were confused by all that talk of dozer lines in the previous post there's a simple map here.

Information Officers visit Jamesburg

2008-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

We've just had a visit from some Information Officers for the Indians fire which was very interesting and gave us the chance to ask some of our own questions. So here's what we think we learned...

They feel that they have the Indians fire pretty much where they can handle it. There is a fire-line to the north of the fire running along Arroyo Seco Rd that they have been able to burn away from to establish an area of protection. They plan to drop firestarters from helicopters to burn the unburnt area between this fire-line and the fire.

They will then consider this fire almost-but-not-quite controlled as this will leave isolated pockets of unburnt country that could continue flaring up given the right weather conditions. The fire may not be considered out until the rains come in the fall.

The Basin fire continues to burn out of control to the north, south and east.

to the south it jumped one possible control line last night and the next line may be close to the San Luis Obispo county line.
to the north the fire is moving actively and continues to threaten houses and businesses.
to the east the fire continues to move slowly but relentlessly into the wilderness.

The current plan for controlling the fire to the north and east involves the construction of a large box within which the fire is allowed to burn and within which they work only to protect structures such as Tassajara and Church Ranch.

They have recently started construction of this box by reworking the dozer lines that were used in previous fires - these lines cross Tassajara Road at Chews Ridge heading north and south.

They also plan to back burn from the Tassajara Road within this box, possibly starting this within the next week if weather conditions allow.

There are many scenarios for protecting Tassajara that vary with the direction in which the fire approaches.

The recurring theme of the conversation was that they don't know what will happen as how the fire behaves and how they are able to combat the fire depends almost entirely on the weather.

Thank you and...

2008-06-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

We are continuing to receive offers of assistance from many people.

We are grateful for all of your offers however we are unable to accept any offers to help work at Tassajara as we cannot increase the number of people we have staying down there.

If there is another evacuation we may need accomodation in the area for the students leaving Tassajara so if you can offer somewhere to stay and haven't already contacted us please call.

The inmate strike teams leave

2008-06-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

This morning the inmate crews left Tassajara to help prepare another site closer to the fire. They assured us that they, or other crews, would be back if the fires get close to Tassajara.

Before they left, the Tassajara residents invited the crews to join them in the morning work-circle where they went around the circle saying their names. The residents expressed their gratitude for the inmates' work, then gasshoed to the inmates and gave each of them a bag of cookies. There were t-shirts for the crew captains and the correctional officers.

The inmates, Strike Teams 1 & 6 from Fenner Canyon, then thanked the residents for the food and the respect with which they'd been received.

During their stay the Strike Teams slept by the pool, using the upper and lower barm bathrooms. They were able to take a shower at the bathhouse and enjoy the plunge for a few minutes.

All of which is evidence of a heartening change in attitudes towards the inmate crews since 1999.

Visit to Tassajara

2008-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Leslie and I drove into Tassajara for afew hours to deliver fresh produce and pick up the trash.

More later with photos of the improvements...

A couple of links

2008-06-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of things that you may already have seen and that we weren't able to post yesterday:

LA Times article about the Basin Complex fires.

A Google group for the students evacuated from Tassajara.

Saturday afternoon

2008-06-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

A seemingly normal Saturday for us as we drove into the village to get produce...wondering if the smoky tendrils on the hillside were fog or smoke. Today, though, instead of our usual pile of boxes full of fruit and vegetables to be loaded into the trailer, we found a mere 25 boxes which we nested into the Suburban instead of the guests who ordinarily take the ride with us down the bumpy road to Tassajara.

The load in also included several gallons of ice cream for the approximately 45 firefighters and 22 students who are still at Tassajara working diligently. We don't know how long they will be allowed to stay, although the Basin Complex fire and the Indians fire appear to moving slowly and not currently threatening Tassajara directly.

Our neighbor and good friend, Tommy Nason, stopped by today to tell us about the bulldozing work started yesterday. Seven dozers are working fire breaks from the 1977 and 1999 fires, toward Arroyo Seco and the coast. His 85 year old father, Fred, rode his horse in front as they made their way to the coast, cutting fences and looking to save Native American sites that exist along the way.

It's cool and slightly smoky with a mild breeze here in Jamesburg...Tassajara laundry is on the line; bathhouse mats, kitchen aprons, mattress covers...waiting for the resumption of the summer we expected as we take care of what is needed for the summer we have now...

Friday morning

2008-06-27T10:14:00.001-07:00

The weather here is cool, with little wind. The air is quite hazy. The fires are reported to have been quiet overnight.

We expect a group of 65 firefighters to arrive at Tassajara around lunchtime to stay for three nights. We assume they are coming to help prepare the site for if the fire arrives. The group comprises 2 engine crews, 30 inmate firefighters and 21 union men.

I remember being impressed by the amount of work the inmate crews did at Tassajara for the Kirk Complex fire - working for early parole, and $1 an hour when they're on a fire-line.

There are also several dozers staging on Tassajara Road before starting work on reworking the old fire-lines up on the ridge.

11:15 update: 4 dozers have moved on to the ridge, 1 unloading from the truck here at Jamesburg.

Jamesburg notice

2008-06-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

We've just had a visit from an Information Officer from the Fire Management Team. She told us that they are going to post an Advisory Evacuation Order for the Jamesburg and Cachagua areas tonight.

An Advisory notice is the first of three levels. Basically it's a heads-up to get the large animals to safety and to either move out ahead of the fleeing hordes or think about what we'd like to take with us when we run from the flames at the doorstep.

They are issuing the order because they are expecting the wind to change direction and start blowing from the south-east. And bring with it the chance of yet more lightning...

She also talked about how they were going to start revisiting the dozer lines from the Marble Cone (1977) and Kirk Complex (1999) fires as the containment box for the Basin Complex. We'd be on the outside of that box but Tassajara would be smack in the middle as the north edge of the Indians fire would be the south edge of the Basin Complex. Given the terrain, there are no other defensible positions within that area.

She also agreed that the fire, having started so early in the season, could burn for a long while maybe months.

Friday morning: The advisory evacuation notice.

Thursday morning

2008-06-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was cooler than the previous days and the Basin complex fires seemed less active when viewed from the road. However this may have been a case of fire without smoke as the Gallery and Basin fires have now merged and consumed over 23,000 acres of the wilderness and burned 16 houses and 2 outbuildings. Highway 1 is still closed from Esalen north to the Ventana Inn.

The weather that is forecast for later in the week could bring a change in the wind direction and we noticed this morning when talking to incident fire commanders that they were saying 'if...' rather than 'when the fire comes to Tassajara'. Today is cool and the marine layer hung around for a while.

Work continues at Tassajara to build firelines and clear dried leaves and other fuel and pipes and supplies were taken in last night to set up a sprinkler system over some of the buildings. When firecrews have visited to check out the site they have been impressed with the work we've been doing.

We expect to have some experienced firefighters who are friends of Tassajara visit over the next few days to help prepare the site. However there are fears that the fire cold burn for a while yet. This is from KAZU:

While the Gallery Fire has caused most of the destruction, the Basin Fire remains unstaffed. Incident Commander Mike Dietrich explains, "When we looked at that in the middle of the wilderness, based on the availability of resources -- and this country is straight up and down and brushy and very unsafe..."

... Dietrich says firefighters will go on what they learned from the Marble Cone Fire that burned here in 1977. "The Marble Cone Fire is of particular significance because it burned for a long time and despite all the efforts to try to make headway within the wilderness area, fight the fire within it, it eventually ended up where it did. We have to learn from those lessons, that based on the number of resources that we have, there's no good place in the middle of the wilderness to fight the fires."

Our furry friends

2008-06-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our furry teachers had to be evacuated too:

Ginger went with Alec to a friend's house for the night, looking unhappy at having to ride in the kennel in the back of the truck instead of her rightful place in the cab. She's relaxed and well and may move on to Green Gulch or Alec's Mom's house tomorrow.

Lumpkin is staying with a neighbour, Phyllis, in Jamesburg.

MonkeyBat has moved into the Jamesburg zendo where she has a devoted team of students tending to her.

Ventana closed

2008-06-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

This order prohibits access to a large part of the Ventana Wilderness, making it a crime to be on the land, the roads and the trails in this area. There is now also a typed closure notice from the Monterey County Sherrif stuck on the ROAD CLOSED signs at Jamesburg.

And then there's the state of emergency in Monterey County.

Scenes from the Basin fire

2008-06-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

As the afternoon work circle formed on Saturday we noticed that the sky was ominously grey and active. A few minutes later some were soaking happily in the short spell of rain while a few wondered about the lightning.

That afternoon I could see smoke on the drive out and a more active fire was reported over by the coast closing Highway 1. Two days later, after a couple of spectacularly smoky afternoons, the Monterey Sherriff posted a mandatory evacuation notice and the guests left, bringing the summer season to a juddering halt.

Most of the students stayed to clear the grounds of flammable fuel and cut fire lines. Zazen became optional. As we drove back to Jamesburg last night the sky over the fires and south from there was full of smoke, the valleys too. We wondered how long the others would be allowed to stay.

So we weren't surprised this morning when Keith told us that the Forest Service had asked everyone to leave. Fortunately, as there has only been the one fire crew and engine at Tassajara they then relented partially to allow a few people with deep experience of Tassajara's infrastructure to remain.

A couple of hours later the convoy rolled into Jamesburg for a few chaotic hours punctuated by circles, lists and a fascinating array of hastily grabbed food. Everyone has now left for friends or family, neighbours and the other practice centres. At the meetings many people asked the same question in a variety of ways; What happens now?

How can I find out more?

2008-06-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

You can stay informed about the progress of the fire at these sites:

Inciweb The official information site. This site hasn't been able to cope with the traffic volume since the wave of lightning strikes and is usually offline or very out-of-date.

Los Padres The current conditions in the Los Padres National Forest with links to short incident reports for both fires each morning and evening.

Wildlandfire is a site for the wildland firefighter. The forums sometimes have information unavailable elsewhere: Indians fire, Basin complex. If you have time on your hands they have a page of useful links to various maps and mapping applications.

A looping satellite image can be found here. This often shows impressive smoke clouds moving away from the fires especially in the afternoon.

If you have Google Earth you can download this file and you'll have access to the current information from the geospatial wildfire-mapping program of the USDA Forest Service.

KAZU & KUSP The local public radio stations are the most useful local sources that I've found for news about the fires.

What is happening down there?

2008-06-25T16:00:00.001-07:00

The short story is that Tassajara is currently threatened by two wildfires, the Indians fire which has been burning for a couple of weeks south-east of us and, to the north-east, the Basin complex of fires that were started by lightning on Saturday June 21st.

Tassajara has been closed to guests for a couple of days and most of the students moved out today leaving a few people with intimate knowledge of the plant and equipment to stay with the firefighters.

This map shows the locations of the fires as of this morning.

The Indians fire does not seem to be moving towards Tassajara. However the risk of back-burning for this fire running out of control was one of the reasons for this morning's evacuation.

The Basin fire is directly threatening us and the information briefings for the past couple of days have stated that the Basin fire continues to burn south and east towards the Tassajara Hot Springs Resort area.