Creek Fire Update as of Friday morning: 6% containment. 100,000 gallons of retardant dumped Thursday to hold the line. Winds were generally calm. The fire has now consumed 175,000 acres, which equals about 275 square miles, or four times the size of Washington, DC.
The smoke is so heavy up the mountain towards Shaver Lake that the TV crew that went up to see what was left of Cressman’s yesterday had to turn back part of the way up the hill this morning. The reporter said it was getting too smoky in their car and the air filtration system couldn’t handle it all, so they went back down the hill to Sierra High School to do their 530am live shot. Today’s heavy smoke will hamper visibility, and that will make fighting the fire by air even more difficult this morning, if not impossible in some places.
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What the TV crew found yesterday near what had been Cressman’s General Store in Pine Ridge was heartbreaking. One of those battling the blaze is with the Clovis FD. Yesterday, she was able to see what was left of her family’s home in Pine Ridge. Nothing. Totally destroyed.
My cousin “G-Man” - who is now college age - went to Pine Ridge Elementary School. It’s still standing, but the playground is destroyed, with playground equipment burned or melted. Most of the homes in Pine Ridge - including the home of Cressman’s owners, Ty and Tara, are completely destroyed.
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“G-Man’s” sister, who is a Senior at Fresno State, has been staying with friends down in Fresno. Among them, a classmate who lived near Big Creek. She and her family had to flee without any advance warning this past weekend. They left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
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My cousins Al and Bobbi are staying at a hotel in Fresno, and there are plenty of unused spaces in the parking lot. The hotel seems to be half full. When they went to extend their reservation, they were told the place is full. They asked how that could be. Because of COVID social distancing regulations, the hotel can’t legally accept any more patrons, even though much of the place is empty. That’s how it is when you’re fighting a two-front war: one against fire, the other against a pandemic.
The Red Cross is providing hotel vouchers for families displaced by the fire. My cousins, who are both in their 70’s, qualify. They live on a fixed income and Al is disabled. But the nearest available hotel accepting vouchers is more than 70 miles away. The hotel where they are now staying has a good air conditioning system and air filtration. It’s clean and safe. One daughter and three grandkids are very close by. And so are hospitals, if need be. So we have made the decision pass up the voucher offer and stay in Fresno.
The hotel staff brought them a microwave, in addition to the small fridge. This is extremely kind and helpful, as the latest guidance is we won’t be able to go back to our home - assuming it’s still standing - for at least ten days.
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We’re not sure, but we believe we still have a house to go back to. The last word we had was encouraging. (See update below. Right after this story was posted, we got some good news.)
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The high temperature in Fresno, which had been around 115 over the weekend, was 86 yesterday. The smoke is so thick that the sun’s rays were blocked, keeping the temperature down. While 86 and smoky may be miserable, it was still nearly 30 degrees cooler than the hellish weekend. It will be 89 today and 92 tomorrow.
We learned this morning that at least 17 people have died in the Butte fire, in northern California. Fires up and down California, Oregon, and Washington have claimed lives. We don’t know how many have died, and won’t know for some time. A Fresno county police spokeswoman just said that people are still showing up at the various lake sites at Shaver, Edison, and Huntington. These are people who have been in the woods and now they need supplies. We don’t know how many - if any - of those who were trapped in the woods and didn’t make it.
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If I had to recommend one news article to read about this fire - and about what’s happening out west - it would be this piece by Dale Kassler and Phillip Reese in Thursday’s Fresno Bee. It explains not only why our neighborhood was ground zero for this disaster, but also why it is a giant regional crisis brought about in large part by global warming. Trust me, you need to read this: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/california/fires/article245563350.html
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Finally, when I talked to Al and Bobbi yesterday afternoon, they were on their way to a relief center. They there going there to volunteer.
Bobbi is 72. Al is 77, disabled, and walking with his fourth hip replacement.
And yet they were headed to a relief center to help sort and assemble relief packages to give to those in need.
They assured me they would be wearing masks and gloves and would keep distance from others.
“I can’t just sit in the hotel and do nothing,” Al told me. “I’m going crazy. And there are people a lot worse off than we are.”
My spiritual mentor, Fred Rogers, had a lesson for us at times like this. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
There are so many people joining together to fight the fires and countless others reaching out to help those affected. Some, like my cousins, are even helping the helpers.
The work goes on, on the fire lines and the relief centers, and no one need feel they are alone.
Friday, Sep 11, 2020 · 5:39:34 PM +00:00 · Homer J
Moments after I posted this, G-Man’s sister heard from a friend who is a first responder. (Because of where we live, many of our friends and neighbors work for CalFire, PGE, and Forest Service etc;) He was driving past our place and snapped a photo. Our property has been spared, at least for now.