Wildfire

Road, Trees, Clouds - Tuolumne County  2026

Burnt Trees, Clouds - Tuolumne County  2026

I noticed the burnt hillside in the distance while I was driving on highway 49 and managed to stop for photos where a side road joined the highway.

Fencepost / Chinese Camp

Burnt Fencepost - Tuolumne County  2026

Fire Damage (Chinese Camp) - Tuolumne County  2026

I paid a visit to Chinese Camp last year. Very little new construction happening since then.

Chinese Camp

Fire Debris Removal (Chinese Camp) - Tuolumne County  2025

Fire Damage (Chinese Camp) - Tuolumne County  2025

"Chinese Camp is the remnant of a notable California Gold Rush mining town. Between 1849 and 1882, thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived in the area to look for good fortune on the legendary 'Gold Mountain.'"

"The TCU September Lightning Complex included more than 20 lightning-sparked wildfires in four counties that spanned the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada, east of Modesto. All told, the complex has burned nearly 14,000 acres. Some fires were less than an acre, while others grew to thousands. 

"In the swirl of so many fires that consumed the Sierra Nevada foothills all at once, Chinese Camp burned to the ground in what felt like a blip. Another California town gone, claimed by wildfire, forever lost. This one had history dating back to the Gold Rush, when thousands of Chinese immigrants lived here, mining for gold or working as servants for American miners. The town’s first post office was established in 1854, and the town grew into a hub for stage coach lines with travelers passing through."

I just paid a quick visit while driving over to Bishop. I found it a bit unusual that the area consists of rolling hills studded with oak trees. Not thickly forested! The wind must have been a main factor causing the fire damage.

There is still some structures remaining in the town; I'd hope that some residents will be able to return. 

Brush Clearing

 

Brush Burning (Fairfax) - Marin County  2022

Brush Piles (Fairfax) - Marin County  2022

Lots of brush was cleared out from our surrounding forest areas in November as part of wildfire suppression efforts. There were some piles that were burned, others went into a chipper/shredder machine.

Boomtown

 

Boomtown Sign, Smoke - Nevada  2022

Truckee Air Quality Sept 15, 2022

I drove from Ely to Reno, staying overnight at the Best Western at Boomtown. Once inside the hotel I stayed there, not wanting to experience the smoke-filled air outside. Driving home the next day, the smoke was a continuous presence almost until I reached Davis.

The air was better in 2018.

Highway 50 West

 

Mountains, Smoke - Nevada  2022

Union Pacific Outside Fernley - Nevada  2022

Driving west from Ely . . . the smoke from the Mosquito Fire had pushed much farther east than a few days earlier. 

I was parked in a vacant lot near Fernley, eating a sandwich for lunch, when a Union Pacific freight train passed by. I had to really max out the Haze Filter in Photoshop for the photo.

Jaguar, Smoke

 

Jaguar, Smoke - Sierra Nevada  2022

Taken at one of the rest stops off highway 80 in the mountains. 

From $73,000.

Highway 80 Smoke

 

Truck, Smoke (Highway 80) - Sierra Nevada  2022

Truckee Air Quality

In August I had started making plans to visit Great Basin National Park in September. I made a few motel reservations and researched some day hikes. I knew, of course, that there was a chance that there would be wildfires along my route. And so it proved . . . the Mosquito Fire started burning a few days before I left Marin County for Nevada. Driving up Highway 80 over the mountains the smoke became quite intense.

Fern / Vine

 

Fern - Point Reyes  2022

Vine, Burnt Tree - Point Reyes  2022

The route I was taking went through some of the Woodward Fire's burnt areas. The fire happened in 2020, started by a lightning strike near the intersection of the Woodward Valley and Coast Trails.

I posted some photos of the firefighting crew back in 2020.

Burnt Trees

 

Burnt Trees from Highway 50 - El Dorado County  2022

Vast amounts of burnt areas are visible from Highway 50, remnants of last year's Caldor Fire. It was difficult to find a suitable place to pull off the road for photographs.

Smoke

 

Sun, Fire Road, Smoke - Marin County  2021

Mount Tamalpais, Smoke - Marin County  2021

Here's my seasonal smoke post, a regular feature on the mikereport. The smoke in our area is not coming from either the Dixie Fire or the Caldor Fire, but rather from the "River Complex" fires.

Regarding the current fire situation, I'd like to quote from my June 16, 2017 "Dead Trees" post:

"Most of the trees have lost some, or all, of their needles. This is making the problem less conspicuous as they are starting to resemble the snags left after a fire. Certainly they are going to provide fuel for future forest fires."

U.C. Field Station (Point Reyes)

 

Coyote Bush - Point Reyes 2020

Hali, Margaret - Point Reyes  2020

A couple of recent visits out to Point Reyes. The first was a ride out to the Point Reyes Field Station, a UC research site, to help Margaret with a car key issue. There was still some smoke in the vicinity from the Woodward Fire. 

I'd like to be able to explain in detail the work going on there, but it was kind of a quick visit. I expect the studies have something to do with . . . soil?

Sunrise

 

Sunrise, Smoke - Marin County  2020

Taken last October from the Glen Drive fire road, during the wildfires.

Oaks, Backlit

 

Oaks, Backlit - Marin County  2020

Up the Loma Alta fire road, smoke-filtered light coming through.

Mount Tamalpais, Smoke

 

Coyote Bush, Smoke, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

Fencepost, Smoke, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

I used an Olympus E-M1II with a Panasonic 12-60mm lens.

Glass Fire (Sonoma County)

 

Ibleto Meats (Glass Fire) - Sonoma County  2020

Grapevine, Smoke (Glass Fire) - Sonoma County  2020

The Glass Fire started Sept 27, burning in both Napa and Sonoma Counties. There was smoke in Marin County on Sept 28 as we drove up highway 101 for a pickup appointment; once in Sonoma County the visibility decreased dramatically. 

Photos taken with an iPhone at 9:15 AM.

More Roy's Redwoods Trail

 

Pond - Marin County  2020

Trail, Smoke - Marin County  2020 

The pond is there as a water hazard for the old golf course. Don't know how long it'll remain there.

Roy's Redwoods Trail / Firefighters

Grass, Redwoods - Marin County  2020

 

Golf Course Parking Lot - Marin County  2020

We were able to see what a large-scale firefighting team looks like when we hiked the Roy's Redwood trail last month. All the personnel and communications equipment were assembled on the old San Geronimo Golf Course to fight the Woodward Fire. It turned out that most of the firefighters were from Montana! 

Tents - Marin County  2020

Home Depot

 

Pumpkins, Flag, Mt. Tamalpais - Marin County  2020

Ash on Car Window - Marin County  2020

We had to return some items at Home Depot, but we hadn't known that their pumpkins had just been delivered! Wow!

The ashes on the Toyota are slightly reminiscent of starlite flecks! Kind of.

Basketball Court, Oleanders

 

Basketball Court - Marin County  2020

Oleanders - Marin County  2020

As the sky grew lighter it became apparent that the orange tint wasn't going to go away. A school light cast our twin shadows onto the basketball court.

Then, some oleanders on the main road. (Not a cure.)