[pct-l] Chimney Fire

Sun Jun 5 15:20:07 CDT 2016

Just to clarify, the PCT IS open at that section. It was reopened yesterday
at 1800.

See the following link:

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4757/

Kurt
On Jun 5, 2016 1:15 PM, "Mel Tungate" <mel at tungate.com> wrote:

> The fire was at the entrance to the Chimney Creek campground literally
> feet from the PCT.  It is listed now as man caused.  What that man ( or
> woman ) was, or how it was started, is unknown.  The trail itself is not
> damaged from eye witness reports.
>
> The PCT is closed from 652 to 702 ( Walkers Pass to KM ).  BLM is
> enforcing that, and will escort you out ( or worse ).  They escorted those
> already on the trail out day 1.
>
> Those who have been to the campground before ( some many times each year )
> say that hikers are not the only ones there, but are the majority of those
> there, maybe even the vast majority.  That does not mean it was a hiker
> this time - again, not known.
>
> 9 mile road was closed for two days.  It is now open for local traffic and
> emergency vehicles.  The fire is basically not growing, but they are still
> working on hot spots.  They expect to open 9 mile road to all traffic early
> next week.
>
> Mel
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Pct-L [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Gail
> Sent: Friday, June 03, 2016 9:00 AM
> To: tbrokaw at montmush.com; Gary Schenk <gary_schenk at verizon.net>
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net; pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Chimney Fire
>
> Whether or not the fire was caused by a hiker, we still need to be
> careful.  It's my understanding that the fire wasn't on the PCT, so it's
> doubtful it was a hiker, unless they were at Chimney Peak CG, which is
> where I heard the fire started.  In that case, it could be anyone using the
> CG.  Tom brought up the use of alcohol stoves.  No matter how careful one
> is, they are still not safe.  If you have to wait for it to burn out, you
> are also wasting fuel.  Maybe they work great on the AT, but the PCT is so
> dry in so many areas, that they have been banned.  Please obey the ban.  I,
> for one, am tired of riding through burned areas.  It's getting old.  I've
> also missed some areas because of fire bans; some I was lucky enough to
> ride through before they burned, like the Lake Fire.  Maybe this is
> self-serving; perhaps some of you love hiking through those burned areas!
> I am hoping this Chimney Fire gets stopped before KM and 9-mile road. Golly
>
> Sent from Mailbird [
> http://www.getmailbird.com/?utm_source=Mailbird&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sent-from-mailbird
> ]
> On 6/3/2016 8:49:51 AM, tbrokaw at montmush.com <tbrokaw at montmush.com> wrote:
> We don't yet know what (or who) caused it. But we do need to get illegal &
> unsafe stoves off the trail!!! Everybody hates rules. But we only have them
> because we refuse to do the right thing. We hikers should politely but
> firmly deal with these situations on the trail when we see them.
> Regardless of how careful someone is with an alcohol stove, they are
> illegal on some parts of the trail. And for good reason. I watched a fellow
> hiker last year struggle to put out his alcohol stove when finished cooking
> lunch. He was not able to shut it down & eventually it just burned itself
> out. Worse still, he was burning carburator cleaner since he was unable to
> purchase alcohol. This incident occured in a tiny clearing surrounded by
> heavy manzanita. I hate to think what a hot fire that could have been!
> This trail & the wonderful wilderness it passes through deserve a little
> more TLC from all of us.
>
> Tom Brokaw
> Corporate Project Manager
> Monterey Mushrooms
> 777 Maher Ct
> Royal Oaks, CA 95076-9014
> C: 831-535-2181
> O: 831-274-5520
>
>
>
> From: Gary Schenk
> To: ,
> Date: 06/03/2016 07:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Chimney Fire
> Sent by: Pct-L
>
>
>
>
> http://www.pcta.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Chimney-Fire-PCT-6.2.16.jpg
>
> Yes, lots of illegal fire rings on the PCT nowadays. I see fire rings in
> places were only people hiking on the PCT would camp. Still, we shouldn't
> jump to the conclusion that drunken AT knuckleheads coming out to the PCT
> expecting to have a campfire every night start these blazes.
>
> Not everyone using an alcohol stove is careless. A couple of years ago at
> Snow Lake in Oregon I watched Peanutbutter Platypus carefully clear an area
> and then make a small trench around her alcohol stove before making her
> dinner. That's the way to do it.
>
> Over Memorial Day we hiked from Kennedy Meadows and out over Olancha Pass.
> It's amazing that 40 years later trees have yet to make a comeback from
> the Clover fire. Same with the Manter fire, those trees are not coming back
> until we get another ice age.
>
> Kennedy Meadows Store deck is full of hikers. Two weekends ago on the
> trail up to Baden-Powell you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a
> thruhiker. It's overwhelming. Let's hope they are all careful with fire.
>
> This puts a big blank spot on the trail. With the trail, Nine Mile Road
> and Canebreak Road closed along with Sherman Pass still closed, that's
> going to be one tough spot to get around on foot.
>
> Gary
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: marmot marmot
> To: Gary Schenk
> Cc: pct-l
> Sent: Fri, Jun 3, 2016 6:26 am
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Chimney Fire
>
> You bet it sucks!!!
> And there's some hiker that I heard about out there who is carrying 3
> stoves(to test them). Two of which do not have shut off valves(alcohol and
> esbit,I heard). I didn't meet him so let it go. No longer. When are people
> going to figure it out? Is this another fire caused by camper/hiker
> stupidity? Last year I was part of two frustrating struggles to attempt to
> get hikers to put out campfires ----at Little Jimmy and in the Sierra. We
> had to send in the Ranger to Little Jimmy. Couldn't get any official help
> at the other. As you walk through all the burns think about it. I believe
> there were 5 just in section F. Very sad. I made a comment about it and one
> hiker said that he hadn't even realized it was a burn. Because first I did
> the trail over 20 years ago I remember walking though the more shady Piutes.
> Marmot
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 3, 2016, at 5:29 AM, Gary Schenk wrote:
> >
> > The Chimney fire has closed the PCT from Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows.
> Canebreak Road and Nine Mile Canyon Road are closed. Origin fire is the
> Chimney Peak Campground. 1000 acres and 10% contained.
> >
> > This sucks.
> >
> > Gary
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