The River Fire - Updates and Afterward
Early on the morning of August 16th, a dry lightning storm swept through California, and ignited fires all over the state. One such fire began about 3 miles northwest of Turning Leaf Ranch, in the dense, overgrown brush of the Santa Lucia Mountains. All day Sunday, we watched the dark smoke plume grew, as fire crews battled the fire from the ground, and air tankers dropped water and fire retardant from above. As the afternoon winds picked up, the smoke plume blown overhead was so thick it looked like sunset at 5PM. Air tankers fighting the fast-moving River Fire on 8/16, as seen from the ranch. The prevailing afternoon winds follow the geography of the Salinas Valley, from the northwest toward the southeast. Based on this geography, we knew that our ranch was directly in line with the future path of the fire. We began the exhausting job of fire-proofing the property on Sunday, when it became clear that fire crews would be unable to contain the blaze quickly...