Fire in Mountain Center darkens Palm Springs ...

[climbant]

Read on kesq that the tram is reopening tomorrow.

[Florian]

Read on kesq that the tram is reopening tomorrow.

Interesting. But i doubt the trails will be open yet.

-Florian

[Florian]

On the way back, we were hit with TORRENTIAL rains.

Big dark dark clouds and lots of rumbling to the south of PS this afternoon but no rain in the city. I'm assuming you were on hwy 74.

-Florian

[Jill G]

Closures:
Idyllwild businesses and Lake Hemet Campground are open.
The Mt. San Jacinto Tram will be open tomorrow; July 23rd.
State Highway 243 and State Highway 74 are both open.
The San Bernardino National Forest Closure Orders 13-8 and 13-9 remain in effect.
The Pacific Crest Trail as well as connecting trails will remain closed. Humber Park is still closed.
UPDATES DAILY HERE:
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3516/

[Cobyrne]

I have heard about cloud seeding as a way to make up for dry summers... and could definitely see the ash cloud having some of that same properties as the particles known to cause this so far.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_seeding

Volcanoes seem to do this too.
http://www.livescience.com/14992-climat ... tions.html

Thanks for all the updates on the fires and to any fire fighters who may come across this board... It was fun to keep up with it here and I am thankful for the ultimate good news of no lives lost and a tram to still get down on. God bless all you guys.

[Florian]

Confirmed that tramway will be open Tuesday. I'll be going up but not expecting trails to be open yet.

-Florian

[arocknoid]

Some areas and trails *will* be open. The closure areas of Forest order s 13-8 and 13-9 remain in effect.

While the communities of Idyllwild, Fern Valley, and Pine Cove are open to the public, Forest Orders 13-8 and 13-9 remain in effect until further notice. Please read the Forest Orders under the "Closures" tab and reference the maps in the “Maps” tab.

Per F.O. 13-8 and 13-9, "...the following acts are prohibited on the San Jacinto Ranger District within the San Bernardino National Forest. This Order is effective from July 18, 2013, through the end of the official fire emergency.

1. Going into or being upon National Forest System lands within the Mountain Fire Closure Area, as shown on Exhibit A."

That would be exhibit A for each order, which are mapped in these pdf files:

FO 13-9 closure map:

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CABDF/20 ... 54-CDT.pdf

FO 13-8 closure map:

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CABDF/20 ... 53-CDT.pdf

Pardon me for not mapping the areas not bounded in the two closure; I'll do some Q & D grabs and post small file size images in a wee bit.

Round, Long, and Tamarack Valley areas are all outside the closure boundaries when the two maps are overlaid.

Yee-hah, I reckon. A chance to view the carnage during rigor mortis phase..

kind regards,
arocknoid

[Florian]

Thanks arocknoid for the links. I would still caution people that the state park may not be open to hikers tomorrow. The important thing is to protect and preserve what remains. Not to rush out and go hiking. (Not that arocknoid was suggesting that.)

-Florian

[arocknoid]

OK, here are images from the pdf maps of the closure areas, which are bounded by the gold margin per the legend.

(these file sizes and types will be more user-friendly across platform types, e.g. phones than the mega-pdfs.)



The 13-8 map grab is a v. large file size for the image, so here's a smaller version, followed by a closer view of the open area of interest.






Sorry I don't have time now to stitch together a composite of the two closure areas showing the *open* zones in a friendly file size.

kind regards,
arocknoid

[arocknoid]

Indeed, Florian.

The important thing is to protect and preserve what remains. Not to rush out and go hiking.

We are counting on you for our man-in-the-bush reports, for which we are grateful for all you've done--not just with this thread, of course.
My own long-anticipated July San Jac trip (see other thread) was kiboshed last week by the wildfire. So it goes; it's not about me, or any of us.

The forest will endure, but healing and recovery will be only slightly faster than geologic time frames. As the Zipster wrote, the climax forest in the burn zones will not be seen again by most readers on the board.

Recovery phases and Edge Zones have their own attractions, too.

kind regards,
arocknoid