Stumpy Meadows – Then and Now

Last weekend my husband and I got into the car for a leisurely drive and one area that we wanted to see was a nearby lake called Stumpy Meadows. This is one of the areas that was hit hard by last year’s King Fire. Having downloaded the photos, I wanted to share with you photos that I took last July 2014, which was two months before the fire hit. The enormity of the devastation can be seen when you compare the two sets of photos. What is most sad, is that this fire was started by a fellow who had too much to drink and his campfire got out of hand.

The first photo is from July 2014, and the one that immediately follows is from last weekend.

Looking east

Looking east 2015

Across the lake

Across the lake 2015

Stumps

Stumps 2015

Looking south

Looking south 2015

The Point

The Point 2015

What a difference eh? And, it is so sad to see the devastation.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope that you have a great weekend. Be well… ^..^

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After the King Fire

It has been 6 months since the King Fire blew through our area. Our home was 2 miles away from where it was burning, and we are happy that it was contained and that our home survived. I took a drive with my nephew up Mosquito Road and into the forest. The sign indicated that the road was closed, but we did not come upon any barricades. I wanted to share some photos I took of where the fire burned.

Along the road we could see where fingers of the fire blew through. In other spots we could just see areas from a distance. Here are my photos.

Straight ahead we see a burnt out area

Through the remaining trees we see a burned area

After the fire and rains, the forest floor shows growth

More burned trees

A finger moved up the crest…

More…

What remains

What you have seen in these photos are just a miniscule portion of the area burned. We are hoping that with the drought, 4 years worth now, we will be safe this year. We have already had a fire nearby and thankfully our volunteer firefighters got it out quickly!

Be fire safe no matter where in the world that you are! Thanks for stopping by today and may your Saturday be splendid! Be well… ^..^

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King Fire & a Huge Thank You

I am happy to report that we were given the OK to return home yesterday! This morning the King Fire is 68% contained. It has burned 97,009 acres and they have now reduced personnel from over 8,000 fighting this fire to 7,749. A huge thanks go out to all the fire responders and the support crews!

Thank you!

As you might know we had to evacuate our home. When we went to get back to the house for some much needed medications here is the road block that we encountered.

The road block to our home

This next photo is taken at this road block looking across the canyon in front of us. Usually one can see the ridges that make up this canyon. Notice there is only one short hill visible when there should be 5 or 6.

Smoky canyon

In town, near the staging area at our local fairgrounds, we saw parking lots filled with fire trucks. They were continually rotating crews. We even saw semis that were outfitted as sleeping quarters for these folks.

Staging area at the local grocery store -1

Staging area at the local grocery store -2

We stayed at a hotel in Rancho Cordova. All the hotels between Placerville and this area were filled with evacuees and fire responders. Here are some of the trucks that pulled in one day. This shot is from the window of our hotel room.

Fire trucks at our hotel

On Wednesday night we had a number of our neighbors call to inform us that the evacuation order for our area was lifted. It was early evening so we remained at our hotel because we could not get the cats from the local animal shelter where we were lucky to be able to house them. Thank you for this too to the El Dorado County Animal Shelter for housing our cats!

Yesterday morning we awoke to cloudy skies, which then led to some much needed rain. We got almost 2/3 of an inch of rain, which certainly helped the fire fighters. We retrieved the cats and headed for home. Still suffering from a cold, we took it easy the rest of the day yesterday.

This morning, with the fire still burning, I wanted to share one final photo with you. This is what the air looked like this morning. It is still very smoky but the wind will blow out to the east later today, which will clear the air until the morning. It makes for difficult breathing when one has a cold!

This morning

To see a map of the area involved and information about this fire, click HERE!

Life here will begin to return to normal, which means that I will be posting regularly as I have done in the past. May you have a fantastic Friday, and thank you for visiting with me today. Be well! ^..^

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King Fire

Good morning from Life in the Foothills! I will be posting as I can as we have been evacuated from our home due to the King Fire burning here in the Sierra Foothills.

Fire!

The fire is almost 90,000 acres and is 17% contained as of this writing. The fire was intentionally set and they have arrested a man in connection with this fire. The rumor mill is giving us some very creative stories about why this person started this fire.

We were given a short window of time to go back to our house to gather what we could. The amount of time: 10 minutes. We were escorted in by the Sheriff. We, our 3 cats and the pooch are all OK.

We are hoping that we will be able to return home soon.

Be well and take care! Please be fire safe too!

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