NorCalRuss Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 Took the family and friends camping to Brightman flat this weekend and had emergency evacuation. Brightman flat is about 30 mins past Pinecrest and 10 mins prior to Kennedy Meadows for those that are familiar with the area. Was a scary situation for most in the group. We had 6 families with us and many mixed aged kids. Few trucksdriven by 18 year old kids with no mountain driving experience. We had to evacuate east over Sonora Pass which dead ends @ 395. Basically had to drive NE to Nevada and then back W to 99 Freeway and then south to Central Valley. 7 hr drive to get home and 2 hr to get there originally. Fire is called Donelle Fire and is currently at 0% containment. It was estimated 1 mile from us at time of EVAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On2whls Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 Sorry to hear that. Must have been miserable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxchoboian Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 Glad the group got out safely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalRuss Posted August 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 1 hour ago, On2whls said: Sorry to hear that. Must have been miserable. Learning experience for all. We had to pull over after Sonora pass to let some brakes cool down. 10k elevation. I looked in my mirror and 4 of 6 cars breaks where smoking like crazy. They didn’t know about low gears for mountain driving burning brakes up. I told them, you will have many other great camping trips you’ll forget about in your life but never this one! Hopefully all make it out safe. There’s lot of horse trailers and travel trailers still up there that can’t make the Sonora Pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 2 minutes ago, NorCalRuss said: Learning experience for all. We had to pull over after Sonora pass to let some brakes cool down. 10k elevation. I looked in my mirror and 4 of 6 cars breaks where smoking like crazy. They didn’t know about low gears for mountain driving burning breaks up. I told them, you will have many other great camping trips you’ll forget about in your life but never this one! Hopefully all make it out safe. There’s lot of horse trailers and travel trailers still up there that can’t make the Sonora Pass. Glad your safe brother. Those fires are extremely fast and unpredictable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 How steep is the grade on the pass? That is a bummer if they have to leave their trailers and God forbid their horses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORabidOne Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 1 hour ago, NorCalRuss said: Took the family and friends camping to Brightman flat this weekend and had emergency evacuation. Brightman flat is about 30 mins past Pinecrest and 10 mins prior to Kennedy Meadows for those that are familiar with the area. Was a scary situation for most in the group. We had 6 families with us and many mixed aged kids. Few trucksdriven by 18 year old kids with no mountain driving experience. We had to evacuate east over Sonora Pass which dead ends @ 395. Basically had to drive NE to Nevada and then back W to 99 Freeway and then south to Central Valley. 7 hr drive to get home and 2 hr to get there originally. Fire is called Donelle Fire and is currently at 0% containment. It was estimated 1 mile from us at time of EVAC. Hopefully, it burnt you conservative! Funny thing about you girl's definition of UTOPIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalRuss Posted August 6, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 55 minutes ago, World Citizen said: How steep is the grade on the pass? That is a bummer if they have to leave their trailers and God forbid their horses. Some places 26%. Most of it is minimum 8%. Some very sharp narrow turns. I think majority ifnt all would ride their horses out and leave vehicles. Fire is 4-5 miles from Kennedy meadows last I checked. That’s where they had those with trailers try to wait it out that couldn’t take 108 W before fire hit it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On2whls Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 1 hour ago, NorCalRuss said: Fire is 4-5 miles from Kennedy meadows last I checked. How many Kennedy Meadows are there? The one I’ve been to a few times is up 9 mile Canyon Road from Pearsonville, just south of Lone Pine. Sounds like where you are talking about is considerably further north. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServiteTier6Irrelevant Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 Starting to look like the sky every day in my smog ridden town of Anaheim! God help us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
World Citizen Posted August 6, 2018 Report Share Posted August 6, 2018 3 hours ago, ServiteTier6Irrelevant said: Starting to look like the sky every day in my smog ridden town of Anaheim! God help us! Should have seen it in the 70's before they started fixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarterBlue Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 Glad everyone got out safe. Realize the extra drive was not fun. But it got you where you needed to go. It seems California fires get worse each year. At this rate, parts of the states may become unlivable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
On2whls Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 31 minutes ago, DarterBlue said: It seems California fires get worse each year. At this rate, parts of the states may become unlivable. last year’s Thomas fire I think set a record, but it’s going to be beaten. Nor cal fires have considerably more fuel. It’s not just CA though. Big fires burning in all all the western states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalRuss Posted August 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 3 hours ago, DarterBlue said: Glad everyone got out safe. Realize the extra drive was not fun. But it got you where you needed to go. It seems California fires get worse each year. At this rate, parts of the states may become unlivable. Don’t think anyone died in this fire. It’s mostly vacation cabins, campsites and trails for hiking, horse riding here. This was a go to area for families from the valley and scenic drive parallel to Yosemite. Problem is lack of help available with resources all over extended already. The Carr and Mendocino fires are insane fires going right now that are devastating to community. Ferguson ( Yosemite ) and Donnell ( this was fire that got us) fires are more historical ( Yosemite ) and nature destroying than structures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ServiteTier6Irrelevant Posted August 7, 2018 Report Share Posted August 7, 2018 13 hours ago, World Citizen said: Should have seen it in the 70's before they started fixing it. It is bad now. I can't imagine what it was like then. I was just a young pup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.