HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
East Volkner fire outside Delta Junction. Pats gonna be on this one now!
Wednesday and Thursday night we received a much needed, gentle rain. (Now it can clear up again.) We were having such hot, dry weather. I actually had to wear sunscreen some.
Even though we had very few people home on Thursday night, we still planted the transplants in the garden. Everyone there worked well together all the way down to the little kids. We had quite the efficient system going. Then afterwards, we received that gentle rain! They’re off to a good start.
Garth wrote to say that they all had a good time in Phoenix, AZ. Seth and Kim and kiddos have flown home while Jarred and Jennifer and children have flown over to New York where they will stay till the 14th. Garth and Kim are having grandparent time with Nathan’s children.
This spring, Bro Rus ordered new strawberry plants for our strawberry patch. Tony, with the horse drawn disc equipment, disked up our old patch. Bill rotatilled the area a couple of times, and Bro Rus did it a final time. Now we need Thomas to make hills for us; then we can plant the new plants.
Ze, our new orphaned filly, (she is a girl, btw) is doing well. We call her Ze because of some zebra markings she has on her lower legs. The girls and Cody have been taking turns feeding her around the clock every couple of hours. She is very friendly and follows the kids around whenever they show up to see her.
I did want to mention that two grizzly bears have been shot in our area. Bob Hilliker shot the first one. The bear showed up at Hillikers right at supper time when Sis Betty was cooking supper. It started chasing their dog, Blue, around. Then it put its paw up to her kitchen window and pulled the screen out with out harming the screen at all. Finally Bob shot it in the eye. The other grizzly was seen and shot on Stardahl’s property which is now owned by Stardahl’s son in law. I think he, Dave, did the shooting. And, since then Tony has seen grizzly bear tracks. Since I don’t want to be bear bait, my solitary morning runs have ended. I’ve gone to stacking our firewood for exercise.
Ann took Micah to Fairbanks for physical therapy all this week. Usually he goes for for three or four weeks, but I guess that this year it is only for one week.
Bonnie’s mom, Irene, was in a lot of pain this week. She thought she had shingles, but, then, after having taken her to the doctor, it was decided that she had extreme nerve aggravation due to an overuse of some of her muscles. Bonnie’s still trying to figure how that could be. At least it’s not too serious.
Took Rob to his first riding lessons for the summer. He did very well and his instructor was impressed that he remembered most of the commands. He still rode Tequilla a nice, tranquil little quarter horse. He was even allowed to clean her hooves out with a pick and helped saddle her. That made his day I think! He was monitored by a young lady Dede whom I thot was 16 but turns out she is only 13, very mature for her age and a good rider.
As you all know by now, our son Pat is a fire tech2 with the Gannet Glacier Crew Initial Attack out of Copper River in the south of Alaska. The whole state seems to be ablaze with fires that are just going wild. We pray for his safety and stamina! The most recent one he's been on is the Galihina one hear McCarthy.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park/Preserve
News Release
June 4, 2011 For Immediate Release Contact: Mark Keogh (907) 822-7223
Little growth on Gilahina Fire despite winds
Copper Center, Alaska – Gusty winds hit the Copper River Basin on Friday, but the strongest gusts on the Gilahina Fire were measured at 8 miles per hour. The cooler, humid weather continued to restrict fire growth. The Gannett Glacier and Noorvik Type 2 crews worked to extinguish residual heat along the southwest edge of the fire. Firefighters have concentrated on cooling this part of the fire to reduce the likelihood of the fire spreading further down the Gilahina River drainage in the Full Fire Management area. The fire is over 6 miles from the Gilahina Trestle and about 5 miles north of the McCarthy Road.
Most of the fire is burning in the Limited Fire Management area in the Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The fire remains on the north side of the Gilahina River in a wilderness area. The State of Alaska Division of Forestry and National Park Service are managing this fire cooperatively.
The Noorvik crew will continue to work on the Gilahina Fire, monitoring the fire activity and extinguishing residual heat on the southwest edge. A 10-person Fire Use Module will be arriving this weekend to work with the Noorvik crew. The Fire Use Module will also do more site protection and long-range planning for the fire.
One Remote Access Weather Stations (RAWS) has been set up on the Gilahina Fire in a burned area. This RAWS station will provide current data about weather conditions on the fire. Another RAWS will be placed in the Lakina River drainage to monitor conditions there. The winds and other weather conditions can vary widely in these drainages due to the broken terrain.
The drift smoke in the Copper River Basin is coming from fires further north in Alaska and possibly from fires in Canada. Today’s weather forecast calls for continued cool and moist weather.
The McCarthy Road is open and there are no driving restrictions. For those who fly in the vicinity, be aware of fire related helicopter and fixed-wing traffic and the possibility of sudden decreased visibility. The local victor frequency is 122.9.
The Gannett Glacier Type 2 initial attack crew will be released from the Gilahina Fire today. They will be relocated to assist with firefighting efforts on the East Volkmar Fire, east of Delta Junction. So looks like Pat's coming to DELTA ...we might c him! :)
The Gannett Glacier Type 2 initial attack crew will be released from the Gilahina Fire today. They will be relocated to assist with firefighting efforts on the East Volkmar Fire, east of Delta Junction. So looks like Pat's coming to DELTA ...we might c him! :)
Here's a recent report on the fire Pat is on until today. It says his crew will be demobbed to the Delta Junction area for the large East Volkner wildfire that has been burning like crazy and is up to 35,000 acres.
EAST VOLKMAR FIRE – JUNE 4
Winds gusting up to 23 mph out of the south and southwest caused a significant run to the north of and slightly west along the South Fork of the Goodpaster River on Friday. Fire crews continued work to hold fire line on the south end of the west flank. Crews on the north end have moved west to set up a new helibase and spike camp located near river mile 26 of the Goodpaster River. These crews will concentrate on structure protection planning for the upper Goodpaster River and Volkmar and Healy Lakes. The current acreage remains 34,000 until a new perimeter is mapped later today.
As the fire moves north, repeaters will be set up to provide communication to crews on the line as operations become more remote. The fire will continue to utilize Sawmill Staging for base communications and support of personnel on the fire line and in spike camps. There are 243 personnel assigned to the fire.
The Oregon IMT 2, with Incident Commander Dennis Sifford, had an in briefing with the Alaska Division of Forestry, Delta Area Office and assumed command of the East Volkmar Fire at 6:00am on Saturday morning. The Incident Command Post will be located at the Delta High School.
WEATHER SATURDAY:
MOSTLY CLOUDY: TEMPS: 67F, RH: 24-30%, WINDS: SW 7-12
ENJOY YOUR WEEK END!
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