With news this morning that expected sundowner winds did not appear last night, engine crews and CAL FIRE ground forces began preparing for a massive effort to establish a containment line from the head of Las Llagas Canyon north to the ridge separating El Capitan and Gato canyons along a section of the Bill Wallace Trail.
Weather conditions on the ridge were already severe, with temperatures already in the mid-80s before 8 a.m. In the distance, smoke from a column or two was building about halfway to the crest. Several large helicopters were dousing them with water. Another dropped retardant on the upper edge of the more active fire. Neither one appear to be threatening at the moment.
After a short briefing, several hundred hand-crews slowly made their way up the hill. Their orange Nomexs were a stark contrast to the burnt hillsides. Establishing containment is a dirty business on dozer lines choked with ankle-deep dust. It will be the hand crews’ job to seek out any hot spots, put them out where they can, and call in the engine crews to cool them down when they can’t.