The Ponderosa Fire...

The Ponderosa Fire...A sad event close to home....

The fire started started about 11:30 Saturday morning due to lightening strikes. At this posting it has blackened over 27,978 acres and is 61 percent contained. 84 structures (64 homes & 20 out buildings) have been destroyed and 940 structures are still threatened. 300 homes were unharmed in the burn area so far. (Updated info 8-23-12 at 7:29pm from Cal Fire & ChicoER.com) The fire danger is now the town and area of Mineral, Ca.  The southend of the fire is headed up the canyon/ravine towards Mineral, about 6 miles out. 
Evacuation warnings are in affect for that area.

"Ponderosa Fire from our Road"

 I had gone into town early Saturday morning to give Dad a shot and check his status. He had just gotten home from the Hospital the day before. My kids were arriving for the weekend to visit Grand Dad, so I headed back to my house around 12:45pm. As I headed into the foothills I saw the smoke. I knew just where the fire was located and it didn't look good.

 This photo was taken from our side porch at the house.

Many homes and ranches are in the area between Manton & Shingletown. Such a sad sight; we have had so many fires this year all around us! The air has been full of smoke a large part of summer. The smell of smoke has been lingering in the darkened skies for too long.

 This was the view later that night about 9:30pm, from the same place on our porch.

A scary sight in the dark. Our hearts went out to everyone involved and affected by the fire. The fire (1st day) went quickly from 1,000 acres to 5,000 just overnight.

 The flames were so high....the heat had to be intense

The fire is about 30-35 miles away from where we live. It's hard to watch knowing the damage and lives affected by this devastating fire.

 This is the smoky sky at 4:30pm in the afternoon at our house. We've had several bad air quality days. This is the fourth or fifth fire we've had this summer in our area.

Taken Tuesday from the porch about 4:30pm

Four days later, the fire is now over 21,500 acres. They say the fire will be contained by next Monday!

View of the fire from the driveway, late Tuesday afternoon.  

 This photo was found on the Internet showing crews at the Ponderosa Fire.
The posting gave a photo credit to: Matthew Henderson 

 This photo of the Ponderosa Fire was posted on Facebook on Monday, August 20th, 2012

Ponderosa Fire Evacuations for animals, large and small, have been arranged at two fairgrounds in the area. Photo was posted on FaceBook August 20, 2012.
Our hearts and prayer go out to everyone who has been affected by this devastating fire.
A huge thank you to all of the fire crews fighting our fires!

*All Photos were taken, and are property of  NeeCee @Pine Creek Style unless otherwise stated.