One thing I'll never forget from a conversation with Post Ranch Inn's late patriarch, Billy Post, is when he told me that if you see clouds covering the peaks of the Ventana Double Cones to expect rain. Without fail, if those clouds are out over those mountains, it's either raining, rain has just passed, or rain is coming in the next day or two.
Clouds were covering the Ventana Double Cones this morning and a rain had passed in the late-night and early morning hours.
The Accuweather website has a forecast of sunny weather over the next few days. Although Billy Post's weather predictor is still a reliable one, I'm hoping the meteorologists got it wrong and more sprinkles are on the way. Wishful thinking, and hoping a few more rain dances—thanks, Michelle Magdalena Maddox—can keep the moisture flowing into Big Sur.
Today, from Post Ranch just south of the Pfeiffer Fire, the smell of smoke is noticeably diminished. It's still there, but without that eye and nostril burning sensation of the past couple of days.
The clearer and cool moist air delivers a welcome respite for all of Big Sur. Especially for those involved in fighting the fires and protecting structures and land.
A friend who lives on Rancho Rico, Daniel Peterson, and who has been providing aid and fighting the fire from the start, had this to say in a late-night post updating his Facebook Friends List to say that he and others were OK:
"It's almost 2am and the winds are up and blowing strongly towards Rancho Rico. The weather is quite cold and is raining lightly. There are no spot fires to be seen along either side of Pfeiffer Ridge, so it looks like the fire is largely out and is likely contained. If it does jump to Rancho Rico we have 6 fire crews up here, but it looks safe. Good night!"
While the fire isn't 100 percent contained—still 79 percent as of 10:45am via incident updates—it was nice to read a very calm, first-hand overview from someone who has been a large part of preparing Rancho Rico for the worst and helping other property owners defend their homes.
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