Bishop... And fire...

Now about 4:30... Bishop, California...  This morning, We arose slowly, went to breakfast at Cheryl's in Kernville, an old school local diner and finally left a bit before 10:00 headed for Walker Pass, Hwy 395, and the east side of the Sierras...  The east side of lake Isabella is rural, ranching and grazing land, very different from the tourist centric west side...  It was wet, almost swampy, lots of cotton woods, a few tules, irrigated pasture and hay... The arid west is not always as dry as expected...  We started our climb over thee pass and things dried out, and we started to see josiah trees... Ultimately a landscape dominated by Josiah Trees... Over the pass, about 5,000 ft, then, down into the desert... At the jct. with Hwy 14 we turned north... A few miles later we met Hwy 395...  Once in the Owens Valley, we stopped  at Manzinar, once a small fruit growing town, later after Los Angeles took the valley's water, a failed community, still later, during WWII the site of a Japanese internment camp... It is now a national monument, interpreting what happened in this place... We drove in past the stone guard houses, built by internees, to the one time Community center, later a county garage, but now an interpretive center...  We explored the displays... Drove the self guided tour route, up to the cemetery marker, past recreated dormitory buildings and ruins of a hospital and numerous gardens... All evidence of a group of people dumped here due to fear, not of them, but of where they had come from, who created a community here... On, North bound... Above Independence, about 1:20, we see brake lights ahead... There has been an accident, at high speed...  Someone turning left across lanes of traffic likely doing near 80 mph... It had just happened... The emergency crews hadn't yet arrived.  We pulled over, checked with driver of the pick-up... He was ok... "The air bags saved my life".  The woman in the red car was trapped in her seat.  She was conscious, but in pain.  A nurse had stopped, and was attending to the woman, trying to keep her calm and still... reassuring  her...  Three or four cars stopped to help if we could, one woman flagged down traffic, water and blankets were offered, but the nurse was doing all that could be done. A local fire crew from Independence,  and CAL-Fire,  and an ambulance arrived a few minutes later.  With professional help on hand, we left... As we drove north, we commented on the number of emergency vehicles headed south...  4 CHP units, then more fire trucks, and more fire trucks, and even more...  It seemed like too much for a highway accident. We reached Bishop, found our hotel, too early to check in, so found a market for wine and contact lenses solution... Then further north and east to Laws... The site of a railroad museum...  The radio mentioned a wild fire, near the accident site, but never mentioned the accident....  We walked about,  We could see smoke to the south... The locals knew of the fire, and were concerned... But knew nothing of the accident... The smoke cloud was growing... We could smell the fire... Finishing at Laws, we headed back to town, the smoke was now substantial, eventually we found a local radio station with a report... Hwy 395 was closed or soon would be... The fire is scary...  At the hotel, we check in... In the room we look for local TV coverage, and find none... Via the Internet, we discover that the fire now has a name... The "Fish Fire" is 150 acres, and 0% contained... There was a voluntary evacuation in several areas around Big Pine... I started on this this blog entry...  The ladies played cards on the balcony... With ash wafting around them...  Now 7:30, sitting by the pool at our motel in Bishop... Eventually, having skipped lunch, we headed for an early dinner... The restaurant was busy... After all, if headed south, and progress is blocked, then, dinner starts to look like a good option... Everyone is talking about the fire... The CHP is expected to convoy groups through.. We note fire trucks, at least a couple with red lights and sirens headed north...  Are they releasing units, or is there a new fire, this one to the north? CAL-Fire has updated their web site... Now 175 acres, still 0% contained but some traffic is getting through, via CHP escort... Post dinner... No more smoke in Bishop... People are a bit hopeful... We visit the pool... Swim a bit, try the hot tub, then read, sitting outside, in the warn evening wind... Not exactly a typical emergency response...  I haven't heard a siren in a while... But Cal-Fire has not updated, so has not down graded the fire... But, now, nearing 8:00 pm, the wind is shifting again... And we are starting to smell fire again.  On the other hand traffic through town is back to normal, so it is likely that 395 is open to traffic without CHP escort... Still little information beyond the CAL-Fire site and an occasional report on the local AM country station... This may show a problem with modern media... A Google search can't find it if there is no local media reporting it. Now on our balcony, overlooking Bishop Creek... Baby ducks are playing, swimming and exploring... If baby ducks are happy, can there be anything wrong? Tomorrow, we will head north to Mono Lake, head west at Lee Vining, across Yosemite, and home...