Mendocino County Lightning Fires 2008

*NEW* Photos (most recent are 7/15/2008)
Photos of the fires and firefighting.

Fire maps (most recent are 7/11/2008)
Shaded maps of the Orr-Series (Montgomrery Woods), Horse (Daugherty Creek), and Jack Smith fires.

Email updates about the Orr-Montgomery Woods fire
One resident family's experience.

Leslie's Scone Recipe!
Finally -- Leslie's wonderful scones!


Talking with Cal Fire about wildfires, one of the things they emphasize is that fires out here are a part of nature. Cal Fire does what they can to protect homes in the woodland areas, but if we build the right way so that our houses are properly defended, then the fire could come and go around us with minimal danger to our home or belongings.

For more information about how to create a defensible space for your home, see Cal Fire's website. Specifically, they have produced a great pdf document with all the information for different ecologies, including ours. If you have trouble downloading this document, let me know and I can emil it to you.




Leslie's Scones
(She calls them Kathleen's Scones. Go Figure.)

3 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup unsalted, cold butter
1 cup buttermilk or cream-top yogurt
½ cup each dried fruit and nuts

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry mixture until pea-sized pieces. Add dried fruit and nuts.

Add: 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch fresh ground nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon or ½ orange, finely chopped

Add buttermilk or yogurt to mixture. Toss until ingredients come together. Lightly knead a few times until a unified ball forms. Turn onto a pastry board and form into a flat round approximately 1" thick. Paint top of dough with cream. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 12 wedges. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake until tops are lightly golden brown, approximately 10-12 minutes.