On Saturday July 28th we heard about two fires in Mendocino county close to our retreat center, the River Fire and Ranch Fire. We are watching closely as the situation develops — you can find updates here.
Update Thursday 2nd 9pm
The River Fire doesn't appear to be heading towards Dharmadhara any more, though its northern face is still burning. It looks like we're clear this time around. We'll post back here if things get questionable again, otherwise this will be the last update.
Update Wednesday August 1st 8:30pm
It looks like the River Fire didn't get particularly closer today. The fire is reported as 38% contained.
Update Tuesday 31st 8pm
It seems that the firefighters were able to keep the River Fire from spreading south much, and the "mandatory" evacuation for Kelseyville has been downgraded to "advisory". The situation is still very uncertain. The retreat next week will be at Jikoji instead.
Update Monday 30th 8pm
Earlier today firefighters put up defenses for Lakeport which has been evacuated. As well they set backfires in between Lakeport and Kelseyville in the hopes that those, as well as the irrigated pear and walnut orchards, would keep the River Fire from reaching Kelseyville. Vimalamoksha and Mark are evacuating themselves and equipment from Dharmadhara, to Middletown. We do have insurance for Dharmadhara which includes the shrine building being built. We're looking for an alternate venue for the upcoming retreat since the air quality will probably be quite poor even if the fire doesn't reach us. The River and Ranch Fires have gotten more firefighting resources.
Update Sunday 29th 8pm
The two fires have burned towards Lakeport which has a manditory evacuation. Kelseyville has an advisory evacuation. Various roads to Dharmadhara have already been closed. The fires are still a bit distant. They continue to spread, and a great deal depends on the weather conditions and how things progress in the next couple of days.