| |
| Update to Wilbur Community on Ridge Fire Impact |
| Dear Friends of Wilbur,
As many of you may have read, the Ridge Fire started on July 20 at 4:26 PM near Walker Ridge Road. Driven by gusty winds, it spread rapidly in the direction of Wilbur and all guests and staff were required to evacuate immediately. Thanks to a well-prepared emergency plan, and to the concerted efforts of the team on site at the time of the alarm, all staff and guests were safely evacuated. The fire came down from Walker Ridge
(Molok Luyuk) into the Nature Preserve, and straight through Wilbur property. Throughout that night, and through the week, local firefighters from the Williams Fire Department, along with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of firefighters from nearby CalFire crews, protected Wilbur from the blaze. Miraculously, due to the efforts of the firefighters, none of Wilbur’s structures were damaged. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
|
| | Gratitude and Good Fortune |
| There were several instances of good fortunes (or providence if you prefer) that contributed to this outcome. Williams Fire Chief, Jeff Gilbert, and his engine crew were stationed at Wilbur Springs Fire Station when the alarm came. Chief Gilbert and his crew have been friends of Wilbur for decades and know the property quite well. This undoubtedly saved critical minutes in the early response. The recent Sites Fire last month
contributed Wilbur’s own heightened awareness and preparation. The many hours of hard work by Wilbur’s facilities team and many stewardship work trade participants, trimming weeds, creating defensible space, and reducing fuel loads was critically important in preserving our structures.
Deep gratitude goes to all Wilbur staff who were present during the evacuation, for proceeding so smoothly and managing to get staff and guests out safely, which is our most important responsibility. Everyone did their part and more. We will forever be grateful to the firefighters who saved Wilbur, to Fire Chief Jeff Gilbert
and the Williams Fire Department, to CalFire Crews from all over the state, and to Ethan Foote, who has advised Wilbur for years on fire safety planning. We will be reviewing our evacuation response with an eye for what we did well (which is a lot) and anything we can improve upon for the future. According to Dr. Richard Miller, this was the closest call for Wilbur in 50 years - well done, everyone.
|
| |
|
|
| On July 26th, after a week of tension and patient waiting, Wilbur’s resident staff returned to their houses and began the work of restoring and reopening Wilbur. We had made the decision early in the week to keep Wilbur closed up until our annual planned closedown dates, in order to best assess systems and make necessary repairs. Our water system in particular was damaged in many places and requires various repairs, and the water supply has been nearly exhausted. We will be working to restore those systems over the next week, and continue with planned repairs to the Solar Lodge and Bath House roofs after that.
Wilbur hopes and plans to re-open to guests on August 16th. Please check for updates and reservation availability on our website, use email for questions and help reserve our phone lines for priority questions and repair logistics.
When the time comes for you to return, our water supply will still be recovering, so everyone will be asked to follow the strictest water conservation measures. When you look around, you will see a great deal of charred ground near the buildings and throughout the immediate property. This is from the back-burning. Great swaths of grassland will be bare and black. Many oaks look to have survived intact, which is a huge blessing. Please be aware, the landscape will look very different and this can be shocking. This is normal and expected, so we encourage you to embrace this and fully experience it, so that we may better move forward. We all have strong emotional ties to Wilbur, and this is ultimately part of Wilbur’s change cycle. Let’s all join together to support each other and embrace this change.
|
| | | - The entire property has been largely scoured of invasive plant species! What would have taken us years was completed in a matter of 2 days. This will deter the regrowth of star thistle, and other invasives and encourage the growth of native species which are more resilient to and even dependent on fire. As some of our elders have shared, in a few weeks we’ll start to see green shoots coming up again as nature renews itself over the land.
- The county line road, (Meadow Trail) connecting the Steel building to Hwy 20, has been graded and improved. This task may have taken weeks or months under normal circumstances, but was completed in a matter of hours due to the need for access by Cal Fire Crews.
- The area where our stewardship crews had constructed Beaver Dam Analogs was moist and did not burn. This stands out as a green swath in the middle of black - evidence and confirmation that these efforts are working wonders.
- Wilbur has dedicated and resilient staff and guest communities. From employees to contractors, to work trade participants, to paying guests: we will come through this stronger than ever.
In closing, we wish to express our deepest gratitude to each and every member of the extended Wilbur Community for your thoughts, prayers and support during this time.
Sincerely,
The Team at Wilbur Hot Springs
|
| | 3375 Wilbur Springs Road, Wilbur Springs, CA 95987-9709 - 530-777-2306
|
|
|
