Multiple fires began just before 2 p.m. today approximately 15 miles southeast of Mount Hermon, and are far enough away that they should not pose any danger to those guests attending Mount Hermon.

The fires are located alongside Highway 1 between Airport Blvd. to the Mar Monte Avenue exit.  As of 3:16 pm the Highway Patrol has closed Highway one in both directions between Freedom Blvd. and Airport Blvd. in Watsonville.

If you are planning on arriving at Mount Hermon this evening and are coming from south of Watsonville plan on finding alternate routes (Freedom Blvd. appears to be a good alternate route) and expect some additional traffic delays.

Updated information on the fire can be found at the following locations:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com
http://www.ksbw.com
http://www.nbc11.com

Fire Update:

Firefighters continue to make significant progress in fighting the Martin Fire up near Bonny Doon. Thankfully, it does not pose a threat to Mount Hermon.

Weather has been assisting with cooler temperatures and higher humidity. Some residents in the Bonny Doon area have been able to return to their homes. Reports are now estimating full containment sometime late Saturday afternoon if weather continues to cooperate. For the most up-to-date official information click here.

Firefighters Rest at Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon was able to provide lodging and rest to 68 firefighters (65 men and 3 women) who came in with their 15 engines. They came from as far south as San Bernardino up to San Francisco. They stayed from 6:30pm Thursday to 5:30am Friday. They had to report back to the fire line at 6am.

They loved Mount Hermon! The timing was awesome because the evening weather was perfect and they had a sweet view of the recreation field and the dry run of the Family Camp opening program (live entertainment) from their lodging (Pine and Fir). You could tell they were totally relaxed and in awe of Mount Hermon.

They are very grateful for the accommodations. The other alternative was sleeping on the dirt! Some could have gone home, but they would not have any time to rest with all the traveling.

In a three hour window our staff went from knowing nothing about this to clearing the parking lot, opening up the rooms, coordinating the housing, communicating with four different strike team leaders, throwing some extra food on the BBQs, and taking care of the payments. From Registration, to Custodial, to Food Service, to Housekeeping, to Conference Services, to Program making special announcements to staff to clear the parking lot…it was an awesome display of the unity, servant’s hearts, and professionalism of our staff. All of this in the midst of a very busy staff training and Family Camp prep week. They are amazing!

Here are some images of their arrival and preparing for a good night’s rest here at Mount Hermon:

As of 7:30 pm the fire is still burning and continuing to head away from the Mount Hermon area. The fire has grown to approximately 300 acres and more than 1,400 residents have been evacuated.

For more up-to-date news coverage you can visit these local news websites:

• CAL FIRE Official Fire Information
• KSBW News
• KRON News
• Santa Cruz Sentinel
  
• KGO/ABC News

A map of the evacuation area and the distance of the fire from Santa Cruz may be viewed here.

Some of you may have heard that there is another wildfire burning in the general Mount Hermon area. At this time the fire is 5 miles from Mount Hermon and currently moving away from our location.

The fire at this time has burned approximately 50 acres and fire resources are being called in from all of our surrounding areas. Several of Mount Hermon’s staff are volunteer firefighters and they are already on the scene with their departments.

Images of the fire are available here online on the Flickr sites of Dan Dawson and Jonathan Assink.