Italian Bar Road Conditions

The rain melted most of the snow. The roads are mostly slushy and muddy. No chains are required, but 4-wheel drive would probably help. Updates are welcome.

Italian Bar Road - Road Conditions

The road is traverseable with chains (possibly 4 wheel drive) from Jupiter to Twain Harte. From Jupiter to the Stanislaus River Bridge, the road is like a Disney Land track - two sets of tracks, that you need to stay in with a berm in the center and on both sides. Corners are dicey. The road is very icy in places. The Stanislaus River bridge is the worst.

Spider Spikes

We have Spider Spikes for 14" tires, specifically: 175/65/14 tires. They have been used about 3 times. If you are interested please call or email Sandy at taylor@grantridge.us.

Sandy

Snow on Italian Bar Road

As soon as anyone ventures out and has road conditions to report, would you share it with the rest of us for the blog. You can post yourself or email taylor@grantridge.us, and I will post for you. Sandy

I have about 18 cement pipe, 10 feet long x 12" dia. I have been trying to get these pipe removed from our property on Mountain Placer. I may have a buyer from Copperopolis to come and haul away, but I need a backhoe to help load on his trailer. I was hoping someone along I Bar road may be able to help. I will pay for their help. BTW, if anyone in Jupiter area wants them, I will hold that priority. I have connectors also.

If you can't see the picture, go to the blog site to see it. Blog site is at: http://italianbarnews.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Tom Hayhurst
Mt. Placer Rd in Jupiter
Email: thayhurst@calltpac.net

4N01 Closure until April 30, 2010

I just talked to the Forest Service and the 4N01 road is closed right after the gate into the residential section of Mt Knight until April 30, 2010. We all have access into our cabins.

See link for MyMotherLode article on the closure, by clicking on the title of this post.

Tony and Carole Reyes

Knight Fire Thank You to Firefighters

Each day our air gets better and better. We get a whiff of smoke now and again and at night but thanks to the united efforts of our firefighters we are safe. We all have so much to be thankful for. So everyone, enjoy the rest of the summer, but be ever mindful of fire!!!! It can happen so fast and easily. Thank you all for your concern and prayers for us.

Tony and Carole

Not necessarily good news....

From tonights Union Democrat:

“We may have to go over two or three ridges away from Mount Knight to find a safe anchor site,” Santiago said.

Crews are battling multiple spot fires, she added. There is no estimated date of containment.

The firefighters’ main objective is to not let the fire cross the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River and spread into Calaveras County, said Lee Bentley, public information officer sent in from the Southern California Fire Interagency Management Team.

The broad plan is to keep the fire south of the river, north of Contention Ridge, west of Sandbar Flat Campground and east of Forebay, Bentley said.


---------------

Not really good news, anything further south of Contention starts getting problematic.

Looked at Google Earth - not sure where Forebay would be. Contention Ridge is just to the North of Italian Bar Rd above Jupiter. Sandbar Flat is in the eastern side of the river canyon. So far the fire seems to be staying in the river canyon. Hoping it stays there

Mt. Knight Fire

Here's another website with good information about the fire:

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1757/

Mt. Knight Fire

You can log onto twitter and type in mt knight for updates.

here is a link to a google overlay showing the Knight fire location http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/kml/conus.kmz - looks to be about situated about 3 miles from us looking north from the top of Star Ridge
Tuol. County Incident Radio Feed: http://www.incidentfeed.com/
Good info from various folks in the know here: http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.phpt=10017
http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=10023
webcam at Mt Eliz looking towards mt knight: http://www.sonnet.com/bob/wsp/
from MODIS @ http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/:

Burnt Area: 275 Acres Location: Tuolumne County, CA (10 Miles North of Twain Harte Calif.) Cause: Under Investigation Incident Team Type: IMT Type 4 Team Leader: Bob Shindelar Containment Status: 0% contained) Expected Containment: Unknown Fuels: Timber and brush
Extreme 0.00 267PRIM

here's a good pic from yesterday
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32160940/ns/local_news-sacramento_ca/

here's the latest though
http://www.uniondemocrat.com/2009072797362/News/Local-News/Knight-Fire-grows-to-275-acres
http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/news_detail.php?ID=399442
http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/news_detail.php?ID=400141

Fire North East of Mt. Knight

Please post any information that you might have on the fire.

Burn Restrictions

Sonora, CA -- Due to forecasted warmer temperatures and windy conditions, restricted burn hours are going into effect for the CAL Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras region.

The changeover begins at 8am, Friday May 8th. Burning will only be allowed between the hours of 7pm and 8am on permissive burn days as declared by the Air Pollution Control District.

Bear

The aggressive bear has moved on and is no longer a problem.

Bear and Coyotes

Bear was back on Sunday night with Coyotes following him for leftovers. Bear is over 500 pounds. Legally you can't shoot him because it isn't bear hunting season. In addition, it would take a skilled hunter to drop him because of his size. He seems to be coming around at dawn and at dusk. Be extra careful during those times.

Agressive Bear

We've got another rogue bear hitting the Jupiter neighborhood. He hit a trash barrel Saturday night and killed chickens and ducks Friday morning. He's BIG, and he's got a real attitude, and he isn't intimidated at all. Be careful. He's decidedly dangerous and aggressive.

columbia side

SEEMS LIKE ALL MUST BE WELL ON TWAIN SIDE,COLUMBIA SIDE REAL NICE
EXCEPT FOR THE LAST MILE BEFORE PAVEMENT THERE IS POTHOLES.

OHV Trails

I just received this email from the Stanislaus National Forest. It's our opportunity to comment on the proposed "improvements" to the OHV trails. Personally, I am most concerned with the safety issues caused by the OHVers and the damage to Italian Bar Road. I am hoping you will take time to comment. I think it's very important and has a large impact on our lives our here. Please submit your comments to the Forestry Service. Following is the email I received:

Thank you for your previous scoping comments on the Stanislaus National Forest Motorized Travel Management initial proposed action. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is available for public review with a 60-day public comment period expected to start on March 6, 2009. Compact Discs containing the DEIS documents, resource reports, supporting documents and maps are available by request. The DEIS is also available for review at the Forest Supervisor’s Office; 19777 Greenley Road; Sonora, CA 95370; or, online at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/stanislaus/projects/ohv.

Mt. Knight

Road to Mt. Knight is clear and driveable in 2 wheel drive. All the snow is melted. It is muddy and has lots of potholes.

JUPITER TO COLUMBIA

DROVE OUT YESTERDAY AND THE ROAD WAS WELL PACKED WITH ONLT A FEW
POTHOLES THAT ARE EASILY NOTICED. EVEN WITH RAINS NOT MUCH MUD TO
WOORY ABOUT.

Mt. Knight

Hello, Does anyone know how much snow is up on mt. knight road. [ 4no1]. Anonymous

Teri Murrison Comments

I so appreciate you folks out there. Teri Murrison (County Supervisor)

Paolo Maffei Comments

Sandy, I am so glad to see that the neighbors are in such a collaborative mode with Barry and his crews. This year started out easy, but became a real challenge with the snow and now, probably with the heavy rain and potential slides. Please keep me informed. Regards, Paolo(County Supervisor)

Twain Harte to Jupiter

Snow is basically clear, though road is still narrow in spots. There are a few muddy areas, but navigable in 2-wheel with good tires. Pot holes are still atrocious, especially from the dirt to South Fork Bridge.

Jupiter to Columbia

Columbia to Jupiter is clear of snow, very few potholes, and minimal washboard. Only slushy part is between the meadow and the turn for 4no1. Except for right there I was in 2w the entire way. Anonymous

Sandra: We would like to thank the Porter's for their plowing
efforts and would like to offer them ten gallons of diesel fuel to
restock their loss. I would also like to challenge others to do the
same. Anonymous.

Ibar Plowed - From Twain Harte to Beyond Jupiter

The county and some of our locals have done a fantastic job on our roads today. Thanks to all for the grading and road repair. It's amazing how much we can accomplish when we work together.

Jupiter to Columbia

Hi Sandra, I came out the Columbia way yesterday the 17th and it was a nice ride, a great ride compaired to Twain Harte. Just wanted to let you know.

Jupiter to Twain Harte - Road is being plowed

Sandra: 2-18-09 Great news! The county was grading to the bridge this morning. We passed two of them as we came out to work at 6:45 AM.

Plowing Ibar Jupiter to Twain Harte

Just talked to County. They are coming at 4am Wednesday morning and are going to give us the whole day to repair the road. They say that we don't call unless we really need help and they appreciate that and they will give us their best tomorrow.

Jupiter to Twain Harte Plowing

Hi Sandra: (2-17-09) We are certainly in need another county plowing. As of this morning the snow on roadway at an unsafe depth requiring chains and 4wd. Impossible to get emergency services (Fire/Ambulance/Sheriff)thru in these conditions and posses a real safety risk to our area. Also on 2-13-08 and before the Porters plowed we had 11 vehicle stuck uphill from the bridge. It took 4+ hours to remedy and forced us to turn around and go back home. Had an emergency occurred, no vehicles could have made it thru to help.

Grant and Sandy are on their way to town now Tuesday at 8:30am. There is additional 8-10 inches of snow since the plowing. CHAINS AND 4 WHEEL DRIVE ESSENTIAL.
Marsha

Jupiter to Twain Harte Plowing

Bob and Doug Porter were headed to town were heading to town yesterday (Sunday) to plow the road and ran into the county grader. The county graded to the bridge. Bob and Doug Porter did the rest. We all THANK YOU so much for doing this for us.

There are still some pretty bad spots, but it is A LOT better than it was. With all the moisture, the pot holes are pretty bad.

Driving from Jupiter to Columbia

One disadvantage of driving from Jupiter to Columbia on Italian Bar Road is there is virtually no phone service. So if you have car troubles or get stuck, you might have a long walk. So, just be careful.

Twain Harte to Jupiter 8PM

Apparently after yesterday's fiascoes on the road trying to get in and out, enough people spoke up and we got snow plows out here! It seems they have plowed at least one side all the way to Rose Creek.

Mt. Knight at 8PM

Road to Mt. Knight has 2 feet of snow. Stay away, if you can.

South Fork at 8AM

Plows are headed down South Ford towards the bridge.

Columbia Area 10AM

Roads are clear.

Jupiter to Columbia

We didn't come out this weekend but a neighbor called yesterday and said they got about 7 inches of snow early in the day. I called them last evening and all they had was rain. I've yet to chain up my Toyota in the 5 years we've had our place. Last year there was snow all the way to town, but still no problem. We have had trees down. That's been our only major problem. I had to use a small chainsaw so had to go around your side where snow was 3 times as deep. If it's real bad on that side it would be better from our side.

Traffic is now moving on South Fork ....

Traffic jam on South Fork between the bridge and pavement ... 4 or 5 vehicles trying to go out and 4 or 5 vehicles trying to come in!!!! David says at least everyone is in a good humor!

Jupiter to Twain Harte at 5:30 PM

Grant just drove to town. Snow 8 to 12 inches on the road. 4 wheel drive or chains recommended. Drive slow. Pavement is plowed on South Fork.

Mt. Knight Roads as of 3pm

Roads are in fair condition to Mt. Knight.

Twain Harte to Jupiter Road Conditions

Grant returned from Twain Harte at 1:30PM today. It's snowing lightly. From Confidence intersection to the dirt on South Fork, the pavement hasn't been plowed. Road from end of pavement to Jupiter has multiple ruts down to the dirt. Most of the corners have two lanes for passing. Recommend 4 wheel drive or 2 wheel with chains. Dear Creek is very rutted and muddy.

David left for work Sunday evening around 9 pm ... needed chains by the time he got to South Fork Bridge .. took them off at the Soulsbyville Junction.

Our gravel roads...

Some thoughts on gravel roads, road care, and ongoing maintenance...

1 - Don't drive in the same ruts that everybody else has driven in, instead move your tires onto the high spots to the left or right of the ruts. Lots of benefits:

* helps spread the wear on the road out
* prevents rutting
* makes the ride smoother
* keeps road maintenance requirements down
* lack of ruts helps keep rain water runoff damage to a minimum

2 - Always carry a shovel with you during the winter. Be ready to get out of the car to clear a plugged up culvert. Rainwater runoff causes the most road damage, and is the costliest to repair from both a materials and labor standpoint. Taking 5 minutes to dig a small ditch perpendicular to the roadway to help with runoff can keep a road in good shape during the rainy season.

2a - taking 5 minutes every now and again to rake the buildup of gravel along the road back into the the main road path really helps keep the road covered.

3 - Always carry a well tuned chainsaw and know how to safely use it. Trees fall and block roads, being blocked in without escape is dangerous year-round. Stranded in winter cold, or trying to get out during the summer fire season are critical times to be able to keep roads clear in front of you.

4 - Don't spin your tires going uphill!! - you'll shoot all the gravel out into the bushes and expose the dirt roadbed. Once the dirt is exposed the water can gain a foothold and begin to erode the roadway. Low and slow going uphill helps prevent that washboarding that we all love so much too.

Reality check - the county or the forest service *are not* going to fix these gravel roads we use, it's up to us to keep them in decent shape. Drag a pickup load of road base out once or twice a year and fill in the holes - or spend a few minutes pulling the roadbase out of the berms along I-bar and shoveling it into your truck and take that out to problem areas.

2/8/2009 - about 10:00 pm

Snowing hard. 2-wheel drive required chains.
Twain Harte hadn't been plowed yet at all. Snow down to Soulsbyville.

Road and Weather

Road is muddy and slippery with moderate potholes. Some ice left in spots. (Conditions described from Twain Harte to Jupiter).
Raining today and predicted through Monday, possibly changing to snow at the higher elevations by late Sunday or Monday.

Twain Harte to Jupiter Road Conditions

Road pretty clear. There are a few pot holes and some muddy spots. Snow remains in the Deer Creek area. Two wheel drive is okay. Drive slow. It's slippery in places.