Hotshot crews Terra Torched a black line along the west side of the firebreak that once was the MIRA driveway. This backfire and another above China Camp stopped the Miller Canyon portion of the fire from sweeping over Tassajara Road, hooking around the line already cut, and taking a run at the observatory. The Tassajara fire continued to claw westward into the Carmel River drainage for quite some time after the threat to the observatory passed. Finally, in late October, containment on both the North and South Complex fires was reached at more than 86,000 acres combined. It is worth remembering that fire has swept every acre of the Ventana Wilderness at least twice in this century.
Flame resistance defines the vegetation types found here.
Already, tiny scrub oak leaves sprout from blackened root balls. Nearly every creature that resides in the forest is well adapted to the certainty of fire. For someday, fire will return to Chews Ridge.