Lightning Fires

In the distance there is a flash, and a crash and then Lucky Penny cuts in on the radio… “Lightning strike on Playa…“

Survey Crew is out plotting the 80K flags across the 5.62 square miles that will become Black Rock City. A fair day with no wind and high visibility has suddenly become one of rain, lightning and thunder that threatens to make the Playa impassable and our modest camp uninhabitable.

“Is that confirmed on playa… not just nearby?” inquires Coyote…
“I can confirm” replies Tak…
“Confirmed” echoes Trainwreck

“Alright we’re heading in,” Coyote says… “We’ll just get one drink at The Saloon and be right back,” in jest, and I know that we’re in for one wallop of a storm and may not be back anytime soon.

Several lightning strikes cause nearby forest fires. “Did you hear there’s 38K square miles of forest fires surrounding us, and if they don’t contain it, it could double tomorrow” Rest Stop Buddy informs me.

Footage from the Pyramid Lake Police Department of the fires surrounding Pyramid lake.

Aerial firefighters scoop water from a nearby reservoir to squelch the nearby fire. You can see the flames of the fires on the nearby mountain tops.

SCOOP!

A video posted by shalaco (@shalaco) on Aug 1, 2016 at 12:58pm PDT

Smoke from nearby fires looms in the distance as Coyote mans a transit, plumbed true to The Golden Spike at the center of The Octagon. He measures the horizontal angles of the o’clocks, while the rest of the team breaks into pairs that precisely plot and mark the distance of each street. #BuildingBRC #dpw2016

A photo posted by shalaco (@shalaco) on Aug 4, 2016 at 2:32pm PDT

Meanwhile… at Pyramid Lake.

A photo posted by shalaco (@shalaco) on Aug 3, 2016 at 5:37pm PDT

Everyone’s okay, but a startling reminder that the weather can rapidly shift in Black Rock City.