August 24, 2016
Tassajara: An Update

The Tassajara Guest Season is cancelled due to the smoky conditions in the valley and the ongoing threat of the fire coming to Tassajara.

jacqueline-goveas-and-colleen-browne

Firefighters Jacqueline Goveas and Colleen Browne outside the fire shed at Tassajara. Photo: Greg Fain

Dear Sangha,

As many of you know, we decided to cancel the Tassajara Guest Season due to the smoky conditions in the valley and the ongoing threat of the fire coming to Tassajara. We will continue to provide regular updates here on how our Tassajara staff and students are sitting with the fire…again.

Our Tanto, Greg Fain, and the ZMC Director, Linda Galijan, recently met with the Fire Incident Command Team. Their fire behavior modelling software suggests that the fire will continue to move slowly, and may not reach Tassajara for weeks. Tassajara continues to be smoky, but this is mainly due to the Chimney Rock Fire that is threatening Hearst Castle.

Thank you again for all your kind words of support, and for those of you who have made donations to Tassajara during this difficult time. We have filed our insurance claim, and will let the sangha know more details as we have them regarding our potential losses from the closure of the guest season.

With deep bows from Tassajara.

Date:  08/24/2016
Acres burned:  88,654
Total firefighting personnel:  1,602
Distance from Tassajara at closest point:  6.23 miles
Distance from Jamesburg at closest point:  4.10 miles
Percent of perimeter contained:  60%