2017 Exodus: Traffic, stories, etc.

[Canoe]

From 6 pm Saturday September 2nd, Burning Man Traffic has been posting times for Exit Time, Gate Road to Wadsworth, along with the Wadsworth to Gate Road that BMT has been posting for Arrivals.

https://twitter.com/bmantraffic

Tweets to set the stage:

• Fires are live in the area. Please drive carefully through area with smoke & watch for Emergency crews on the road. Drive Safe & Stay Alert
• Participants driving south on 447 may see smoke, fire and firefighting aircraft between mile 44 and mile 37 approaching Nixon. Drive safely.
• Participants will see message boards in Nixon displaying the 25 mph speed limit due to firefighters stationed in the area.
• 1) Be advised there is the potential for road closures on Highway 395 southbound as you leave Nevada and enter California.
• 2) Consider using Highway 95 through Fallon if possible.

[Canoe]

For info on the fire threatening HWY 395, see https://twitter.com/hashtag/SlinkardFire

HWY 395 is open but subject to closure based on fire conditions. Motorists use exercise extreme caution traveling through area

Road closures could be announced at https://twitter.com/HumboldtToiyabe or https://twitter.com/CountyofDouglas
related info https://twitter.com/BLMca

in addition to

Nevada 511 / 1-877-NV-ROADS / http://nvroads.com/
California 1-800-427-7623 / http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/mindex.html
Utah 511 / 866-511-UTAH / http://udottraffic.utah.gov/
Oregon 511 1-800-977-ODOT / https://www.tripcheck.com

we also have
https://twitter.com/nevadadot

fire into California.jpg

[Canoe]

First chart with the Exodus times.
Very light so far. Reported Exit Times max 20 minutes. No post burn 1.5 hour spike like last year.
(incoming Wadsworth to Gate Road times of 11:35 and 11:08 hours were odd)

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 6 am.png

[1durphul]

First chart with the Exodus times.
Very light so far. Reported Exit Times max 20 minutes. No post burn 1.5 hour spike like last year.
(incoming Wadsworth to Gate Road times of 11:35 and 11:08 hours were odd)

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 6 am.png

Thanks for taking the time to post this stuff, it's really interesting.

[Canoe]

Fire beside 447

https://twitter.com/BLMNV

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5566/
Update of Sunday 9:00 am September 3, 2017

Todays objectives for the fire include:
(1) Firefighter and Public Safety will take precedence overall all other objectives,
(2) Ensure the safety of the public and fire personnel near residential areas and transportation corridors,
(3) Minimize visual impacts to critical infrastructure and residential areas,
(4) Ensure tactical actions limit effects to cultural resources, threatened and endangered, and BLM sensitive species. Minimize impacts to habitat including Greater-Sage Grouse and other critical areas as identified by the host units,
(5) Minimize effects to range allotments and the Fox Lake Herd Management Area and
(6) Keep the fire west of the Bluewing Mountains, east of the Fox Range, north of Nugent Canyon and south of Selenite Peak.

Due to high temperatures, low humidity’s and winds the fire burned actively yesterday. Crews used air resources, dozers and firing operations to slow the rate of spread. Retardant was used on several areas of the fire which assisted crews to slow down the fire, with the aid of dozers they were able to improve roads in the area that can be used as a break. Those methods will continue to be used today. There are several areas in the fire perimeter that are now controlled so that enables managers to shift resources to those areas that are actively burning and that shift will occur today. Firefighters are staying on the line to reduce time in travel and for their safety by limiting travel on the heavily impacted Highway 447 corridor.

We ask that you do not stop on the roadway to watch the fire or tactical operations. Keep your eyes on the road and continue on down the road. There will be increased traffic for the next few days. Don’t let the fire become a distraction. Emergency responders need to be focused on the fire.

This is a full suppression fire. All tactics are being used that are safe for firefighters and the public. We are working jointly with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Nevada State Route 447 status is subject to change, consult the Nevada Dept. of Transportation website: http://www.nvroads.com for latest information.

[Canoe]

Sept 3rd Tohakum 2 update: 88,621 acres; 28% contained, 319 personnel.
Estimated Containment Date: Saturday September 09th, 2017 approx. 06:00 PM

They published these photos for the Tohakum 2 incident.
Resources don't currently list the plane, so I'm assuming the photo is from yesterday?
CREWS: 10
TYPE 1 HELICOPTERS (HEAVY): 1
TYPE 2 HELICOPTERS (MED.) : 0
TYPE 3 HELICOPTERS (LIGHT): 1
ENGINES: 11
DOZERS: 2

Tohakum2 2nd beside 447 Sep 3.jpg

Tohakum2 beside 447 Sep 3.jpg

[Canoe]

looks like pulsing may have begun - "Burning Man to HWY is ~1 hour"

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 11 am.png

[pink]

I left yesterday around sunset. No traffic, but saw the Tohakum2 fire burning in the mountains on 447. Eerie. There's a fire camp near Snoopy Rock and a lot of staging in Nixon.

Hearing the news of the suicide, I'm glad I left before the burn.

[Canoe]

four to five hours to get to Wadsworth
up to two hours to get off the playa; 2016 was up to three hours at this time

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 4 pm.png

[Canoe]

https://twitter.com/HumboldtToiyabe

Humboldt Toiyabe NF‏ @HumboldtToiyabe 7m
HumboldtToiyabe NF @HumboldtToiyabe Sept 3
#SlinkerFire closed US Hwy 395 between CA Ag Station-Hwy 89/Monitor Pass due to fire open in 30

[Canoe]

Humboldt Toiyabe NF‏ @HumboldtToiyabe 7m
HumboldtToiyabe NF @HumboldtToiyabe
#SlinkerdFire US Hwy 395 between CA Ag Station-Hwy 89/Monitor Pass has re-opened.

[Canoe]

Exit time has just been tweeted as up to 3 hours.
2016 Exit Time for this period was 6 hours, slightly more than the 2017 current times for Gate to Wadsworth.

2016 Exit Times (Gate to Hwy 34) added to the graph.

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 7 pm.png

[Canoe]

Exodus slowed for Temple Burn, then took off. Exit in 3 to 4 hours. Gate to Wadsworth up to 7.5 hours.
Still below where 2016 was (before BRC closed for a few hours).

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Sunday 11 pm.png

[Canoe]

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Monday 6 am.png

[Canoe]

Looks like http://nvroads.com/ is talking a holiday this weekend.
Accidents, slowdowns and closures that never show on the map.

[Canoe]

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Monday noon.png

[Canoe]

Fire beside Highway 447

409 Personal
94,471 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained 43%

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5566/
Update of Monday 11:00 am September 4, 2017

Have a wonderful Labor Day, let’s not forget about all those first responders that are working today, on Hurricane Harvey, Incident Management Teams out working on fires, City Firefighters, State and local Police.

Today on the Tohakum 2 crews will continue to keep the fire west of Bluewing Mountains, east of the Fox Range, north of Seven Mile and Big Basin Canyons and south of Selenite Peak. They will be using air resources, going direct by building line and conducting firing operations. We are beginning to get additional crews and equipment that will assist us in completing our plans and giving additional help to those already working on the incident.

We ask that you do not stop on the roadway to watch the fire or tactical operations. Keep your eyes on the road and continue on down the road. There will be increased traffic for the next few days. Don’t let the fire become a distraction. Emergency responders need to be focused on the fire. There is no need to call in a smoke report. We have engine patrols monitoring the area and with aircraft watching the fire all smokes are being attended to.

Please remember it is still peak fire season. The public should take extra caution to avoid starting wildfires. Visitors should check with local agency offices to see what fire restrictions are in place.

This is a full suppression fire. All tactics are being used that are safe for firefighters and the public. We are working jointly with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Nevada State Route 447 status is subject to change, consult the Nevada Dept. of Transportation website: http://www.nvroads.com for latest information.

[Canoe]

Fire by Highway 395

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5559/
Topaz, California, September 4, 2017 (updated just after noon)
The Slinkard Fire is currently 9093 acres with 49 percent containment. The fire originated in Slinkard Valley caused by a lightning strike on Aug. 29, 2017. Fire is currently located on the west slope of Antelope Valley, west of Topaz Lake and eight miles north of Walker, California. The fire is located in Alpine and Mono counties in California and Douglas County in Nevada. The fire is burning in cheat grass, sagebrush and pinyon/juniper.

Total Personnel 418, Crews 11, Helicopters 4, Engines 30, Dozers 3, Water Tenders 11

Fire activity was minimal overnight. Firefighters will continue to patrol and monitor in and around structures in the Holbrook Highlands area. Crews will continue to construct and improve containment lines. Line construction and mop-up continues in the north and westerly portions of the fire. Crews will continue to patrol for hot spots along the U.S. Route 395. Yesterday, Highway 395 was closed temporarily for fire suppression efforts.

Residents and visitors may see occasional flare ups especially at night. These flare ups are well within the burned area and do not represent a threat to containment lines. Night shift firefighters are monitoring these flare ups and will take suppression action if needed.

A high pressure weather front will remain over Nevada bringing light southeast winds to the fire the next two days. Chances of thunderstorms will increase with afternoon winds more likely to be governed by thunderstorm outflows. It will continue to be hot with poor relative humidity recovery. Cooler temperatures are expected later in the week. Today will be partly cloudy becoming mostly cloudy after 1 p.m. with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Highway 395 is open. Highway 89 over Monitor Pass remains closed due to fire activity. Motorists traveling on Highway 395 are reminded that there will be large amounts of holiday, fire, and Burning Man traffic. Please drive with additional care.
...

[Canoe]

I-80 California Westbound

http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/mindex.html

Congestion with slowdown heading into Truckee Westbound. Traffic circle seems to be involved...

hwy80at267.jpg

hwy80athwy89.jpg

Varying congestion with slowdown from Donner Lake through to Yuba pass. Bad in spots.

hwy80atsodaspringseb.jpg

Accident on I-80 leaving Reno Westbround is causing some delay.
http://www.nvroads.com/

Crash - on I-80 West before Exit 7 - Mogul in Reno Nevada. Vehicles blocking. Expect delay. Estimated End Time is 1:57 PM
Current as of: 9/4/2017 12:01:08 PM PDT

[Canoe]

wow

2017 Gate to Hwy 34 is almost always less than the 2016 times. Often half, and even 1/4 or less, than the 2016 times.

And so far, for 16 of the Exodus hours, the 2017 time from Gate to Wadsworth is less than the 2016 time from Gate to Hwy 34!!!

Too bad we don't have exit numbers, to see where the volume load is.

[Canoe]

I-80 congestion & slowdown, Westbound from Donner Lake.

hwy80atdonnerlake.jpg

hwy80atkingvalewb.jpg

hwy80atsodaspringswb.jpg

[Traveller in Time]

Shoutout from BMIR do not overtake on two lane roads

(numbers were too fast)

[Canoe]

Burning Man Traffic‏ @bmantraffic 5m
10 mph between Gerlach and Empire.

Stopped pulsing and overloaded the highway?

[Canoe]

Burning Man Traffic‏ @bmantraffic 5m
10 mph between Gerlach and Empire.

Stopped pulsing and overloaded the highway?

guess so

Burning Man Traffic‏ @bmantraffic 35s
Pulsing is in operation to smooth the flow of traffic, but wait time is under an hour. Drive time from CR 34 to Wadsworth is 2 hours 40 min.

Up to six hours this time last year to get from Gate to Highway 34.



25 minutes ago

Burning Man Traffic‏ @bmantraffic 25m
Slow traffic on Hwy 447 is due to people stopping and pulling over.

but BMT doesn't say where

Odd that BMT never tweeted

We ask that you do not stop on the roadway to watch the fire or tactical operations. Keep your eyes on the road and continue on down the road. There will be increased traffic for the next few days. Don’t let the fire become a distraction.

[bradtem]

wow

2017 Gate to Hwy 34 is almost always less than the 2016 times. Often half, and even 1/4 or less, than the 2016 times.

And so far, for 16 of the Exodus hours, the 2017 time from Gate to Wadsworth is less than the 2016 time from Gate to Hwy 34!!!

Too bad we don't have exit numbers, to see where the volume load is.

This is amazing. So what would account for this? Usually departure right after burns, or on Monday after 7am until 5pm has involved 5 hour trips from camp to blacktop, sometimes 7 hours. Is Exodus crew doing something new and amazing? Has the pattern of departure changed greatly? How is the 70,000 person city draining far better than the 50,000 person one?

[Canoe]

Burning Man Traffic‏ @bmantraffic 4m
Traffic is currently being held on Gate Road to allow LE to clear an accident on the highway.

And nothing on http://www.nvroads.com/
Same as when the accident was on I-80 near Wadsworth.

[Canoe]

This is amazing. So what would account for this? Usually departure right after burns, or on Monday after 7am until 5pm has involved 5 hour trips from camp to blacktop, sometimes 7 hours. Is Exodus crew doing something new and amazing? Has the pattern of departure changed greatly? How is the 70,000 person city draining far better than the 50,000 person one?

Without knowing the volume, we can't tell.
Could be the 12 lanes of pulsing to control letting people onto Hwy 34, so it can flow and get down to I-80.
Could be people spacing out their leaving.
Could be a bunch of people waiting until Tuesday to leave.
???

I-80 in California is loaded, but doesn't seem to be as loaded as prior years.

[Canoe]

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Monday 6 pm.png

[Canoe]

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Monday 9 pm.png

[Canoe]

2017 Exodus Times from Burning Man Traffic - to Tuesday 4 am.png