Some additional clarification:

– Don’t fly east of where Hwy 18 goes up-mountain from San Bernadino to Crestline.  Consider it a longitude and Do Not cross to the east of it.  There is still CAL FIRE aircraft activity and we will not get in their way.  We also do not want the risk of anyone landing out in the fire affected zone (closure area).

– Further on the above point, DO NOT fly east and claim that you are north of Highway 18 (Rim of the World Scenic Hwy). The two risks previously sated above apply. DON’T DO IT.

– If you use a launch to the north that that leads to XC routes to the north (Blackhawk), you should be both launching and flying well clear of the closure area.  Be certain that your launch and your intended flight keep you clear of the closure area and at no risk of landing out within the closure area, as long as you accomplish that there should be no issues.

– When climbing over Marshall peak or behind it and you intend to transition to the back ridge, you must stay west of Hwy 18.  Notice the little dog leg at the far west limit of the closure area? That’s Panorama Point and we all typically fly right over that.  I know it’s hard, but DON’T DO IT.  If you can’t stay west of Hwy 18 completely then don’t attempt flying to the back ridge, stay out front!

We’ve all been given a chance to continue enjoying free flight at our club despite a major fire, don’t mess it up by attempting to skirt the rules.  There will be eyes on us, so fly safely and make good choices.  Even if someone lands out well clear of the closure area, that can still have negative implications if a rescue is required.  Have fun, but let’s keep it low-key and not take any unnecessary risks.

Admin, go ahead and close this thread.  I’ll make a new post about the limited opening.

I spoke with the NFS again on Wednesday, a lady from the Washington DC HQ who has been dispatched to help with the fires.

She said that she agreed that the language in the order was ambiguous & vague, she apologized for it but said that by the time they release any new superseding orders or corrections all this will probably be over anyway.

People or Instructors from our club are not the only parties who have questioned the order, they are fielding calls from many businesses on the mountain who are asking permission to operate.  Unfortunately they aren’t considering any exceptions for anyone right now.  The time would take to go through the administrative process to approve any special permissions or access would probably exceed the NOV 30 planned end date, and its likely that the order will be turned down a few notches before then anyway.

There were two flare ups on Thursday and Friday so that has only proven the NFS position that this isn’t over yet and there is still significant risk.  The best thing we can hope for is some rain to improve their ‘outlook’ on the situation and consider relaxing restrictions.

Mark, nobody thanked you because you didn’t clarify a single thing.  The forest order is clear and CSS will observe it.  You’re welcome to call the NFS Supervisor’s office and tell the Public Affairs Officer that he’s just a social director and his word doesn’t hold much legal weight… good luck with that.

I just spoke with the NFS Supervisor for S.B. National Forest (who is also the Public Affairs Officer). I also reviewed the current status of the Line fire (57% contained as of Saturday morning 21 SEP), also all Evacuation Warnings have been lifted.

– The exemption for Residents is to allow them to use the roads that are closed (to everyone else) so they can access their homes & businesses.

– Any exemptions DO NOT apply to non-essential activities or recreation of ANY kind.  So even Locals would be cited for hiking, camping, off-roading, anything and yes, flying.

– The NFS recognizes that they cannot close Airspace but that does NOT mean we can or should fly.  We know and they know that the intent of the CSS to close Free Flight with respect to Forest Closure Orders has more to do with preventing a situation that could require Emergency Services (a helicopter rescue in the forest) that would distract those resources from the larger fire fighting effort and risk starting another fire.

– The NFS PAO encourages CSS members to be patient as the Line fire situation is actively managed and the NFS order could be narrowed, limited, or rescinded at any time before NOV 30.

Some other points that are noteworthy and could be helpful:

– Flying with a radio is not required by the CSS, but during fire season its a good idea to have one so that clear communication can help with the situation.  We use different frequencies between groups of pilots, totally normal to minimize heavy chatter.  Its a good idea that you share with someone outside of your group what freq you are on in case we have to send out comms related to fires or any other safety related event.  There is also a big whiteboard in the LZ, you can write your frequency in use on that board and how many pilots are on it for that flying day (this a good idea for many other safety reasons besides just fires).

– The regular CSS club members and all of the students who learn at CSS have a solid foundation in club rules, big thanks to our resident Instructors who make sure all our P1/H1 students are taught this from the get-go.  While the Club Rules are on the website, on the poster in the LZ, and on the trifold pamphlets in the LZ… it appears that some visiting pilots still don’t get the word.  Lets all do what we can to make are pilots are aware of our safety rules and procedures (to include the approach patterns and the White X, this are really our two biggest rules).

– CSS membership is REQUIRED to land at AJX and use club facilities.  There are multiple people who have flown our site without being, at the very least, even temporary members.  This behavior is disrespectful to the founders of the club, people who have put in countless hours over many years improving and maintaining the club, to the volunteers who run current club operations, but perhaps most immediately it is disrespectful to all of the Club Members who maintain a current paid membership.  It takes money to operate our club, maintain the facilities, and pay our insurance premiums.  Luckily, that total dollar cost annually shared between our active members makes the individual contribution each year a very low dollar amount.  Anyone who ‘pirates’ the privilege to fly at CSS/AJX is doing a disservice to the people who made it possible for us enjoy this site for the last 30 years and to our current members, also putting our club at risk if something bad were to happen.

Club Issues that warrant a reminder to Club Members (continued)

The other three pilots who launched Regionals AFTER the White X was deployed, however, flew along the front ridge in excess of 2 hours and made no attempts to descend and land.  CSS Board members and other pilots in the LZ continued to observe multiple firefighting aircraft pass through the airspace during that time, although there were no close calls.

As noted above, the White X was cleared from the LZ at 1820 and the three pilots still aloft landed between 1840-1900.

The first pilot to land was found not to be an active club member.  He may have had a membership in the past but did not have a current club membership.  That pilot was asked not return to CSS/AJX until 01 October for any flying and that he must have an active membership to fly our site.  It goes without saying that he got an education on what the White X means as well why its important to maintain a current club membership.

The second two pilots landed were active club members, but both didn’t understand what the white X meant.  They were both directed to review the club rules that posted on the CSS website as well as on a GIANT color poster displayed in the LZ.  Both pilots were asked to take a break from flying at CSS/AJX for the next weekend and may return to flying at our site on the weekend of 7-8 SEP.