65F @ 7:00AM. Plenty of sunshine. High around 95F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
My second house also had IRS liens, Drew. Based on that and a pretty rough set of inspection results, I made a very low ball offer on it that ended up being accepted, PROVIDED the leans were cleared. It took quite a while, but the seller did negotiate the amount down, escrow closed, and I had myself a new fixer-upper. If you took that route with the your piece of land, the IRS just might decide to walk away from the lien. I say that because by the time they get around to looking at it, the May expiration date could well be here. In the mean time, you'd have a valid purchase contract in place in case the owner did decide to expire, and even though the rest of the property wouldn't be worth much, it would certainly bring enough to satisfy the lien. It might also put you in an advantaged position should you, in that event, decide to purchase the rest of the property as well. Food for thought...
I was working out in the garage again yesterday morning when I heard the unmistakable drone of a big piston engine overhead, followed shorty by the wump-wump-wump of a helicopter. Sure enough, there was another plume of smoke to the north, not far from the one the other day. This time it was black as coal, and it kept going pretty well even after the borate bomber had made a few passes. Got on Facebook and found the entry where the fire was being tracked, and it turned out to be a double wide house trailer and out buildings on property that contained a pot garden, all in a location so remote regular 2WD fire trucks couldn't get to it. About then I heard an even bigger 'copter over head, and here comes a HUGE CH-47 twin rotor with a GIANT ball of water hanging under its belly. One dump put a big dent in the fire, and after a couple more it was out. Then last night I went onto the Facebook group for this area and one of the neighbors had videos of the action from only a few yards away. She almost got a fire retardant shower at one point! Not exactly news quality footage, but it was clear that the owner had done nothing to create a fire safe zone around the house, which is why CalFire brought in a very large 'dozer to cut a fire break around the whole mess.
Here's a shot I took from my driveway:
Here's the running account from the scanner monitor. Start at the bottom and read up:
UPDATE 12:38: Fire is 80% contained. All aircraft have been released.
UPDATE 11:55: Tankers have been released. One helicopter has an issue with their bucket so they will head back to base to get spare. Other helicopter will remain on station.
UPDATE 11:26: Retardant line is complete around the fire. Releasing all of the engines that are not able to make it down to the scene due to the roads.
UPDATE 11:18: Air attack reports that one helicopter is on scene with another inbound. Those in the area will be hearing helicopters for a while. Fire looking really good though.
UPDATE 11:16: Fire holding at 3/4 acre. Will likely be able to contain it with the resources at scene but asking for the dozer to continue. Tanker on load and hold at Chico Air Attack Base.
UPDATE 11:09: Tankers on scene. Air attack reports the hose lay around the fire is almost complete. The tanker will be dropping shortly.
UPDATE 11:04: 1/2 acre now. Spread speeding up a little bit. Three outbuildings and a travel trailer involved. 4x4 engines continuing to go to the scene, other engines not suited for the rough roads staging in Concow.
UPDATE: Air attack reports a vehicle and possible outbuilding involved with spread to wildland. Looks like 1/4 acre with a slow rate of spread. Hazards include a pot garden.
Full wildland callout to 2962 Los Amigos Lane in Concow for a vegetation fire. Air Attack 210 is already airborne and on its way to check things out. Engines starting to make access but it may be slow going. More info as we receive it.
Happy Hump Day...
