Driving through the North California fires on Friday - advice?

[amarie1]

Advice, other than to turn around? LOL ... I can't. Friday will be day 9 of my 9-day journey from Chicago to Oakland CA, where my daughter and her family await me. It's my first RV major trip, doing this solo, me and my doggos. I have a 30 ft. Class C, 2017. 

I *thought* my main challenge on Friday would be Donner Pass ... I'm traveling I-80 West from Reno to Oakland. But just yesterday, they shut down I-80 at Fairfield CA, both ways, due to smoke/fire. It's open now. 

I keep thinking well there are hundreds, thousands of people, all those truckers at least, going the same way I am. If they can do it I can do it. My plan B would be to leave I-80 at Sacramento, taking I-5 south to 205/580 around.

I thought I'd post here on the off-chance anyone has advice or has driven my alternate route, driven during evacuations, etc. Or at least, some good thoughts for me and encouragement. What a world, you know? 

AM

 

[fpmtngal]

Welcome to California and fire season.  Some friends of mine are now evacuated due to one of the fires burning (not sure which one, haven’t been following it all, and there’s some huge fires burning right now).  All I can say is that I’m very happy I’m not in California.

It’s really tough to give advice about routing around brush fires - conditions can change so quickly.  Try to find local news stations - sometimes the major news reporters on TV aren’t familiar with an area and may give out wrong information, especially if the area you are interested is relatively remote.  And stay as much as possible on interstates and major roads - they really do try to keep interstates open as much as possible.  I think I’d probably look up the status of the fire and the roads tomorrow morning.  What’s closed now might be open an hour from now, and what’s open now might be closed tomorrow if the wind shifts.

[2gypsies]

Wow!  The RV gods are really testing you for this first big trip!!!  Right now the area is open.  Check tomorrow before leaving and just plan to drive your first choice.  I assume you have a GPS so if you're told to detour it'll route you to your destination OK in a roundabout way.  It may take longer than you thought.  Other than that, what route would your daughter and husband suggest to get around the fire?  They know the area better than you.  Be prepared for some slow, heavy traffic.  Take a deep breath.  You'll be just fine!

Another thought.... do you have a couple days to spare and just sit tight where you are and perhaps plan to be there on Sunday when traffic is usually a little lighter and hopefully the fire would be more contained?

[Kirk W]

Stick to the interstates and major highways. You don't say where you are now, but remember that CA and the fire crews are not new to this and you will be safe as long as you pay attention to their directions. 

[amarie1]

Ok thank you everyone! Send good thoughts 🙂

[bigjim]

absolute best thoughts for your safety.  This will make a good war story once you survive it.

[fpmtngal]

You’ll be fine! I like the comment about the fact California has been through this before. They certainly have! And I’ve driven past a number of brush fires in my travels, it can be both scary and interesting at the same time.

Run your AC, if it has a recirculating setting use it. The air will be smoky and lousy once you get out of the Sierras, air quality warnings all over the San Joaquin Valley the past few days.

[dartmouth01]

There are enough alternate routes on the western side of the sierras (ie past Donner, closer to Sac) that you should be able to get around most road closures.  Otherwise, plan to sit in your rig until roads open.  Donner is a decent pull but there are 3 lanes including a slow one, so take your time.  Good luck!

[Twotoes]

I lived in CA most of my life before I went full time. I have been thru multiple fires that burned for weeks. Cal Fire is good at what they do. If you have to stop and lay low for a couple of days do so. If your route of choice is closed, stop at a truck stop and ask the semi drivers for suggestions of an alternate route. The interstate is always the best if open. The fires will be out soon. Just be glad it’s not an earthquake which can damage the road or bridges and close the road for months. 

[Kirk W]

Are we correct to assume that you have arrived at your destination?

[amarie1]

Thank you all! Yes Kirk I did arrive, yesterday around 2:00 pm (left east of Reno around 9:00 am). 

Thank you all so much. I survived the Donner Pass, thanks to all your great advice. I ended up never shifting from D because honestly I didn't know what I was doing so preferred to just leave it there, and let Tow/Haul and manual acceleration do the job. I did use cruise control at 50-55 mph going down the big drops though. 

Surprisingly there was much more smoky air near Reno than I found in Sacramento/Vacaville/Oakland. I saw later that there were fires out there too. It was so dense it was like fog. Dissapated after an hour or so. 

I-80 was open all the way, fairly light traffic all the way through. (Great advice to stick to the main route!)  I didn't see any smoke though I could smell it. Vacaville was surrounded by black hills instead of golden ones. Eerie. 

Can you tell how much I want to thank you all? LOL I keep saying it, here and in other threads. Very grateful to have your experience and advice accompany during this trip. I admit I was frightened at times, especially in those mountains. But I kept hearing your calm wisdom in my head. It really helped.

One strange fright 15 minutes after leaving my last RV place on the way to Oakland, the Check Engine light started flashing on my dash. My heart about stopped. It flashed for about a minute, and I was trying to think, now what ... pull over? Am I going to melt the engine? I was just creeping up into the foothills. But then it stopped flashing, and it never flashed again the rest of the trip. I will bring the rig to a service center while I'm here to get all the fluids checked etc., and I'll ask them about that. 

AM

[Pappy Yokum]

Glad you were successful in safely reaching your destination!

However - surprised none of the posters suggested utilizing the Calif Highway Patrol's traffic conditions site.

It's VERY current - with a drop down menu for specific areas - and will list the nature / cause of the delay.

CA CHP Traffic & road conditions site

Would guess other states have something similar.

.

[mptjelgin]

1 hour ago, amarie1 said:

One strange fright 15 minutes after leaving my last RV place on the way to Oakland, the Check Engine light started flashing on my dash. My heart about stopped. It flashed for about a minute, and I was trying to think, now what ... pull over? Am I going to melt the engine? I was just creeping up into the foothills. But then it stopped flashing, and it never flashed again the rest of the trip. I will bring the rig to a service center while I'm here to get all the fluids checked etc., and I'll ask them about that. 

AM

The service center should be able to pull the code from the computer that triggered the Check Engine Light. Hopefully they will determine if the cause was a one-time thing or indicates something that needs to be addressed.

Glad you made it safely.  The first trip is the hardest!

[2gypsies]

You did a great job!   Now enjoy that family.... I'm sure they were on edge, also!  Where are you heading next?

[amarie1]

I'm here for a few weeks, then back home! Siblings and parents I miss. But will plan another trip that's more leisurely, I guess for next spring? You can't really start out on a trip from Chicago in January can you?

AM

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, amarie1 said:

You can't really start out on a trip from Chicago in January can you?

You can but I wouldn't unless there was an emergency situation in Oakland (in our case Montana) for which my presence was needed. Driving a winterized rig is not nearly as convenient--no running water so you have to flush the toilet using RV antifreeze.

Linda

[2gypsies]

3 hours ago, amarie1 said:

I'm here for a few weeks, then back home! Siblings and parents I miss. But will plan another trip that's more leisurely, I guess for next spring? You can't really start out on a trip from Chicago in January can you?

AM

The majority of snowbirders leave after Christmas for warmer weather.  They watch weather closely and are flexible with exit dates.  You can pretty well judge good timing for two days. They typically stay winterized heading straight south for a day or two to get out of the frigid weather.  I-10 across the U.S. is the safest interstate during the winter months. Once in milder weather they will de-winterize at a RV park.  They will carry jugs of water to use the first couple days and you could certainly flush the toilet by using the jug water.  It won't hurt anything.  You'd have to do without a shower for a day or two.  Most RV park in the northern states won't be open so the first night many get a motel room.

[fpmtngal]

Some great advice about winter travel.  

I know several people who snowbird in truck campers - one came to the Arizona desert from New Jersey, leaving after New Years, the other from the mountains of Colorado, leaving just before New Years.

So head out for warmer southern areas after the holidays.

[Kirk W]

19 hours ago, amarie1 said:

You can't really start out on a trip from Chicago in January can you?

As others have previously said, you can and many do. With the ready availability of weather and road condition information, no reason not to do so, just plan a bit more carefully for the weather. Modern highways are cleared of snow very quickly and are usually dry very soon after a storm is over. Just route yourself south in the first part of the trip and wander most anywhere once you are below the snow-belt.