I hiked to Deep Creek today and could see the fire area. On the day of the fire my friend greg while he was on the Bowen Ranch rd talked to a couple coming out from the ranch and they told him the fire started from a tipped over barbeque. This fire does appear to have started at the Bowen Ranch parking area where everyone usually parks and camps, about a half mile south of the ranch building. The fire burnt southerly and south easterly in general. It looks like it burnt areas on each side of the trail portion you walk down to the lower USFS parking area ( where the USFS kiosk is ) on old rd route number 3N59A. Mostly it looked like the fire burnt on the east side of the trail route, and it also went southeast of the USFS parking area to the edge of the Deep Creek canyon. There were still red and green fire rigs spread around the fire area late this morning, and I could see a few very small areas of smoke still coming up. During the day while I was down at Deep Creek a fire helicopter flew over and also a police helicopter too later in the day, looking over the fire area.

I also saw a red tailed hawk down along the creek with a live snake in its talons, pecking away at it while it stood on a rock. Lator I saw a snake with a frog in its mouth. I came across fresh signs of a beaver in one area ( cut green limbs and slide marks on the bank ). My pooches spooked a baby mallard duck from the bank and then its mom came rushing out of a grassy area there making like her wing was hurt like they do. While I ate at lunch at the edge of the stream I watched a lizard nearby go after insects on a rock in the shade of a tree. A bee stung me just above my elbow. There were a bunch of them getting water to drink and this one just went after me. Glad they weren't killer bees :-) I measured the creek temp at 74 degees. It was a very pleasant day with temps in the low 80,s when I got down to the stream and around mid day it got up around the low 90,s.