2020 Fire/Smoke Impact Reports

[TahoeJeff]

The Slink fire dumped a ton of smoke into the Tahoe basin yesterday.

[maverick]

Inyo NF:

Castle Fire: The Castle Fire has burned 37,354 acres and is continuing to burn on several active fronts. Crews have been able to establish a primary containment line on the southwest side of the fire in the vicinity of Lloyd Meadows, Lloyd Flat, and Pyle’s Camp. A full suppression strategy is being used to confine the fire using hand crews, and bulldozers to extend containment line assisted by aircraft along with existing roads and trail systems. Fire engines from multiple agencies including Tulare County Fire Department are being employed in the Ponderosa, Pyle’s Camp, Lloyd Meadows and Peppermint Ranch areas to assist with structure protection. The fire has burned approximately 32,354 acres on the Sequoia National Forest and approximately 5,000 acres on the Inyo National Forest near Soda Flats, toward Chinquapin Basin and along Kern Ridge.

Shotgun Fire: The Shotgun Fire, located where Pistol Creek and Shotgun Creek converge in the Golden Trout Wilderness, has now burned 374 acres. The fire is burning in rough rocky terrain and grew approximately 12 acres backing toward the Little Kern River. At this time, the Shotgun Fire continues to be monitored by air resources.

There are currently 557 personnel on the SQF Complex, with additional resources still on order. The SQF Complex has burned 37,728 acres and 0% contained.

Evacuation Notice: The Evacuation Order placed August 28, 2020 by Tulare County Sheriff’s Office is still active for the following communities: Cedar Slope, Ponderosa, and Pyle’s Camp. The Evacuation Advisory is still in place for the following communities: Camp Nelson, Rodgers Camp, Coy Flat and Mountain Aire. The evacuation order and advisory evacuation affect 242 structures. A temporary evacuation point had been set up by the Red Cross at Porterville College Stadium Gate 2. Roads are closed at Johnsondale Bridge and Sherman Pass, Hwy 190, and the County Transfer Station, as well as M107 and Mountain Road 50.

Closures: The Sequoia National Forest has issued Order No. 0513-20-31 SQF Complex Fire Area Road and Trails Closure. The Inyo National Forest has issued Order No. 05-04-51-20-16 Inyo National Forest Castle Fire Trail and Area Closure, for the protection of the public and firefighters suppressing the fire. These closures are being enforced.

Priorities Include: Ponderosa, Cedar Slope, Trailhead; Jerkey Mountain Trailhead; Facilities and Trails within Trout Meadow; structures and facilities along the Lloyd Meadow Road; RM Pyle’s Boys Camp; grazing cattle west of north road; the Freeman Creek Grove and other sequoia tree groves; the President George H.W. Bush Tree; Camp Whitsett, featuring numerous Native American archeological values; Peppermint Fire Station; The Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog and Little Kern Golden Trout Critical Habitats; Pacific Fisher habitats.

Weather: A high pressure system is building over the area, with hot and dry conditions expected to persist for several days. Relative humidity continues to drop, which can contribute to an increase fire activity. Light winds are expected early in the day from the southeast to south at 2 to 5 mph and occasional gusts to 15 mph. In the mid-afternoon, southwest to west winds are forecast at 4 to 9 miles per hour with gusts to 15 mph. These lighter winds will keep smoke trapped in the valley through much of the day.

Smoke Impact: Stable air conditions will keep smoke in the valleys for the next several days. Kern River Valley remains adversely impacted by Unhealthy to Hazardous air quality. Most areas are expected to improve to Moderate during at least a few hours each day. Please note the following tips to protect yourself from unhealthy air quality. Stay inside during the worst air quality and try to plan your outside time for late afternoon until midnight when the air is normally cleaner. Also attaching a filter to a box fan is a low-cost portable solution; for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vJk5BM8xUo

Special notes: Fire managers will employ tactics that safely engage fire while prioritizing firefighter and public safety and protecting values at risk. Life safety will always remain the number one priority. COVID-19 mitigations are being taken to limit exposure risks to firefighters and the public, per CDC guidelines.

For More Information:
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7048/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SequoiaNF
Twitter: @sequoiaforest
Email: Sqfcomplex2020@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TulareCountyFireDepartment
Fire Info Line: 559-697-5148 - Hours of Operation: 7a.m.-9p.m.

[maverick]

Mono Co Sheriff's Dept:

[maverick]

SNF:

[maverick]

Inyo NF:

The Inyo National Forest has revised the forest closure order due to the SQF Complex (Castle Fire and Shotgun Fire) for firefighter and public safety. This encompasses additional areas of the Golden Trout Wilderness and now includes Monache Meadows (outside of the wilderness). Monache Meadows is a popular Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) destination.
In addition, the Sequoia National Forest has closures for the SQF Complex under their administration.
The Inyo’s closure follows trail networks from Siberian Pass at the northern boundary with Sequoia National Park, remains west of Big Whitney Meadow, Ramshaw Meadow, Hessian Meadow, and Cow Canyon at the southern boundary with Sequoia National Forest. Please see the map for better detail.
For now, the north eastern part of the Golden Trout Wilderness on the Inyo remains open, which keeps the Pacific Crest Trail and trails at Cottonwood Pass, Trail Pass, and Cottonwood Lakes open as long as those itineraries avoid the closure areas on the Inyo and the Sequoia National Forest (as a rule itineraries heading north from these trails).
If you are considering hiking or backpacking into the South Sierra Wilderness, the Golden Trout Wilderness, or southern parts of the John Muir Wilderness from the Inyo National Forest, understand that there is uncontained wildfire and substantial smoke in the area. Other alternatives are highly advised.
The SQF Complex Fire started by lightning and is currently 46,328 acres and 1% contained.

[maverick]

SEKI NP:

SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS, Calif. September, 4, 2020 – There are currently two lightning-caused wildfires burning in high-elevation conifer forests within Wilderness. Both of these fires are being managed with a confine and contain suppression strategy utilizing natural rock features, existing trails, creeks, and other natural barriers as containment lines, which reduces exposure to firefighters and minimizes suppression impacts in Wilderness.

The Moraine Fire, located on the north side of Moraine Creek, is 300 acres and 50% contained. It is burning in steep terrain with pockets of large dead and down trees. The fire is creeping and smoldering with some areas of moderate fire behavior and single-tree torching. A wildland fire module is on scene and is taking advantage of favorable conditions for firing operations to help bring the fire’s edge to natural containment lines.

The Rattlesnake Fire, located on the north side of Rattlesnake drainage, is 189 acres and burning in steep inaccessible terrain. The fire is backing downslope at low to moderate intensity in sparse vegetation and ground fuels. One flank of the fire is holding at the ridgetop. Fire personnel are monitoring fire growth and behavior by air. An area closure goes into effect today for the Rattlesnake Fire.

The following area is temporarily closed to all individuals except firefighters and overhead personnel assigned to the Rattlesnake wildfire, or other individuals approved by the incident commander: Beginning in T17S, R32E, Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian; from the Rattlesnake –Forester Lake Trail Junction northeast to the confluence of Lost Canyon and Big Arroyo, east to the confluence of Big Arroyo and Kern River, east to the park boundary south of Boreal Plateau, south along the park boundary to the Kern River, north along the park boundary to Shotgun Pass, and north to the Rattlesnake.

The park is working with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Smoke will be visible near each fire and from high-country vistas. Smoke from regional wildfires in the state of California may also affect visibility over the area.

Fire updates will be produced once a week unless significant fire activity occurs. Visit Inciweb for the most up-to-date information.

Moraine Fire inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7089/

Rattlesnake Fire inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7131/

[Enigmagic]

there is a new 500 acre fire just passed Shaver Lake. 168 is closed.

[maverick]

Fresno Co Sheriffs Dept:

All of Huntington Lake is now under an evacuation order due to the fast spreading #CreekFire. This is in addition to existing evacuation orders for Camp Sierra & Big Creek. Visitors urged to leave now to avoid traffic jams on Hwy 168.

[maverick]

Inciweb:

Incident Overview
Creek Fire: September 5, 2020 - On Friday September 4, 2020 at about 6:44 PM the Fire started. This fire is burning in the Big Creek drainage between Shaver Lake, Big Creek and Huntington Lake, cause of this fire is under investigation.

Acres: Approximately 500

Vegetation : Timber, Brush and Understory Litter

Evacuations: Sierra Camp, and Big Creek

Closures: Hwy 168 closed at Huntington Lake Road and at the top of the four lane Cressman's. These are hard closures CHP road block in place.For the safety of fire crews, and the public who are leaving the area weekend visitors are asked to make alternate plans. Shaver Lake is closed.

More information will be provided when obtained as this is an active initial attack and resources are committed to a full suppression engagement of the Creek Fire.

[donutnational]

This fire has gotten much worse and crossed the SJ river. Mammoth Pools, Clover Meadowsar all being evacuated. Prayers to all involved.