2021 Fire/Smoke Impact Reports

[balzaccom]

Highway 108 through Sonora Is now closed due to the Washington Fire...from Jamestown to Mi-Wuk Village. If you've got a permit for the Emigrant Wilderness, you face a complicated route to get to your trailhead.

Washington Fire
Incident Type Wildfire
Start Date 2021-08-26
Last Updated 2021-08-27 07:21:57
Admin Unit Unified Command: CAL FIRE Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit & City of Sonora
County Tuolumne
Location Golf Links Road and Highway 108, West of Sonora
Acres Burned 81
Percent Contained 10%

[kathyk]

8/24: Agnews Meadow to Ediza Lake: Basically clear. Any smoke was imperceptible to me.
8/25: Ediza Lake to TI Lake: Same.
8/26: Spent the day at TI Lake: Same until the afternoon, when it became hazy (Banner Peak was a little fuzzy looking). By sunset, bands of smoke were visible against Banner Peak and surrounding mountains. Not so bad that it made breathing difficult. Slept fine.
8/27: TI Lake to AM via High Trail: Hazy.

Drove westbound on Highway 108 on the way home (8/27). Passed through the site of the Washington Fire in Sonoma around 6 pm and the road had been reopened.

[TahoeJeff]

Better safe than sorry, evac orders in place:

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/ ... residents/

[TahoeJeff]

Thermal cam showing Caldor coming in to the basin:

https://www.carsonnow.org/story/08/29/2 ... ahoe-basin

[TahoeJeff]

And it's getting really serious now with all of So Lake Tahoe on Warning or Order:

http://southtahoenow.com/story/08/29/20 ... uating-pat

They say there are no atheists in a fox hole, well there are also none when a god damn wildfire is bearing down either

[SSSdave]

Caldor Fire overnight moved through Sierra-At-Tahoe ski resort and is now burning about the area between Echo Summit and Echo Lakes that has numbers of summer cabins and the PCT. Dense trees on steep slope east below Echo Summit are not protectable. Lower down, key to stopping the fire is making a stand along SR89 along the Upper Truckee River. Lots of homes in that area with tall trees not as dense. Purple areas are structures. If the fire reaches the east side of SR89 there is a vast area of heavy forest all the way into Nevada. Many residential structures east of the green line would be especially vulnerable. West of the green line is less vulnerable urban with less trees, probably safe as long as if winds do not increase that is not in near forecasts. Fire is also moving along the Caples Creek canyon towards Kirkwood Ski resort though there is less dense forest with more open granite landscapes.

Caldor-Tahoe-83021.jpg

[sandiegonate]

All national forests in CA closed for the next 2 weeks. Just got my refund for my campsite in big pine and waiting for the refund for overnight permits

https://amp.sacbee.com/news/california/ ... 64053.html

[maverick]

SEKI NP:

There are a few trail closures in southern Sequoia National Park due to the Walkers Fire, pictured here from aerial reconnaissance on August 17. These trails include the Atwell Mill Trail, the Tar Gap Trail, and the South Fork Trail northeast of Garfield Grove. Off trail, all of the Hockett Plateau and is closed. See map here: https://www.nps.gov/maps/full.html...

The majority of the approximately 8,300-acre footprint of the Walkers Fire is within Sequoia National Forest, but it has burned into the wilderness at the southern boundary of Sequoia National Park. The fire currently poses no threats to people or popular use areas, and for the vast majority of visitors, it will not affect your trip to the parks.

Follow updates on this fire, including maps, current conditions, containment numbers, and more at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7807/

[maverick]

SEKI NP:

Parks Fight New Wildfires Ignited by Lightning Storm

A significant lightning storm occurred in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and the surrounding areas on the evening of September 9, 2021. At this time, three new wildfires ignited by the storm have been discovered within park boundaries. The parks are actively suppressing the fires.

Current suppression actions include hand crews working on the ground and aerial water and retardant drops. The parks are ordering additional resources for suppression actions. The new fires are located in steep, densely forested terrain, and in the current extremely dry conditions, fire management officials in the parks believe the fires have spread potential and could affect operations in the coming days or weeks.

“As we tackle these new fires, we’re continuing to search for additional fires that may have been ignited by the lightning event,” says Chief Ranger Ned Kelleher. “As the moisture that accompanied the storm evaporates in the coming days, we can anticipate discovering additional starts throughout the parks.”

Crystal Cave and Crystal Cave Road were closed on the morning of September 10 due to proximity to the Colony Fire. In the early evening of September 10, Buckeye Flat Campground was closed due to proximity to the Paradise Fire. These areas will remain closed until the fire threat is diminished. At this time, no closures are associated with the Cabin Fire.

Reservation holders for both Crystal Cave and Buckeye Flat Campground will receive notifications and refunds directly from Recreation.gov. Visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in the coming days can expect to encounter smoke, firefighters, and may see active fire from certain vista points. If conditions become unsafe, additional road or area closures may be instituted.

[maverick]

All post not pertaining to current active fires and smoke conditions are being and will be removed. Post opinions, rants, and questions in a separate thread. Thanks