Category Archives: Forest Fires

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Crews are battling a wildfire that has shut down part of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest, caused road closures, and prompted evacuations. The Washburn Fire started spreading near the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and has burned 4,700 acres with 27% containment as of Friday morning. It has now crossed over into the Sierra National Forest, prompting more road closures. That includes Forest Routes 5S43, 5S06 (Mt. Raymond Rd.), 5S22 and 5S37. The forest service says the closures will help firefighters get resources to and from the fire and also keep the public safe. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but during a community meeting on Monday night, Yosemite’s park superintendent said it appears to have been started by humans. Concerns are growing as more than 1,500 firefighting personnel are currently working, having been called in from across California.

CALIFORNIA — More than 1,000 firefighters were battling the Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park on Wednesday, but crews lost ground overnight as containment fell slightly. Containment on Wednesday was estimated at 17%, according to Stanley Bercovitz, a spokesperson with the U.S. Forest Service and part of the California Incident Management Agency. That remains unchanged from Tuesday evening’s report. Bercovitz said the fire had grown over 200 acres since Tuesday evening, from 3,516 to 3,772 acres as of Wednesday morning. Yosemite National Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon said there was no lightning July 7, the day the fire started, and that it appeared to be human-caused. The incident managers say the cause is under investigation. As of Tuesday evening, the size of the personnel team has also increased by 396 since Tuesday morning’s reported crew size of 650 people.

SALEM, Ore. — As of Monday, all Oregon Department of Forestry districts are in fire season. This means that public use restrictions may be in place where you live or at a destination you plan on recreating, to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires.   Compared with previous years, this is a slightly delayed start to the season for the state. The heavy rains in May and June of this year have helped in that. However, ODF urges Oregonians to remain vigilant in preventing human-caused wildfire.   …A large concern for the agency are the ground fuels, like grass, that grew tall due to the spring rains but will dry out quickly, becoming a greater risk for human-caused fires. Those ground fuels will be able to catch fire easily and will then burn and spread quickly.

A wildfire in California’s Yosemite National Park still threatens the famed Mariposa Grove of giant sequoia trees, but so far none of the trees has suffered significant damage, fire incident public information officer Robbie Johnson said. The 1,591-acre Washburn Fire “has entered the grove, but the good news is because of prescribed burns and clearing out material on the ground, it’s clear in the Mariposa Grove,” Johnson said. Johnson said fire crews have removed logs, dead trees, branches and undergrowth near the famed trees. “And then firefighters did a prescribed burn to clear that out, so what we have is what’s like a ‘donut hole’ and it’s safe around it,” she said. “In fact one ecologist said he was pleased with the way the sequoias are being protected.” …”Significant tree mortality from 2013-2015 has left dead standing and dead fallen fuels. This presents safety hazards to firefighters,” an InciWeb statement said.

An unusual spate of lightning has ignited more than 50 new wildfires in Alaska, worsening air quality, spurring communities to prepare to evacuate and exacerbating an already historic fire season in the state. More than 2.4 million acres have burned across the interior this year — among the most burned acres so early in the year in at least eight decades. As of Wednesday, more than 200 fires are actively burning across the state, straining firefighting resources. Wildfire smoke has worsened air quality over the central and eastern interior and the western Yukon territory. On Tuesday, communities in Anderson, Clear and Clear Space Force Station were advised to prepare a “go bag.” Predicted thunderstorms could bring lightning that could spark new wildfires. The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) issued a Preparedness Level 5, the highest level, for the seventh day in a row Wednesday.

Additional coverage in the Anchorage Daily News, by Tess Williams: Interior Alaska wildfire destroys homes near Anderson as evacuation area expands to Parks Highway

JACKSON, Calif. — Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that’s a top tourism destination. The Electra Fire in Sierra Nevada Gold Country broke out Monday afternoon and tripled in size to about 6.1 square miles (15.8 square kilometers). It was 5 percent contained Tuesday night. …Mandatory evacuation orders and warnings combined affected up to 700 residents in Amador County and 300 to 400 people in Calaveras County, Redman said. Evacuation centers were set up for people and animals. The fire started at a recreation area that was packed with people, forcing 85 to 100 celebrating the holiday at a river to take shelter at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. facility, Redman said. All were later safely evacuated.

JACKSON, Calif. — Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for remote California communities near a wildfire that may have been sparked by fireworks or a barbecue on the Fourth of July in a mountainous region that’s a top tourism destination.  The Electra Fire in Sierra Nevada Gold Country broke out Monday afternoon and tripled in size to about 6.1 square miles (15.8 square kilometers). It was 5% contained Tuesday night.  The fire was making short, uphill runs, fire officials said.  “The rate of spread isn’t what it was like yesterday, but it is still spreading,” said Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman. He said firefighters were working to keep flames confined to unpopulated canyon areas.  …More than 100 fire engines, 1,200 firefighters and 14 helicopters were sent to the fire, which was a threat to power infrastructure, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The terrain was described as steep and rugged.

CENTERVILLE, UTAH — Fireworks appear to be the cause of a fire in the foothills that started late Sunday night, police said Monday. It led to 89 home evacuations in the area overnight; however, those were lifted just before 6 a.m. as the fire moved away from homes. Some of the streets in the area remain closed due to firefighting activity, according to Centerville police. …The Deuel Creek Fire is estimated at 128 acres, and remains 0% contained, as of Monday afternoon, according to Utah Fire Info, which is run by state and federal firefighting agencies. Local, state and federal firefighters all helped fight the fire overnight. A Type 3 wildland firefighting team is assigned to the fire, meaning that additional firefighting resources are expected “throughout the day.”

The Rices Fire was a threat to more than 250 homes and other structures, California authorities said late Wednesday. The wildfire burning near Bridgeport grew to 904 acres along the Yuba River in Nevada County, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a nighttime update. The fire was 10% contained. Five firefighters were injured battling the blaze, which erupted Tuesday afternoon and made wind-driven runs in steep terrain through critically dry vegetation and drought-stressed trees. There was no immediate word on their conditions. …The fire began in an “uninhabitable” building and the flames spread to vegetation, Cal Fire said.

The Left Fork Fire burning 10 miles southwest of Bryce Canyon National Park reached 50% containment Wednesday morning thanks to sustained rainfall, which helped suppress heat sources throughout the blaze, Utah Interagency Fire reported. The wildfire had scorched 4,254 acres in Dixie National Forest as of Wednesday morning. Officials said rainfall and cloud cover in the area should help subdue the fire and allow crews to further contain the blaze. Still, foliage in the area is “critically dry” and crews were reporting “creeping and torching” near the fire’s western flank. An aircraft was available to drop water should flames try to jump containment, officials said. No injuries or damaged structures have been reported throughout the wildfire’s duration.

The Left Fork Fire burning 10 miles southwest of Bryce Canyon National Park reached 40% containment Tuesday morning thanks to sustained rainfall, which helped suppress heat sources throughout the blaze, Utah Interagency Fire reported.  The wildfire had scorched 4,254 acres in Dixie National Forest as of Tuesday morning.  Humidity in the area is expected to fall while temperatures ramp up Tuesday, creating potential for hot spots to flare. Fire authorities hope that these flares will make hot spots easier to identify and extinguish.  No injuries or damaged structures have been reported throughout the wildfire’s duration. The small community of Bryce Woodland Estates was evacuated on June 21, but that order has since been lifted.