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Crews utilize Forest Route 1 as control line while battling Hill Fire on the west flank of the fire
Photo Credit: Harold Reed, Safety Officer, USFS
Hill Fire as seen from Hyampom, CA., July 16, 2024. Photo Credit: Cindy Winter.
The Hill Fire started July 15, 2024 on the Lower Trinity District of the Six Rivers National Forest and is 7,224 acres with 45% containment. The fire is being fought under the unified command of Cal Fire Incident Management Team 2 (Kevin Bohall) and California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 (Rocky Oplinger). The cause remains under investigation.
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While the fire has grown significantly since ignition, fire behavior has moderated and primarily is driven by weather conditions with mixed hardwood-conifer timber at lower elevations. Upper elevations are dominated by light brush and litter under a conifer overstory. The northern edge of the fire has burned into the footprint of 2022’s Ammon Fire where reduced fuel loads have led to reduced fire activity.
Early on, the fire grew rapidly and prompted evacuations as well as the use of significant air resources. Because the fire is burning on both state and federal lands, two incident management teams were called in to share in suppression efforts.
| Current as of | Sat, 07/27/2024 - 11:09 |
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| Incident Time Zone | America/Los_Angeles |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Under Investigation |
| Date of Origin | |
| Location | Humboldt County, CA. Approx. 8 miles south of Willow Creek |
| Incident Commander | Kevin Bohall ICT1 CAL FIRE Rocky Opliger ICT1 CIIMT4 |
| Coordinates |
40° 46' 19.779'' Latitude
-123° 38' 23.1
'' Longitude
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| Total Personnel: | 1578 |
|---|---|
| Size | 7,224 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 45% |
| Estimated Containment Date | 08/15/2024 |
| Fuels Involved | The primary carrier of fire at lower elevations is timber under-story in mixed hardwood-conifer stands. The mid and lower elevation surface fuels contain pockets of substantial hardwood dead and down component resulting from previous winter snow and ice events. Upper elevations are a timber under-story dominated by moderate brush & conifer reproductions with conifer litter beneath conifer overstory. The eastern portion of the fire has entered a 2008 fire footprint (Hell's Half Fire) that burned at mixed low to moderate severity in most places. The fuels in this area are composed of a heavy amount of large dead and down logs with dense brush and tree reproduction, including ceanothus species, madrone and conifers. |
| Significant Events | BRANCH IV Crews continued to mop up and address areas of isolated heat and fire activity adjacent to DP 1. They also conducted mop-up and patrolling of control lines to large spots in the north. DIV L Crews continued to patrol and mop-up along the 5N01 Road and the 6N06 Road. They patrolled down the fire's edge and constructed a small 400-foot section of line to cut off heat from affecting a riparian area near the 5N14 Road. DIV Z Night resources were engaged in continuing mop-up operations on yesterday's burn east of Sugarloaf Mountain. Crews mopped up lines from the 6N06/5N13 Road junction down to the 5N14 Road on the south side and from the 6N06 Road down along the dozer line into the bottom of the 5N14 Road. There was a high consumption of dead and downed fuels in the fire area, and fire effects have been excellent, with no spots observed outside the line. Approximately 150 to 200 feet of mop-up has been completed on the lines around the previous night's burn. |
| Planned Actions |
- Strengthen the control line east of Sugarloaf Mountain. - Patrol the perimeter to identify and mitigate the potential for escape outside of established control lines. - Construct contingency control lines east of Sugarloaf Mountain. - Identify and mitigate hazard trees in the operational area. - Coordinate with Lead READ to identify areas for repair, following the suppression repair plan. |
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| Projected Incident Activity |
Interior fuels will continue to consume. Fire behavior on interior islands will exhibit low activity when out of alignment with wind or slope. Fire in alignment could still present control challenges and is also more likely to generate spotting. Strengthening nighttime inversions will continue to dampen overnight fire behavior with increases in the afternoon when the inversion lifts. Fire weather continues to moderate, creating daily decreases in fire behavior. Even with moderated conditions, there is still potential for fire in alignment with slope or wind to result in fire behavior that exceeds control abilities of ground resources. Outside of slope and wind alignments, fire spread will be dominated by flanking and backing fire conducive to direct action with ground forces. Expect spotting distances near 1/3 of a mile, and POI will remain near 70%. |
| Remarks |
- The Unified IMT will continue to provide resources for additional fires that may emerge within the North Ops Geographic Area. |
| Weather Concerns | Some high ridgetops this morning exhibited very dry conditions as low as 20 percent, but the vast majority of areas saw humidity as high as 40 percent. A lower inversion kept smoke very thick in low valleys especially on the east side of the fire. With a stronger inversion and increased marine influence, moderate conditions persisted across the fire area today with highs only in the low 80s and minimum RH around 20 percent. Winds have remained gentle and mostly terrain driven. East wind in the morning turned northwest in the afternoon with only isolated gusts anywhere above 15 mph. Similar moderate conditions will continue through the weekend with slightly enhanced mixing and terrain winds Sunday. A marine push is very likely to continue to moderate conditions early next week. |
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