Incident Start: Yeti, 7/29/2022 Alex, 7/31/2022
Incident type: Wildland Fires
Cause: Lightning
Incident location: Klamath National Forest, California
Acres:
Yeti, 7570
Alex, 151
Percent contained:
Yeti, 0%
Alex, 20%
Total Personnel (both fires): 1106
Crews, 20
Engines, 59
Dozers, 20
Water tenders, 17
Helicopters, 7
First responder injuries: 0
First responder fatalities: 0
Structures threatened: 336
Structures damaged/destroyed: 0
Summary: There will be a public meeting TONIGHT, August 6, 7 p.m. at the Happy Camp High School. Yeti: Good progress has been made on the Yeti Fire in the last few days. Overnight, firefighters used an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to bring fire down to the river along the northern perimeter of the fire. That operation went very well, and crews today will continue to monitor for spots as vegetation is consumed. Two spots were detected yesterday between the river and Highway 96. Crews worked quickly to extinguish those spots, and the fire remains on the south side of the river. In the area closest to Seiad Valley, crews mopped up fire lines to ensure containment. Those lines run along Grider Creek Road west of Seaid Valley and the Pacific Crest Trail. The fire has been tied back into the river near Sluice Box River Access. At about dusk yesterday, crews used the UAS to gently bring fire down the hill down to a decommissioned road north of China Creek, which has been reopened for use as a fire line. Those operations were extremely successful, and firefighters will continue to work fire down the hill to meet that line. The intent is to carefully reduce vegetation up to the containment line, reducing fuels to take the energy out of the main fire. The southwestern edge of the fire (the point closest to Happy Camp) still has open line, but day shift crews are focusing today on strengthening lines in the China Point area and watching for spots across the river. While work on primary line continues, firefighters are also reopening and strengthening contingency lines for use if changing conditions cause fire activity to increase. Those lines are west of Highway 96 from Thompson Creek South, and north of the community of Seiad. Contingency line is also being built along the Wolf Creek Ridge on the fire’s southern edge. Alex: The Alex Fire has remained at 151 acres and is showing little heat. Crews continue to mop up lines and increase containment depth. Weather: Firefighters can expect another hot day with normal diurnal winds with gusts to 15 mph on ridges and in unsheltered areas. Humidity and moisture recovery will continue to be critically low. A slight chance of thunderstorms persists for the afternoon. Evacuations and closures:
Evacuations are in effect in the fire area. For information on evacuations, please visit https://community.zonehaven.com/ To sign up for alerts, including critical evacuation information, please visit https://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/emergencyservices/page/codered-emergency-alert. Highway 96 remains closed due to the McKinney Fire. Fire restrictions and an emergency fire area closure are in effect on the Klamath National Forest. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/klamath/alerts-notices/ Information about the McKinney Fire (east of the Yeti Fire along Highway 96) is available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8287/