Single Publication

Current Situation: Sunday evening, October 3, 2021 (also posted on Sequoia National Forest's Facebook page)

The #WindyFire is currently estimated to be 94,032 (a 1,559-acre increase from Sunday morning’s reported acreage). Containment is 65 percent.

On the west side where the fire is burning in the Tule River Indian Reservation, weather conditions provided crews with an opportunity to start the planned strategic firing operation off dozers lines. They are slowly advancing the fire downslope to create a buffer that will halt the main fire’s westward spread. Indirect fire-suppression tactics are being used on the west side because crews and equipment cannot safely get close to main fire. They have constructed dozer and handline as close as possible to the fire’s edge to minimize the fire’s footprint.

On the east side, firefighters continued to mop up and secure the direct handline they constructed south of Johnsondale to Speas Ridge. Another favorable day for air operations allowed helicopters to conduct numerous water and retardant drops on the hottest area, between Tobias Creek and Ant Canyon, that the ground crews cannot access. The air-operations director reported that as of late afternoon, helicopters had dropped approximately 40,000 gallons of retardant today.

Along the contained sections of the fire’s perimeter, crews are continuing the multi-day process of “mopping up,” or extinguishing, hotspots. They are also starting to backhaul excess equipment, supplies, and garbage. For example, fire hose, pumps, and tools that no longer needed on the firelines are being returned to the base camps where they will be prepared for shipping and returned to a national supply cache for cleaning and storage.

Monday’s weather is expected to be similar to Sunday’s, with warm, dry, very windy conditions persisting. Cooler, moister weather isn’t likely to enter the area until late this week.

Join us on the Sequoia National Forest’s Facebook page for a livestreamed public meeting tonight at 7:00. You can also call or watch on Zoom (meeting ID: 160 212 1141; passcode: J227!q; call-in phone number: 669-254-5252).

 At the meeting's conclusion, the video of the meeting will be available on the Sequoia National Forest Facebook page or on YouTube.