Big Sky Fire Update - August 8, 2022 - 8:30 a.m.

For More Information Contact: Lea FeugePublic Information OfficerCity of Fredericksburg(830)997-7521LFeuge@fbgtx.org
Fredericksburg, TX - The Big Sky Fire near Willow City, north of Fredericksburg, is now being estimated atapproximately 1,459 acres with 95% containment. The cause of the fire has been determined as a mechanical malfunction on a piece of equipment which sparked the fire.
 Texas A&M Forest Service resources continue to work through the day improving containment lines and monitoring for hot spots with approximately 50 personnel on the ground.
 No homes have been lost; however, three barn/shed type structures have been lost to the fire. No evacuations were made throughout the day today. Current weather conditions make predicting when 100% containment will be obtained difficult. Crews will continue to remain on scene until the fire is 100% contained.

 
Big Sky Fire Update - August 5, 2022 - 1:30 p.m.

For More Information Contact: Lea FeugePublic Information OfficerCity of Fredericksburg(830)997-7521LFeuge@fbgtx.org
Fredericksburg, TX - The Big Sky Fire near Willow City, north of Fredericksburg, is now being estimated at approximately 1,459 acres with 80% containment.
 The cause of the fire has been determined as a mechanical malfunction on a piece of equipment whichsparked the fire.
 Resources continue to work to establish containment lines with over 50 personnel on the ground.
 Local resources will remain on scene overnight, monitoring points of concern.
 No homes have been lost; however, three barn/shed type structures have been lost to the fire. Noevacuations were made throughout the day today.
 Current weather conditions make predicting when 100% containment will be obtained difficult. Crewswill continue to remain on scene until the fire is 100% contained.

For More Information Contact:  Lea Feuge Public Information Officer City of Fredericksburg (830)997-7521 LFeuge@fbgtx.org

Big Sky Fire Update - August 4, 2022 - 3:30 p.m. Fredericksburg, TX - The Big Sky Fire near Willow City, north of Fredericksburg, is now being estimated at approximately 1,459 acres with 60% containment. The cause of the fire has been determined as a mechanical malfunction on a piece of equipment which sparked the fire. Resources continue to work to establish containment lines with over 80 personnel on the ground. Local resources will remain on scene overnight, monitoring points of concern. No homes have been lost; however, three barn/shed type structures have been lost to the fire. No evacuations were made throughout the day today. Current weather conditions make predicting when 100% containment will be obtained difficult. Crews will continue to remain on scene until the fire is 100% contained.

 Press Release

Big Sky Fire Update - August 4, 2022   1:00 p.m.
 For More Information Contact: 

Lea FeugePublic Information OfficerCity of Fredericksburg(830)997-7521LFeuge@fbgtx.org
 Fredericksburg, TX - The Big Sky Fire near Willow City, north of Fredericksburg, is now being estimated at approximately 1,400 acres with 50% containment.
 Resources continue to work to establish containment lines with over 80 personnel on the ground.
 Local resources remained on scene overnight, monitoring points of concern.
 No homes have been lost; however, three barn/shed type structures have been lost to the fire. No evacuations were made overnight.
 Current weather conditions make predicting when 100% containment will be obtained difficult. Crews will continue to remain on scene until the fire is 100% contained.

Press Release
 
For Immediate Release: August 3, 2022 - 12:12 p.m

For More Information Contact:. Lea Feuge Public Information Officer City of Fredericksburg (830)997-7521 LFeuge@fbgtx.org

Big Sky Fire Update - August 3, 2022 - 12:12 p.m. Fredericksburg, TX -

On Tuesday, August 2, 2022, at approximately 12:11 p.m., a call came into Fredericksburg Fire EMS for a Grass Fire in the area of Eckert Rd and Foster Ranch Rd near Willow City.

At approximately 12:18 p.m., the Wildland Task Force Level 1 was activated, and resources were requested from Llano County and Blanco County. Resources were received from Llano, Bexar, Kendall, Kerr, Mason, and McCollough Counties. Resources were also received from the Texas A&M Forrest Service including ground crews and aircraft, including seven fixed wing and two helicopters. Local resources remained on scene overnight, monitoring points of concern.

As of Wednesday, August 3, 2022, Texas A&M Forrest Service and local resources continue operations with approximately 100 personnel on the ground and in the air. The Texas A&M Forrest Service has estimated approximately 1,400 acres have burned and the perimeter is estimated at 25% containment. No homes have been lost; however, three barn/shed type structures have been lost to the fire. Current weather conditions make predicting when 100% containment will be obtained difficult. Crews will continue to remain on scene until the fire is 100% contained. ###

Smoke Rider Fire is now 80% contained. Size was updated from 800 acres to 1,210 acres due to more accurate mapping. During the initial attack period of firefighting, acreage is often estimated by aircraft or ground crews, and is subject to change until the full perimeter can be mapped with a GPS unit. No evacuation orders or road closures are in effect.

All containment lines have been completed by heavy equipment. Crews on scene are engaged in heavy mop-up operations. One type 3 light helicopter is being utilized to perform water bucket drops on interior hot spots in difficult terrain. Smoke is still visible in the fire interior during the heat of the day. Humidity is slightly higher and winds are lower than earlier in the week, however elevated fire weather conditions are still forecasted. Crews will continue to mitigate heat and patrol the fire to ensure full containment is reached. 

As always, do not fly unauthorized drones near or over wildfires. Drone incursions pose a risk to firefighting aircraft, and aviation resources will be removed from the airspace until drones are secured.  

On Wednesday crews continued to work on constructing containment lines around the Smoke Rider Fire. Containment is now 60%. No new fire perimeter growth occurred in the past 24 hours, and no new evacuation orders were placed. Fire activity on Wednesday was low in the morning, then as humidity sunk and winds and temperatures raised, numerous interior hot spots began to smolder and flare up unburned pockets of vegetation. Similar conditions are expected today, and crews will continue to mop up these hot spots. 1 large air tanker (LAT) and 1 very large air tanker (VLAT) resources were utilized Wednesday morning to put down contingency lines of fire retardant on the west flank of the fire where dozer line was not complete. 2 National Guard Blackhawk helicopters were used to drop water on hot spots in the fire interior. 

It was confirmed on Wednesday that multiple structures were lost on Tuesday evening, including 3 residential structures, and a trailer. The cause of this fire remains under investigation. A temporary flight restriction remains in effect over the fires airspace. 

Size: 800 acres estimated
Cause: Under Investigation
Containment: 30%

All mandatory evacuations are lifted and home owners have been allowed back to their residences. The shelter at Blanco Methodist Church is still open today if necessary. All roads have reopened. Expect frequent emergency vehicle traffic, and travel with extreme caution.  A temporary flight restriction remains in place over the fire area. 

Fire activity diminished overnight with humidity recovery to near 90%. Elevated to near critical fire weather is forecasted today in the area. Crews will continue to construct containment lines using heavy equipment, and hand crews. Engine strike teams will be used for structure protection and mop up of hot spots. Aviation resources have been requested including an air attack reconnaissance plane and helicopter.  

Fish Fire Update

Monday, August 9, 2022 – 9:00 a.m.

Wyoming State Type 3 IMT 3

Timothy Sherwin, Incident Commander

Information Phone: 307-363-0046

Email: 2022.fish.sd@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Fish Fire is now 98% contained. It is currently being managed by the Wyoming State Type 3 Incident Management Team 3 led by Incident Commander, Timothy Sherwin. Firefighters continue to work on completing and improving line, checking for remaining heat and repairing areas disturbed during the fire suppression efforts. 

Current Situation: Fire crews made additional headway on the Fish Fire yesterday. While fuels will continue to dry and temperatures will rise as the week progresses, no to low rates of fire spread are expected to continue for the next couple of days. This will aid firefighters in their progress towards full containment. The number of personnel has been downsized to 178; remaining resources include 3 crews, 14 engines and 2 bulldozers. The Fish Fire will be turned back to the local agencies when the circumstances allow.

Three firefighting divisions remain on the Fish Fire. Division A is working on the last section of uncontained line east of Bear Den spring. There were several areas of heat here, which crews and engines will continue to mop up and cold trail, as well as patrol the line in the remainder of the division.

Division M is fully contained; crews and engines will be “gridding” (searching for fire/heat by systematically traveling over an area on parallel courses or gridlines) to a chain’s length (66 feet) inside the fireline.

The Repair Division continues their work to restore or mitigate impacts caused by firefighting activities, reducing the visual aspects of disturbance, reducing risk of soil erosion, and speeding recovery of the soil and vegetation.

There will be a reconnaissance flight today to evaluate fire status and conditions. This gives the fire managers a different perspective then from the ground, and ensures that no areas of the fire needing additional attention have been missed.   

Weather & Fuel Conditions: Heat is expected to return today, with temperatures in the low to mid 90s, and relative humidity falling to 15-20%. Skies will remain clear, with light and variable winds. It is expected to remain hot and dry for the rest of the week, with poor to fair recovery in the relative humidity overnight.

Closures and Fire Restrictions:

An Area Closure is still in place for the Fish Fire on Black Hills National Forest. For additional information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/blackhills/notices/?cid=STELPRDB5117120.

For fire restrictions on all lands within the Black Hills, visit http://www.blackhillsfirerestrictions.com/

Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Fish Fire Statistics:

Size: 6793 acres

Containment: 98%

Total Personnel: 178

Location: 7 mi. S. of Sundance, WY

Reported: July 31, 2022

Cause: human caused, under investigation

For More Information:

  Information Phone: 307-363-0046

 Email: 2022.fish.sd@firenet.gov

  InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8294/

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FishFireSD/

Interactive Webmap: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0282bb2ef0fe4767a837859ba1c3c6f4

Fish Fire Update

Monday, August 8, 2022 – 9:00 a.m.

Wyoming State Type 3 IMT 3

Timothy Sherwin, Incident Commander

Information Phone: 307-363-0046

Email: 2022.fish.sd@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

This morning the Wyoming State Type 3 Incident Management Team 3 led by Incident Commander, Timothy Sherwin, took over command of the Fish Fire. The fire is now at 96% containment, as firefighters work on completing and improving line, cleaning up hot spots, pulling hose and repairing areas disturbed during the fire suppression efforts. 

Current Situation: Saturday’s rain helped slow and cool the fire, and low rates of spread are expected for the next couple of days. This gives firefighters an opportunity to make further progress towards full containment prior to an increase in temperatures to the 90’s, lower humidity and decreasing moisture in the fuels as the week progresses.

Fireline divisions have been combined as the number of firefighting personnel have been adjusted due to improved containment status. Full containment has been achieved in two divisions and the Structure Group has completed their chipping operations. Two Divisions (A and M) will remain on the fire line, and an additional Repair Division has been added.

Division A: Firefighters will be mopping up and cold trailing on the west and southeast sides of the fire to ensure the edge of the fire is contained. 

Division M: Firefighters will be mopping up and cold trailing the northern side of the fire to ensure that the edge of the fire is contained.

During the mop up process, hand tools and water are used to extinguish any remaining heat. This involves breaking up large fuels like logs and stumps, felling snags, stirring up the duff and soil to expose and cool hot embers and ensuring that no burning material escapes the containment line. During cold trailing, firefighters carefully inspect the line, physically checking for heat with bare hands.

Repair Division: The job of this division is to restore or mitigate impacts caused by firefighting activities. Work may occur on firelines, safety zones, drop points, fire camps, helicopter landing areas, water-drafting sites and roads that were used as fuel breaks. Heavy equipment is used to remove berms, water bars are established as needed to prevent soil erosion, vegetation and woody debris are pulled back over firelines and other disturbed areas to slow erosion, prevent establishment of off -road travel corridors and encourage plant reestablishment.

Weather & Fuel Conditions: Temperatures are expected to rise as the week continues. Today’s highs should read the 80s, with humidity dropping to around 25%, with clear skies and light and variable winds. By Tuesday, temperatures will return to the 90s with humidity falling to 15%; winds will continue to be light. Conditions will remain hot and dry throughout the week, with decreasing fuel moistures.

Closures and Fire Restrictions:

An Area Closure is still in place for the Fish Fire on Black Hills National Forest. For additional information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/blackhills/notices/?cid=STELPRDB5117120.

For fire restrictions on all lands within the Black Hills, visit http://www.blackhillsfirerestrictions.com/

Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Fish Fire Statistics:

Size: 6793 acres

Containment: 96%

Total Personnel: 251

Location: 7 mi. S. of Sundance, WY

Reported: July 31, 2022

Cause: human caused, under investigation

For More Information:
Information Phone: 307-363-0046
Email: 2022.fish.sd@firenet.gov
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8294/
Youtube: https://youtu.be/mFmGW7aLDQ8
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FishFireSD/
Interactive Webmap: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0282bb2ef0fe4767a837859ba1c3c6f4