Creek Fire Incident Briefing will be aired this evening starting at 7 PM on the Sierra National Forest Facebook page > https://www.facebook.com/SierraNF

CREEK FIRE

INCIDENT UPDATE

Date: 09/16/2020 Time: 9:00
 

INCIDENT FACTS

Incident Start Date: 09/04/2020

 Incident Start Time: 6:33 p.m.

Incident Type: Wildland Fire

Cause: Under Investigation

Incident Location: Both sides of the San Joaquin River near Mammoth Pool, Shaver Lake, Big Creek and Huntington Lake.

Forest/CAL FIRE Units: Sierra National Forest, CAL FIRE Units Fresno-Kings and Madera-Mariposa-Merced

Unified Command Agencies: Great Basin Team 1, CAL FIRE 1, Fresno County Sheriff, Madera County Sheriff

 Size: 220,025

Containment: 18%

 Firefighter Injuries/Fatalities: 0

Expected Full Containment: 10/15/2020

 Structures Threatened: 9,934

Structures Destroyed: 650*

Structures Damaged: 52*

CURRENT SITUATION

Current Situation:

Fresno County: A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Thursday afternoon through Friday. Firefighters are preparing for a significant weather change across the fire area as the high-pressure system that has been over the area moves east. A low-pressure system moving over California will bring clear air, gusty winds and cooler temperatures at the higher elevations. These conditions will give the fire a chance to become more active and begin pushing it toward lines that have not yet been wind tested.

The weather will affect several conditions on the fireline. Currently, in many areas of the fire, the flames are low intensity and slowly eating away fuels on the surface. Since all the vegetation has not been consumed, as the winds pick up, the intensity of fire will grow as it is pushed toward lines. This will test the established perimeter line. Firefighters have been improving containment lines established during the incident and several shaded fuel breaks constructed prior to the Creek fire to stop or divert fire spread.

A tactical firing operation that began yesterday in Cherry Valley will continue today. This operation will tie the fire edge into the dozer line that has been in place for several days. The plan is to fire when appropriate and build direct line on the fire’s edge whenever it is safe to do so. This operation will burn out approximately 5,000 acres of fuel between the dozer line and the fire. The objective is to keep the fire out of Blue Canyon, ultimately protecting Shaver Lake, and to establish solid control lines.

Safety is always a primary concern for firefighters. The winds are expected to cause multiple weakened and dead trees in the fire area to fall. The effort to remove the trees near the fireline and roadways has been ongoing. Lower temperatures at the higher elevations could also be a problem. The cooler air will flow down the San Joaquin River drainage and bring high winds to the lines at the bottom of the drainage.

There are over 250 miles of fireline to be improved or constructed. This includes dozer line protecting the last Sugar Pine stand in the state. This ½ acre of Sugar Pine is expected to repopulate the species throughout California.

Madera County: Estimated containment for the fire has increased to 18%. The weather conditions yesterday afternoon brought more of a southwest wind, which allowed for some clearing of the smoke conditions along the west side of the fire. Today’s weather conditions will feature lower humidity levels which may fall below 10% relative humidity, with very little recovery overnight. This dry air coupled with clearing smoke conditions may lead to increased fire activity this afternoon, especially along the northern fire perimeter. Wind conditions will increase Thursday afternoon into Friday in the higher elevations of the Sierra National Forest further supporting fire spread on the north and northeast flanks.

Road clearing operations continue along the 81 Road and Mammoth Pools Road. This will eventually provide safer access to the northern fire perimeter for the fire crews. Operations also continue to remove an estimated 1,500 cattle remaining in the fire area. Beekeepers are working on removing active beehives from along the fire lines, which will allow crews to work in those areas.

A major factor in containment progress along the perimeter are snag patches. These patches are areas of dead trees which have been burned but remain standing. These trees are a constant safety threat to fire crews and the greatest threats need to be felled. Residents returning to evacuated areas are advised to avoid these areas and to be aware of the danger of falling trees. Damage assessments are approximately 55% complete; the county will notify property owners directly as information becomes available.

The Madera County Sheriff’s office has again lifted evacuation orders, reducing the number of evacuated residents to approximately 11,000. As a result of the reduced evacuation orders, the Red Cross Temporary Evacuation Facility at the Mariposa Fairgrounds has been closed. Please visit the Sheriff’s website (QR code and complete web address below in yellow highlight) for current updates on evacuation orders and warnings.

Air operations are resuming missions slated for today. Please respect the Temporary Flight Restriction; keep drones away from the fire and firefighting operations. If you fly, we can’t! Don’t be the reason a firefighting air mission has to divert!

Evacuation Map:

The evacuation map of Creek Fire evacuations for Fresno and Madera counties is available online: https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=28ce52cb86bf49dea0adef5a78b3c1b5

Incident Briefing:

The Sierra National Forest will host an Incident Briefing Wednesday at 7pm via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/SierraNF/

Damage Inspection:

* Damage inspection teams are evaluating structures; assessments are approximately 55% complete. Madera County Sheriff’s Office is contacting property owners directly. A website is available for Fresno County properties that have been assessed to date: https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1933470ef8ea4c7e9cede56adf54efe1&extent=-13377356.4387%2C4419677.6073%2C-13142541.8878%2C4523937.7139%2C102100.

Sign Up for Emergency Alerts

Fresno County: https://t.co/Otack9NyKc?amp=1

Madera County: mcalert.org

Mariposa County: Sheriff Office, sign up with Everbridge: msoalert.com

Temporary Flight Restriction: Perimeter runs from South Merced River Fork on the south end of Yosemite National Park, south to Millerton Lake roughly following Route 41, east to King’s Canyon National Park, and north to Inyo National Forest. See: tfr.faa.gov

Evacuation Warnings:

Fresno County: Community of Prather. South of Little Sandy / Lodge Rd. North East of Tollhouse Rd. North of Millerton Rd. / Nicholas Rd. East Auberry Rd.

Madera County: O’Neals, Walker Grade, and Fish Camp. For a complete list of evacuation warnings, see the Sheriff’s website (QR code and complete web address in yellow highlight).

Road Closures:

Fresno County: Prather Roundabout, Tollhouse Road at Pittman Hill Road, Maxon Road at Trimmer Springs Road, Auberry Road at Jose Basin Road, Watts Valley Road at Maxon Road, SR-168 at Lodge Road

Madera County: Road 222 at 229A, Road 222 at Road 235, Road 225 at Road 274, Road 274 to Beashore Road, Road 274 at Central Camp, Road 632 at Buckskin

Closure updates are listed at: https://www.facebook.com/MaderaSheriff/.

Temporary Evacuation Points:

Fresno County

Clovis North High School - 2770 East International Ave. Clovis, CA

Animal Evacuation Centers:

Fresno County

Small animals – Clovis North 2770 East International Ave.

Large animals – The Fresno Fairgrounds, 1121 S Chance Ave, Fresno, CA 93702, is set up to receive evacuated animals but please contact the Central California Animal Disaster Team (888-402-2238) to make arrangements so animals can be received at the fairgrounds.

Madera County

Small animals – Oakhurst Community Center 39800 Road 425B Oakhurst, CA

Large animals – Producer’s Livestock Facility at Madera Farm Bureau, 1022 South Pine Street, Madera, CA

Damage Assessment Map:

Fresno County and Madera County:

To view an interactive damage assessment map for Fresno County and Madera County, open the following link:

  Fresno County Damage Assessment Map

Missing Persons:

Forest Service Temporarily Closes All National Forests in California

Contact(s): Jonathan Groveman, (707) 562-8995

VALLEJO, Calif., September 9, 2020—Due to unprecedented and historic fire conditions throughout the state, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region is announcing a temporary closure of an additional ten National Forests, meaning all eighteen National Forests in California are now closed. The closure of the additional ten forests will be effective at 5:00 pm today. These additional forests include the Eldorado National Forest, Klamath National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Mendocino National Forest, Modoc National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Plumas National Forest, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Tahoe National Forest, and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. This decision will be re-evaluated daily as conditions change.

We had closed eight National Forests on Monday evening, Sept. 7, 2020. Explosive growth of fires throughout California during the day and late evening of Sept. 8th led to this updated decision.

“The number of large fires and extreme fire behavior we are seeing across the State is historic," said Regional Forester Randy Moore. "These temporary closures are necessary to protect the public and our firefighters, and we will keep them in place until conditions improve and we are confident that National Forest visitors can recreate safely. I ask all Californians and visitors to take these closures and evacuations seriously for their own safety and to allow our firefighters to focus on the mission of safely suppressing these fires."

The Forest Service thanks our partners and the public for their cooperation and understanding of this monumental fire threat. It is critical that all Californians and national forest visitors follow these important closures and restrictions for their own safety and the safety of our firefighters. Citizens with specific questions within their area may call their local forests for more information.

The Forest Service manages 18 National Forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, which encompasses over 20 million acres across California, and assists forest landowners in California, Hawaii and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 50 percent of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state. For more information, visit www.fs.usda.gov/R5.

The Creek Fire Incident Management Teams continue to receive inquiries into how and what donations firefighters and community members are in need of. While the outpouring of support is truly appreciated, our Incident Command Posts and incident bases are set up to provide excellent logistical support, including food and other supplies, to first responders for the duration of the incident.

The Creek Fire Incident Management Teams would like to take this time to remind the public about the importance of adhering to all evacuations and road closures that local authorities put out. Rumors regarding possible permits or passes for certain residents are not correct. It is imperative that all public follows the evacuation orders and warnings issued in their respective area.

For further evacuation information, please go to our evacuation map: https://nifc.map.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=28ce52cb86bf49dea0adef5a78b3c1b5.
 

CREEK FIRE

INCIDENT UPDATE

Date: 09/13/2020 Time: 9:00

INCIDENT FACTS

Incident Start Date: 09/04/2020

Incident Start Time: 6:33 p.m.

Incident Type: Wildland Fire

Cause: Under Investigation

Incident Location: Both sides of the San Joaquin River near Mammoth Pool, Shaver Lake, Big Creek and Huntington Lake.

Forest/CAL FIRE Units: Sierra National Forest, CAL FIRE Units Fresno-Kings and Madera-Mariposa-Merced

Unified Command Agencies: Great Basin Team 1, CAL FIRE 1, Fresno County Sheriff, Madera County Sheriff

Size: 201,908

Containment: 8%

Expected Full Containment: 10/15/2020

Civilian Injuries:/Fatalities: 21/0

Firefighter Injuries/Fatalities: 0

Structures Threatened: 14,074

Structures Destroyed: 365*

Structures Damaged: 32*

CURRENT SITUATION

Current Situation:

Fresno County: Today the weather will transition and winds, combined with lower humidity and higher temperatures will begin to develop in the afternoon. The Creek Fire South Zone firefighters are working on multiple fronts that will become more active as the smoke clears.

A lot of good work has been accomplished over the four days that the smoke layer has held the fire activity down. Crews will fight to hold and improve on that work today, and to add to the progress that has already been made. Patrol and extinguishment of hot spots will be the focus around structures south of Huntington Lake where firefighters engaged with a defensive firing operation that saved several structures. Fire also challenged the line in the area of Old Bretz Mill and Sierra Cedars. Firefighters were able to hold the line, preventing the fire from moving toward nearby structures.

The fire did burn over the line yesterday in Jose Basin on the southwest edge of the fire. Crews will work to pick the area up as it backs down the hill. They will also be patrolling around structures and mopping up any hot spots.

Line construction will continue in multiple areas. Construction of fireline between Shaver Lake and Dinky Creek is a high priority for fire managers. The lack of a suitable ridge to the east to use as a contingency line is a concern. Fireline work will continue along Cherry Valley and into Blue Canyon where firefighters are concerned that the fire could become aligned with the wind and make a run. In the northeast the fire has been running along the North and South Zone dividing line for the fire. This finger of fire is burning in light fuels and moving toward natural rock barriers that will slow spread.

Madera County: The fire continues to push west toward Central Camp, challenging initial plans for containment lines in that area, but structure protection remains in place. Firefighters are developing and improving containment line on the west side of the fire from Redinger Lake north to Cascadel Woods and Central Camp.

The weather pattern is beginning to shift; increasing winds are likely to begin moving smoke out of the north end of the fire, which is also expected to encourage fire growth to the

northeast. Structure protection is underway on the north side of the fire, at Devil’s Post Pile National Monument, and Reds Meadows.

With better visibility, air operations are expected to resume. There have been conflicts between firefighting operations and drones. If you fly, we can’t! Please comply with the temporary flight restriction. Don’t be the reason a firefighting air mission has to divert from the operation.

The Madera County Sheriff continues to enforce evacuation notices and maintain road closures to protect the public. Damage assessments are in progress; the county will notify property owners directly as information becomes available. Firefighters are working to clear roads so that utility companies have access to restore service, as the sheriff’s office begins to develop plans for residents to return to communities.

Incident Briefing:

The Sierra National Forest will host an Incident Briefing Monday at 7pm via Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/SierraNF/

Damage Inspection:

* Damage inspection teams are evaluating structures; assessments are approximately 30% complete. Madera County Sheriff’s Office is contacting property owners directly. A website is available for Fresno County properties that have been assessed to date: https://calfire-forestry.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1933470ef8ea4c7e9cede56adf54efe1&extent=-13377356.4387%2C4419677.6073%2C-13142541.8878%2C4523937.7139%2C102100.

Closures and Alerts

Please register for evacuation alerts at:

Fresno County: Sheriff Office, sign up with Everbridge. https://t.co/Otack9NyKc?amp=1

Madera County: Emergency Warning Systems: mcalert.org

Mariposa County: Sheriff Office, sign up with Everbridge: msoalert.com

For missing persons contact: Fresno County Sheriff 559-600-3111

Madera County Sheriff 559-658-2555

Forest Closures issued by the USDA Forest Service: US Forest Service temporarily closes Southern California Forests, including the Sierra National Forest. Regional order number 20-07 Emergency Forest Closure.

Evacuation Orders:

Creek Fire Incident Briefing will be aired this evening starting at 7 PM on the Sierra National Forest Facebook page > https://www.facebook.com/SierraNF

#CreekFireUpdate - The evacuation map is now available for use and can be found at the following link > https://nifc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=28ce52cb86bf49dea0adef5a78b3c1b5&fbclid=IwAR3LERe1FqxdRjUKLvHj04q2N7WV0f729gKP53_XWZJzeYsgRrWWi3vJfyw 

Creek Fire Incident Briefing will be aired this evening starting at 7 PM on the Sierra National Forest Facebook page > https://www.facebook.com/SierraNF

CREEK FIRE EVACUATION UPDATE

EVACUATION ORDERS HAVE BEEN ISSUED

An Evacuation Order has been issued due to immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now.

FRESNO COUNTY EVACUATION ORDER:

Ø  Community of Tollhouse

Ø  Community of Bourrough Valley

Ø  Community of Cold Springs Rancheria

Ø  Watts Valley Road from Pittman Hill to Maxon Road

Ø  Maxon Road to Trimmer Springs Road

Ø  Pittman Hill from Humphreys Station to Sample Road to include all tertiary roads

TRAFFIC CONTROL POINTS

Ø  Prather Roundabout (SR-168 at Prather)

Ø  Watts Valley Road at Pittman Hill Road

Ø  SR-168 at Lodge Road

Ø  Sample Road at Pittman Hill Road

Ø  Auberry Road at Powerhouse Road

Ø  North Fork Road at Road 222

Ø  Trimmer Springs at Maxon Road

Ø  Tollhouse Road at Pittman Hill Road

Residents should leave these areas listed above and be sure to take any medications, pets, family valuables, etc. with you. Close all windows and leave all doors closed.

All residents are asked to be READY: Create and maintain defensible space and harden your home against flying embers. Get SET: Prepare your family and home ahead of time for the possibility of having to evacuate. Be Ready to GO! Take the evacuation steps necessary to give your family and home the best chance of surviving a wildfire.

For more information on “Ready, Set, Go”, go to www.readyforwildfire.org

For additional information on the Creek Fire, Fresno County residents should contact Creek Fire Information Line at (844) 668-3473. Or visit CAL FIRE online @ www.fire.ca.gov