High Sierra Topix

July 19, 2009 - As of 12:00 noon today, Sunday July 19, the Forks Fire located up Bishop Creek Canyon is estimated to be 2000 acres.

This morning the fire suppression efforts consisted of 6 airtankers, 5 handcrews, 7 engines, and numerous overhead.

* Four campgrounds remain evacuated - Bitterbrush, Forks, Intake and Bishop Park.

* The community of Aspendell is under mandatory evacuation by the Inyo County Sheriff's Department.

* An Evacuation Center has been opened at the Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop.

* Highway 168 is closed to traffic going up Bishop Creek, two miles west of Bishop. Residents of Starlite are being allowed in.

* Backpackers coming out of the backcountry and others desiring to leave campgrounds that have not been evacuated are being escorted out of the canyon by law enforcement personnel.

Yesterday a total of 26 lightning fires were ignited on the Inyo National Forest. The three largest are a10 acre fire up above Division Creek, an 80 acre fire north of Crowley Lake known as the North Glass Fire, and the 2000 acre Forks Fire.

A Type II Team has been called in from Southern California to assist with the suppression of the Forks Fire. They are scheduled to arrive tonight and will take over the management of the fire at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning.

July 20, 2009 - As of 8:00 this morning the Forks Fire burning in Bishop Creek Canyon is estimated to be about 2100 acres. Light rain fell on the fire late yesterday afternoon causing the relative humidity to remain high throughout the night, so the fire did not grow significantly.

A mandatory evacuation remains in effect for all campgrounds, resorts, marinas, and pack stations in the Bishop Creek drainage, as well as the residential communities of Aspendell and South Fork. Starlite remains under voluntary evacuation. Residents who leave Starlite will be allowed back in if they have proof of residency and have a reason for returning home.

The Evacuation Center in Bishop has been re-located to Pine Street School.

This morning between the hours of 10:00 and 12:00 AM, campers will be escorted in to the campgrounds that they were evacuated from in order to retreive their belongings. All must be back out of the canyon by 1:00 PM.

Fire managers and the Inyo County Sheriff's Department will be evaluating the situation this afternoon and will attempt to make an announcement by 5:00 this evening regarding whether or not the evacuation will be lifted tomorrow.