2016 Fire and Smoke Impact Reports / Maps

[maverick]

5,565 acres at 50% contained.
http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4825/

[maverick]

[

b]Mammoth Lakes Times:[/b]

A fire on the west side of the Sierra crest is behind the smoke that has been drifting over the crest for the past few afternoons. The fire, called the Spring Fire, is burning near Lake Thomas Edison Lake, outside of Huntington Lake in the Sierra National Forest.

"On the north-east side of Lake Thomas Edison, the Spring Fire is currently burning in the Ansel Adams Wilderness of the Sierra National Forest," according to a news release. "The fire is 15 percent containment and is being fully suppressed by all available resources on the Forest.

The fire was detected on Thursday, July 14, and by the end of the day it was eight acres," the news release stated on Friday, July 15. "Currently, the fire has grown to 40 acres. The fire is burning in a dead and down wood, which is producing smoke for the Eastern Sierra and Inyo County. At this time there are 75 personnel, two helicopters and one air attack assigned to the fire. There are no structures threatened at this time. Hikers and campers visiting the area have been warned about the possibility of smoky conditions through the next week."

Devil’s Bathtub hiking trail is closed.

[maverick]

Here is a link for smoke impact information in CA, there are many active fires across the state which can effect areas far beyond the immediiate fires, for example we in the Bay Area had brown smokey skies yesterday from the fire down in Big Sur.
http://californiasmokeinfo.blogspot.com/

[SSSdave]

On Friday July 15 when we took the morning ferry across Edison Reservoir, the Spring Fire had put lots of smoke all about the Vermilion Valley Resort, Edison campground, and all lower areas for a few miles along the SF of the San Joaquin. Very unpleasant breathing the air that morning. Later that day with strong afternoon up canyon winds smoke blew up all the SFSR canyons including where we were on the NF of Mono Creek. Smoke also went over the Silver Divide into the Fish Creek areas we were heading towards and out into the Mammoth region. Smoke was blotting out the sky above us till about midnight that had me considering abandoning our trip over the Silver Divide, hiking out, and getting another permit for Red Mountain Basin. Smoke is a disaster for photography. But by dawn the smoke had cleared with blue skies above. So we continued up camping at Bighorn Lake and smoke again moved up the canyon with the afternoon winds however was not as bad as Friday. The following days we were north of the Silver Divide and only occasionally smelled smoke that was an indication the fire had burned through whatever heavier timber and was just smoldering. On our ferry return trip we could see minor smoke rising in the area indicating they were letting it burn at that level.

[SSSdave]

As we move into August the current map of smoke over most of the West is once again as has been the case for much of the last decade looking depressing for we backpackers, especially those of us that are photographers.

http://wxshift.com/news/us-wildfires-one-map

Only the Northwest is looking ok at the moment. I have a 10-day backpacking trip set for Pine Creek starting tomorrow night and last night just finished all the effort of pre trip packing but am now likely to cancel that reservation and instead drive 850 miles north to Mt Rainier. Note just last week I had cancelled my Shepherd Pass reservation because of dry hot conditions in the far Southern Sierra plus smoke from the Sand Fire near LA.

David

[maverick]

AIR QUALITY ALERT MESSAGE
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
1145 PM PDT MON AUG 1 2016

THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT HAS ISSUED
AN AIR QUALITY ALERT DUE TO SMOKE IMPACTS IN SAN JOAQUIN,
STANISLAUS, MERCED, MADERA, FRESNO, KINGS, TULARE, AND THE VALLEY
PORTION OF KERN COUNTIES FROM THE SOBERANES FIRE IN MONTEREY
COUNTY AND THE GOOSE FIRE IN FRESNO COUNTY.

THIS AIR QUALITY ALERT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL TUESDAY AFTERNOON
AUGUST 2.

EXPOSURE TO PARTICLE POLLUTION CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS,
AGGRAVATE LUNG DISEASE, CAUSE ASTHMA ATTACKS AND ACUTE
BRONCHITIS, AND INCREASE RISK OF RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS.

RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO USE CAUTION AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
PEOPLE WITH HEART OR LUNG DISEASES SHOULD FOLLOW THEIR DOCTORS
ADVICE FOR DEALING WITH EPISODES OF UNHEALTHY AIR QUALITY.

ADDITIONALLY, OLDER ADULTS AND CHILDREN SHOULD AVOID PROLONGED
EXPOSURE, STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES OR HEAVY EXERTION, AS CONDITIONS
DICTATE.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CALL YOUR LOCAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
AIR DISTRICT OFFICE

[maverick]

NWS:

Air Quality Alert

CAC019-029-031-039-047-077-099-107-032300-
FRESNO-KERN-KINGS-MADERA-MARIPOSA-MERCED-SAN JOAQUIN-STANISLAUS-
TULARE-

AIR QUALITY ALERT MESSAGE
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT
RELAYED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY CA
140 AM PDT WED AUG 3 2016

THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT HAS ISSUED
AN AIR QUALITY ALERT DUE TO SMOKE IMPACTS IN SAN JOAQUIN,
STANISLAUS, MERCED, MADERA, FRESNO, KINGS, TULARE, AND THE VALLEY
PORTION OF KERN COUNTIES FROM THE SOBERANES FIRE IN MONTEREY
COUNTY AND THE GOOSE FIRE IN FRESNO COUNTY.

THIS AIR QUALITY ALERT IS IN EFFECT UNTIL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
AUGUST 3.

EXPOSURE TO PARTICLE POLLUTION CAN CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS,
AGGRAVATE LUNG DISEASE, CAUSE ASTHMA ATTACKS AND ACUTE
BRONCHITIS, AND INCREASE RISK OF RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS.

RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO USE CAUTION AS CONDITIONS WARRANT.
PEOPLE WITH HEART OR LUNG DISEASES SHOULD FOLLOW THEIR DOCTORS
ADVICE FOR DEALING WITH EPISODES OF UNHEALTHY AIR QUALITY.

ADDITIONALLY, OLDER ADULTS AND CHILDREN SHOULD AVOID PROLONGED
EXPOSURE, STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES OR HEAVY EXERTION, AS CONDITIONS
DICTATE.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CALL YOUR LOCAL SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
AIR DISTRICT OFFICE.

[BigMan]

I'm very sensitive to smoke but I couldn't smell any smoke or feel any breathing issues.

[maverick]

The Clark Fire is a lightning-caused fire that was detected yesterday afternoon. It is estimated to be 1,603 acres and 10% contained.

The fire is burning near Bald Mountain, east of Highway 395, and north of the Owens River Road.

The fire is burning at 7,000 - 8,000 feet in elevation in sagebrush and cheat grass and into Jeffrey pine in the higher elevations.

The fire remained active throughout night and burned north towards Bald Mountain and into Indiana Summit Research Natural Area; primarily burning in Jeffrey pine forest.

Crews focused on fireline on the south east flank of the fire to protect nearby private developments and ranches and used nearby forest service roads as containment lines. They will continue to strengthen these lines today.

Clark Canyon, a popular climbing area, has been evacuated. Afternoon wind and low relative humidity continues to be a concern for fire crews.

There are several Forest Service roads that lead to the Bald Mountain area and visitors are advised to avoid these roads and the fire area for their safety and firefighter safety.

There are numerous hand crews, engines, air tankers, helicopters, air attack and lead planes, and a dozer assigned to the fire. There are approximately 200 people assigned to the incident.

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4927/

[maverick]

The Rock Creek Fire is estimated to be 185 acres and 5% contained. Down canyon winds last night pushed the fire south beyond the containment line towards Swall Meadows. The fire response today will focus on securing the southern flank of the fire and then using that as an anchor to secure the open fireline. This fire is burning in brush, cheat grass, pinyon pine, and juniper. Continuous fine fuels from the cheat grass and winds allow this fire to grow quickly. Swall Meadows has been evacuated and the Crowley Lake Community Center has been set up for a evacuation center. Four crews, 15 engines, 2 helicopters, and 2 air tankers, 3 water tenders, and a dozer are assigned to the incident.
Lower Rock Creek Road is closed between Swall Meadows and Highway 395. The fire is under investigation but appears to be human caused. Low relative humidity and afternoon winds continue to be concern. A Type II team has been ordered due to increased fire activity on the Inyo and the additional needs for firefighter.

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4928/