Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

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gregw822
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Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by gregw822 »

I've just heard that the Lamarck Lakes/Piute Pass trailheads are closed due a fire. I'm supposed to head for Lamarck Col on the 28th. Does anyone have information on the current conditions? Name of the fire?
Thanks
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by copeg »

I just stumbled upon this article:
http://yubanet.com/regional/Forks-Fire- ... Canyon.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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.
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by copeg »

http://yubanet.com/regional/Forks-Fire- ... uly-20.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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.
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gregw822
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by gregw822 »

Thanks. I heard the fire had grown to 30,000 acres. I guess it was 3,000 and I didn't hear the ranger correctly.
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by BrianF »

More Info here: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1747/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I've got a trip up that way in 2 weeks, hopefully it will be out soon.
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by Rockstar fisherman »

The fire was raging when I drove through Bishop yesterday around 3:30pm. However it looked like a storm hit it which may have wet the soil some but I have no clue if it did any good. One of our friends who was on the fishing trip with us got called in to be the PIO for the fire, I'm still awaiting to hear from him how the condidions are. Like I said when we saw it, it was raging but then the smoke died down due to storms later on....
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by frediver »

Is a map available that will outline the extent of the fire?
I did some more checking and found a map with a push pin, I was hoping
to see something with the fire lines registered. Oh well it's better than nothing.
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dmx
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by dmx »

The road has been reported as open again now... sounds like those of your heading up to North/South this weekend will be able to get there ;)

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/conditions/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by maverick »

You guys need to worry not only about the fire, but the smoke.
If the smoke is bad enough it can be very difficult to breath, and can be
detrimental to your health!
I have been out during smoky times and it really burned my eyes, and I had to
use a wet bandanna over my mouth to be able to breath, not fun, not to mention
it ruined the views.
If the winds are not blowing in your direction during your trip than things should
be fine, check the weather forecast for the direction of the prevailing winds.
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Re: Fire closes Piute/Lamarck?

Post by gary c. »

Maveric is right. I have a friend that spent 4 days in an area that was not really that bad but constantly hazy. After he was home a couple of days he got a bad cough and some breathing problems. When he went to the Dr. he told him it was an infection and gave hime a bunch of anti-biotics to take. it took a couple of weeks before he could beath freely again.
"On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility. Here for a few days we have ceased to be slaves and have really been men. It is hard to return to servitude."
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