High Sierra Topix

The Woodward Fire, located in the Point Reyes National Seashore, started August 18th, 2020 around 2:27pm just south of the Woodward Trail, west of the Bear Valley Visitor Center in Olema, California and about one mile inland from Limantour Beach. The cause of the fire was determined to be lightning. Firefighters from the National Park Service and Marin County Fire began suppression efforts. The fire has burned 2739 acres of dense vegetation as of August 25 and is 5% contained. Smoke from the fire continues to impact Marin and San Francisco counties and has contributed to air quality alerts in these areas.

The fire continues to burn south of Limantour Road, north of Bear Valley Trail, and west of Shoreline Highway (State Route 1). The area is steep with limited access on foot, causing challenges for firefighters. Air resources began operations on August 20 and a federal type 1 National Incident Management Team (NR Team 2) assumed command of the fire on August 23. Resources have identified strategic geographic ridges to hold the fire and Fireline personnel are continuing to construct direct and indirect control lines. Additional ground resources continue to arrive.

See Announcements tab for evacuation orders and warnings.

The National Park Service has closed the Point Reyes National Seashore to visitors and traffic in the area is limited to local residents only to allow easier access for firefighters.