Forest fire continues to spread
Rough Fire tops 72,000 acres
Officials with the U.S. Forest Service said firefighters have gained ground on containing the Rough Fire burning in the Sierra and Sequoia national forests, but the percentage of containment remains relatively low because the fire is growing in size.
Officials with the U.S. Forest Service said firefighters have gained ground on containing the Rough Fire burning in the Sierra and Sequoia national forests, but the percentage of containment remains relatively low because the fire is growing in size.
As of Monday morning, officials said the fire had burned 72,300 acres, making it the largest fire burning in California right now. The fire grew by 12,000 acres since Friday.
Lyn Fieliet, fire information officer, said much of the acreage growth has been intentional as firefighters are conducting several “firing” operations to burn fuel in advance of the flames. Those operations are continuing and they are also contributing to the smoke coming off the fire that was very thick over Porterville Monday morning.
The fire is so larger there two commands — one for the south end and one for the north end. Fieliet said both ends “have is- sues” firefighters are having to deal with.
“The south has more resources and communities to protect while the north has a wilderness area and high power transmission lines,” she said. Also, the north end is steeper and more difficult to reach.
The fire is burning away from Hume Lake although that area remains closed as does most areas near the fire. All campgrounds in the Kings Canyon National Park are closed.
Firefighters are still protecting what officials describe as “relics.” Those are centuriesold sequoia trees and sequoia stumps logged long ago. Efforts have begun to protect the Cedar Grove area should the fire reach there.
According to Monday morning’s update, the fire is expected to move toward the east and has reached Lewis Creek in the Monarch Wilderness. Terrain, wind and dead trees have allowed the fire to make long runs.
“Firing operations last night were successful in the south- west portion reaching south toward Buck Rock.” Firing continued in the Converse Valley, said the report.
The Buck Rock Lookout is located in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, between Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. From a distance the lookout appears to be a small shack teetering atop a rock hundreds of feet above the surrounding forest. It was the Buck Rock Lookout that reported the fire.
In the Monarch Wilderness, the Forest Service mules from the Sierra National Forest are being utilized to pack supplies into the fire.
Forest Service employees Debbie Mcdougald and John Sprik are two such packers. As part of the Rough Fire team, they will each be leading a string of five mules out into the wilderness to resupply the Wilderness Fire Module personnel currently deployed. Each mule will be carrying about 150 pounds of gear which will be used for restocking the fire crews in the modules. As part of their operations in the wilderness, the two will haul in gear and haul out refuse and backhaul from the teams, using the Wishon Work Center as their base.
Fieliet said the fire remains a major concern. “As long as fire is actively burning, we’re not out of the woods,” she said.
The Rough Fire was ignited by lighting in the Kings River Canyon on July 31. It is now in its 33rd day. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the fire spotted across the South Fork of the Kings River and crossed Highway 180 in the area of Horseshoe Bend and became established in the Lockwood Creek Drainage. As a result of the fire crossing the river, the pre-planned evacuation of the Hume Lake area was implemented. Over 2,500 campers, hikers, employees and residents were notified and safely evacuated from Hume Lake Christian Camps, private cabins, campgrounds, and the surrounding area in just over 2½ hours.
As the fire spread existing closure orders were expanded to include almost the entire Hume Lake Ranger District.