Pier Fire control returns to local team
Overall containment at 85 percent
This morning command of the Pier Fire was expected to be transferred to a local team from the Sequoia National Forest and the Tule River Indian Reservation, the U.S. Forest Service reported.
The fire burning in the canyon above Springville since Aug. 29 has burned 36,556 acres and was 85 percent contained as of Sunday morning.
The fire has been under the supervision of California Interagency Incident Management Team 5 since the first week of the wildfire that was caused by someone lighting fire to a stolen car and pushing it down a mountain side. No arrests have been made in the case. The inci-
dent command post will remain at the Porterville Fairgrounds.
California Interagency Incident Management Team 5, under the command of Mike Minton, thanked cooperators and community members for their support throughout the fire-suppression effort.
Over the weekend and due to favorable weather conditions, firefighters were able to conduct a firing operation on the ridge above Blue Canyon to the dozer lines east of the 2¼ Road within the Tule River Indian Reservation. The final containment line is now complete between these two points. The majority of active fire will be well within containment lines and residual smoke from this location will be visible to local residents. The escape potential is low, with overall containment at 85 percent.
The spot fire on the east side near Pierpoint Springs was still being monitored by firefighters. Ground fuels continue to burn within contingency lines, removing future potential of ignition.
A portion of Highway 190 between County Road 208 and Pierpoint Springs remains closed. The incident management team and cooperators are aware that it is a burden to residents and travelers; however, the road will remain closed until safer travel is attainable. The current hazards that keep Highway 190 closed are being evaluated daily. Once hazards within our control are mitigated, the road will be opened.
Crews continue to identify and cut hazard trees and remove debris from roadways. Firefighters will continue to patrol and mop-up containment lines. Anticipate smoke throughout the interior and perimeter of the fire for an extended period of time due to pockets of unburned vegetation.
More than 170 miles of roads and fireline surround the Pier Fire. Fifty of those miles have been repaired. Constructed fireline is when terrain is scraped down to mineral soil by firefighters using hand tools or bulldozers, making a fire break between burned and unburned fuels. There will be a presence of heavy equipment and trailers around the perimeter of this fire over an extended period as repair work continues.
Balch Park and Mountain Home State Forest remain closed.