Clover Fire
Incident: Clover Fire Wildfire
Released: 6/17/2008
Sequoia National Forest and the
Giant Sequoia National Monument
1839 S. Newcomb Street, Porterville, CA 93257
Date: June 17, 2008 Contact: Fire Information
Kern River Ranger District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone: (760) 376-3781 ext. 699
Fire Behavior Scientists Install Monitoring Instruments on the Clover Fire
Real-time measurements useful in managing Wildland Fire Use Events
KERNVILLE, CA: Members of a Fire Behavior Assessment Team arrived at the Kernville office on Monday to install monitoring equipment on the Clover Fire.
In the days ahead, fire scientists will establish plots to measure vegetation and fuels adjacent to the fire, install temperature sensors to record fire intensity and a special video camera to record the fire's rate of spread and flame length in relation to vegetation type and fuel loading. After the fire passes over the plots the six-person team will return to repeat their assessment of fuels and vegetation.
"Understanding how the fire will burn as a function of weather, topography and fuels is a key part of any Fire Use planning effort," said Corky Conover, Long-Term Fire Behavior Analyst.
Information gathered by the Fire Behavior Assessment Team will be used to test and fine tune existing fire behavior models and to better understand the fire's potential affects on fuels, vegetation and wildlife resources. For more information, visit the Fire Behavior Assessment Team's website at http://www.fs.fed.us/adaptivemanagement/projects/FBAT/FBAT.shtml
Fire crews will concentrate on the southeast corner of the fire to monitor fire spread to the east. Crews are nearly finished with control line construction from the southwest perimeter of the fire to Corral Meadows. The Fire is at 1,670 acres. Today's weather should be similar to yesterday with temperatures in the lower 80's, a low relative humidity and winds blowing out of the northwest at 5-7 miles per hour (mph) and ridge top gusts up to 12-15 mph
Residents in the Kennedy Meadows, Kern River Valley and Olancha areas may experience smoky conditions in the evening and morning hours until the inversion lifts. Visit the Interagency "Real Time Smoke Monitoring" website to see current smoke conditions and local trends.
The Pacific Crest Trail remains open. Morning hours are the recommended time of travel, but be out of the fire area by 1:00 P.M.
For more information please contact the Fire Information Center at the Kern River Ranger District at (760) 376-3781 Ext 699. The inciweb site is still experiencing some problems http://www.inciweb.org/ . Visit our alternate website Clover Google Map Link for updated maps.
