Piute Update for Thursday, July 10th 9am PDT
Incident: Piute Wildfire
Released: 7/10/2008
Incident: Piute Wildland Fire
Released: 2 days ago
Piute Fire Information Update, Wednesday, July 9th, 9 am
FACTS:
33,922 acres / 28% contained / $15,800,000 costs / 1,547 total personnel
RESOURCES:
Crews: 27· / Engines: 150·· / Dozers: 10 / Watertenders: 28 / Helicopters: 6 / Overhead: 301
· Five additional hand crews arrived on the incident yesterday.
·· Due to a decrease in the threat to structures, twenty-five structure protection engines were released yesterday and an additional 15 structure protection engines are tentatively scheduled for release this afternoon. All released resources have been reassigned to incidents in the State of California.
WHAT'S NEW & EVENTS:
- As of 6:00 am this morning, the Piute Fire is being managed under a Unified Command between the Pacific Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team (Incident Commander Chris Hoff), Kern County Fire Department (Incident Commander John Hayes) and CALFIRE (Incident Commander Ted Van DeVort).
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Contingency lines have been completed around Havilah, Squirrel Mountain, Bella Vista, and South Lake; the contingency line around Bodfish is not yet complete due to the rugged terrain.
Current assessments indicate five residences, four outbuildings, five vehicles, a trailer and one private bulldozer were either damaged or destroyed by the fire's run south of King Solomons Ridge.
Summer school students from Woodrow Wallace grades K-8 will be visiting the Incident Command Post today.
Fire Status: Yesterday, the fire was active in the northeast corner near Cortez Canyon and Dry Meadow. Crews continue to work on establishing a northern control line in the Erskine Creek and the Bob Rabbit Canyon areas utilizing hand crews supported by retardant drops; indirect control line on the northeast corner has been completed. Dozers and hand crews have completed the control line on the western edge of the fire and will conduct a small burnout operation today. Firefighters have made excellent progress with direct control efforts on the eastern perimeter near Kelso Valley. There were no smokes visible on the south flank of the fire yesterday; crews plan to burnout a small piece of line along Piute Mountain Road today. Ground crews are well supported by aerial resources with water bucket and retardant drops; in addition to the six assigned helicopters, eleven air tankers are on order today. Concerns for firefighter safety include complex air operations, extreme temperatures and the potential for quick changes in fire behavior.
Evacuation Shelter: The shelter at the Kern Valley Senior Center, 6409 Lake Isabella Blvd, is in standby status at this time.
Existing Closures and Road Status: On July 1, the Forest Service implemented a Piute Fire Area Closure. This area includes all access points west of the Pacific Crest Trail. BLM closures include Nichols Peak, Bright Star Wilderness Area, Cortez Canyon, Dry Canyon, Jawbone Canyon and Lynch Canyon, Piute Mountain Road, Saddle Springs Road, Erskine Creek Road and all routes of travel west of the Pacific Crest Trail, are now closed to off highway vehicles (OHV). Other road closures include McCray Road from the end of the pavement south, and Fawn Drive from the end of the pavement south. There is an area closure in effect for the Piute Mountains from Piute Mountain Road at Caliente Creek Road; Saddle Springs Road at Caliente/Bodfish Road; Jawbone Canyon Road south of Piute Mountain Road; Roads 29S02 and 29S03 and Erskine Creek Road at pavement.
Weather: Sunny, dry and continued hot. Temperatures 80-90 highest ridges on the fire and 95-105 in the valleys with minimum humidities 7-15%. No thunderstorms are expected; however, some cumulus cloud buildup with a slight chance of showers possible.
Cooperating Agencies & Partners: US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Kern County Fire Department, Kern County Sheriff, and Kern County Office of Emergency Services, CALFIRE, California Highway Patrol and the Kern County Animal Control, and Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue.
