Piute Update for Friday, July 11th 10 AM PDT
Incident: Piute Wildfire
Released: 7/11/2008
FACTS:
34,852 acres / 32% contained / $17,250,000 costs / 1,581total personnel
RESOURCES:
Crews: 72· / Engines: 112 / Dozers: 10 / Watertenders: 32 / Helicopters: 8 / Overhead: 303
·Six additional hand crews reported for duty during yesterday's shift. Two of the crews are being loaned to the Basin East incident
to burn and hold critical sections of fire line.
WHAT'S NEW & EVENTS:
- The most current assessment of property damage shows an additional 35 outbuildings damaged or destroyed by the fire. The outbuildings are associated with historic mining activity in the Alaska Flat area.
- Due to firefighter success in establishing a strong control line in the southwest flank of the fire, the recommended evacuation for the Caliente/Bodfish Road ( County Road 483) from the intersection of Saddle Springs Road at Hooper Hill south to the to the Piute Meadows Trading post (about 9 miles) was lifted at 3:30 pm yesterday. The other evacuations for Thompson Canyon, Valley View, Red Mountain Estates, Claraville and Liebel Ranch are still in place.
- A public meeting is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m. at the Kern River Valley Senior Center, transitioning the Pacific Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team to California Incident Management Team 2 (Incident Commander Bill Molumby).
- As of 6:00 am July 10, 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).
- Contingency lines have been completed around Havilah, Squirrel Mountain, Bella Vista, and South Lake.
Fire Status: Concerns for firefighter safety include complex air operations, potential thunderstorms and associated winds, falling trees, the potential for quick changes in fire behavior and firefighter fatigue. Crews continued to build and improve lines on the northern and western flanks. Burnout operations may take place in several areas of the fire today, including the Erskine Creek drainage and the Thompson Canyon area. The increase in containment percentage came from the eastern flank where the fire has not moved significantly over the last few days.
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; Jawbone Canyon Road south of Piute Mountain Road; Roads 29S02 and 29S03 and Erskine Creek Road at pavement.
Weather: Mostly sunny with increasing cloud cover by afternoon; dry and continued hot. Temperatures will be 70-80 on the highest ridges and 90-100 in the valleys with minimum humidities at 12-20% with 20% chance of thunderstorms. Southwest to west winds predicted from 4-8 mph. Increasing chance of thunderstorms through the weekend.
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.
