Six Rivers National Forest lightning fires – Evening Update

Release Date: 

EUREKA, California, August 3, 2015 –Active lightning strikes last week on the Six Rivers National Forest have resulted in multiple fires on all of the forest’s districts—the Gasquet Ranger District/Smith River National Recreation Area, Orleans Ranger District, Lower Trinity Ranger District and the Mad River Ranger District. Fires on the Gasquet, Lower Trinity and Mad River districts are now being managed by incident management teams.

After four years of drought and recent dry, hot weather, forest vegetation is extremely dry, resulting in rapid and large fire growth. According to Nolan Colegrove, district ranger for the Lower Trinity/Orleans/Ukonom Ranger Districts, “It appears that the chronic drought and lack of snowpack have resulted in unusually dry fuel conditions. The dry fuels are allowing the fires to ignite easier and burn hotter than usual, which makes containment of these fires extremely difficult for our folks out on the ground.”

·         Gasquet Complex – Gasquet Ranger District:There are 9 active fires. The Go Fire was contained at 0.2 acres. The Divide Fire was contained at 3 acres. The Bear Fire has burned 150 acres and is 20 percent contained. Because the fire moved closer to the Bear Basin Butte Lookout and Pierson Cabin, it was closed and the occupants were evacuated. The Paw Fire has burned 30 acres in the Siskiyou Wilderness and is 20 percent contained. The Coon Fire has burned 200 acres and is 20 percent contained. The Peak Fire is at 85 acres, the Summit Fire is at 0.5 acres, the Williams Fire is at 100 acres, and the Feeder Fire is at 80 acres. The fires are now being managed by Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team (IMT) 2 with Don Garwood as incident commander. Their incident command post (ICP) is at the Mountain Middle School, in Gasquet.

·         Orleans Ranger District:No changes for district’s 8 fires. The Beans Fire was contained at 0.4 acres. The Lonesome Fire was contained at 1.5 acres. The Wooley Fire is 7 acres, 15 percent contained, and about 1.5 mile from the Tom Taylor Cabin, in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The Nickowitz Fire is 50 acres and 40 percent contained. Acreage estimates are unavailable for the Sawtooth, Boundary, Rough and Creek fires. Additional equipment and personnel have been ordered.

·         River Complex – Lower Trinity Ranger District:The 18 fires of the River Complex continue to grow and burn together. Estimated acreage burned is now 3,745 acres, including some acreage burned within the Trinity Alps Wilderness. The fires are being managed by California Interagency IMT 3 under the command of Mark von Tillow. Their ICP is at Veterans Park, in Willow Creek.

Smoke from fires to the south is impacting visibility in the area, moderating fire behavior. Fire runs have been driven by topography. Primarily, the fires have been backing downslope, burning only the vegetation on the ground. Falling dead trees in the area are presenting a hazard to firefighters on and off the roadways. Keeping the Denny Road clear has presented a challenge due to falling rocks and trees.

Firefighters are clearing vegetation around structures and along roadways in the Dailey, Hoboken and Bell Flat area.

Predicted overnight lows for the River Complex are 60 to 65°F with moderate relative humidity recovery.

Evacuations:At the request of California Interagency Management Team 3, the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department is initiating a mandatory evacuation of the Denny, Dailey, Hoboken and Bell Flat areas due to increased fire activity and limited resources to provide structure protection. A hard road closure is in effect on Denny Road, at the junction of Forest Road 7N26, at Onion Saddle.

·         Mad River Complex – Mad River Ranger District:There are currently seven fires burning on the Mad River Complex totaling 13,557 acres. Containment of the complex is at 8 percent. Over 600 personnel are currently assigned to the incident. As of 6:00 PM, California Incident Management Team 5 has assumed command of the Mad River Complex with Mike Minton as the incident commander. The ICP is at the Flying AA Guest Ranch, in Ruth.

Today, firefighters continued to make progress on all the fires in the complex. The Lassic Fire was scouted today by firefighters who looked for opportunities to start direct-line construction. The Tierney Fire continued to burn down to a Forest Service road where crews will start to construct direct fireline. The Buck and Jack fires have been lined. The Gobbler Fire burned at a moderate pace downslope to Ruth Lake. While the northern end of the Pickett Fire burned toward dozer lines today, the northeast side of the fire was under an inversion layer making firefighting efforts and assessment of the fire difficult. The southwest or heel of the fire utilized airtanker drops and firefighters on the ground constructing direct line, resulting in success to this area of the fire.

Evening temperatures over the Mad River Complex will be in the mid-50s, with cloudy skies and relative humidity between 80 to 90 percent. Weather conditions for the area will remain constant for one more day with increasing temperatures and lower relative humidity forecast for the remainder of the week.

Due to the number of fires and complexity in the area, management of the fires will be split between two fire management teams.

Evacuationsremain in effect in the Mad River Road from Highway 36 to Three Forks Road and on the backside of the lake, on Ruth/Zenia Road to the Ruth Dam. An evacuation advisory is in effect, in the Van Duzen Road area. Road closures are in effect for Highway 36 at Route 3 west to Lower Mad River Road, Lower Mad River Road to Ruth/Zenia Road, and Ruth/Zenia Road to Three Forks Area. A Large Animal Evacuation center by Trinity County is available and can be reached at (530) 623-8127.

Smoke has decreased visibility across the forest. Smoke conditions may limit visibility on local roads and highways. Motorists are urged to use caution when travelling in the forest due to the smoke hazard and the potential of firefighters working along the roadways. For air quality information see www.airnow.govor www.ncuaqmd.org.

To date, there have been no firefighter injuries reported.