Unfortunate last sight...

[planettrout]

This was the base of the Sierra at Mt. Whitney and North as I exited CA for Pullman, WA at 11AM this morning...




PT/TB

[WanderingBlues]

A bad season is ahead of us.

[Wildman]

They just closed all access to to Whitney Portal and everyone who had permits to climb today. Biggest concern is that folks will skirt all the road blocks and climb the trail anyway. Fire has possibility of going big.

[stanbery]

That really suck hope the get it out quickly
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5907/

Note: The Georges Fire has grown to 2,000 acres and is 10% contained. The Inyo National Forest, CALFIRE, and Inyo County Sheriff are in Unified Command for this fire.

Fire growth yesterday was to the north and west, driven by winds. The fire is north of Lone Pine, west of Manzanar National Historic Site, and south of Bairs Creek. Last night, the winds died down, and crews were able to begin initial line construction for the fire. The forecast today calls for additional lightning activity as well as continued erratic winds and dry conditions. A Type II Team has been ordered and arrives this evening for a briefing. Numerous crews from the Inyo National Forest, BLM, CALFIRE, and local fire departments are responding. There are nine crews, 20 engines, three dozers, six helicopters, three air tankers and a very large air tanker (VLAT) assigned to the incident and additional resources are ordered and en route. The Hogback and Whitney Portal Roads are closed to uphill traffic at this time. Additional road closures include the Foothill Road and Moffat Ranch Road as well as any other roads that enter the fire area. There are no evacuations in place at this time. However, campers and residents in the Whitney Portal area have been advised to be prepared for an evacuation. Please avoid the fire area for your safety and for our firefighters’ safety. Today, the Inyo National Forest is contacting permit holders for the Whitney Portal Trailhead and the Shepherd Pass Trailhead to notify them that they cannot begin their hikes today from these trailheads. The Inyo National Forest is also working with campers who hold reservations at Whitney Portal. The forest will re-evaluate access to these areas on daily basis upon fire behavior. It has been determined that this is a lightning-caused fire.

[DarkShadow]

Hope this isn't an early start to a long fire season....

[Dry Fly Rie]

I drove through that area Tuesday morning around 8:30 on my way to Mammoth. I didn't notice too much in the way of smoke, but I've never seen such an accumulation of emergency/fire vehicles in one place. Just north of Manzanar, there were about 2 dozen vehicles from various agencies parked on the west side of the 395, and on the east side there were another 2 dozen trucks, fire rigs, and even two separate helicopters.

As we proceeded north, every 15 minutes or so, there would be a convoy of emergency vehicles (Owens Valley Fire, CalFIre, BLM, NFS, etc..) heading southward to the staging area. There would be 5-10 vehicles from one agency all in a row, and then a couple miles later, 6-8 vehicles from a different agency would pass us. It all seemed very serious.

On the return this afternoon, there wasn't nearly the same number of emergency vehicles, and when we reached Manzanar, there were only maybe a dozen trucks and one chopper still staged there.

I hope they can get these fires under control and keep all of the personnel safe in the process.

[Wildman]

Fire is buttoned up and the Team is handing the fire back to the local agencies. Had great potential....the safe fuel model there burns like gasoline. (Fire near Elko Nv has burned almost 500,000 acres in similar fuel models). The entire West is primed and ready to burn. Hoping the prediction of an El Nino forming is accurate. We need wet.