Firefighters Unload Supplies for Suppression
Source: USFS
Incident Start Date: 7/13/2018 Cause: Under Investigation Size: 95,947 acres Containment: 83%
Incident Type: Full Suppression Vegetation Type: Brush and timber
Unified Command Agencies: U.S Forest Service, National Park Service and Interagency Command Team 3
Resources Assigned: Engines: 180 Water Tenders: 9 Helicopters: 14 Crews: 9 Dozers: 17 Masticators: 5 Total Personnel: 1,142
Current Situation: Firing operations were completed yesterday to Elephant Rock. (Elephant Rock is a formation approximately one and one half mile west of Tunnel View). Work remains to reinforce containment lines to ensure the fire does not spread into Yosemite Valley. Sprinkler systems are active at the base of Elephant Rock to prevent the fire from spotting beyond the established hand line.
Today, hand crews and engines are patrolling Wawona Road along the burnout operation, watching for spot fires outside the containment lines. These spot fires continue to be a threat in holding the fire perimeter. Helicopters have been effective in helping crews on the ground extinguish detected spot fires.
Progress has been made in extinguishing hotspots on the service road leading to Badger Pass and containment increased along this road, yesterday. Today, firefighter will be reinforcing the hand line from Badger Pass northwest to Wawona Road.
Elsewhere on the fire, crews are backhauling, or bringing back to camp, equipment, tools and hose that was used in the suppression efforts, but now are no longer needed. Over 200 miles of hose was used on the Ferguson fire and used hose must be brought back to camp and rehabilitated to use on the next fire.
Weather: Similar to yesterday’s forecast, relative humidity will be higher at 15 to 30 percent. The monsoonal moisture will move across the fire area and the fire area may receive out flow winds from storms, developing over Sierra Crest.
Area Opportunities: The unique gateway communities of Yosemite National Park are open for visitors, including Bass Lake, south of Yosemite on Highway 41. Highway 120 also known as Yosemite’s Tioga Road is open through the Park, this includes Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center, White Wolf Campground, Soda Spring, Tenaya Lake, and Lembert Dome. The Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests have abundant outdoor recreation opportunities. Visitors returning to Mariposa Valley should be mindful of firefighters, equipment, and road construction delays. For information regarding visiting Yosemite Park call (209) 372-0200.
Closures and Restrictions:
Road Closures:
· Highway 140 (El Portal Road) east from the entrance of Yosemite National Park
· Wawona Road (Residents Only to Yosemite West.)
· Yosemite Valley
Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Valley, the Mariposa and Merced groves of giant sequoias, Hetch Hetchy, among other areas, are closed. For more information, go to nps.gov/yose or call 209-372-0200.
U.S Forest Service: A closure order is in effect Groveland Ranger District in the vicinity of the Ferguson Fire on the Stanislaus National Forest. The Sierra National Forest Closure due to the Ferguson Fire can be found at the Sierra National Forest website.
Evacuations:
Yosemite Valley (Residence and Employees only were allowed to enter at 10 AM, August 8, 2018)
