Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park Updates for Saturday, July 9, 2022

Details: Last Updated: Sunday, 10 July 2022 07:08; Published: Saturday, 09 July 2022 06:29

Click here for: Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park Updates for Sunday, July 10, 2022

Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park from the PG&E Deadwood Live Camera in Eastern Madera County on Saturday Afternoon, July 9, 2022 at 4:34 P.M.

Click here for: Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park Updates for Sunday, July 10, 2022

8:30 P.M. Evening Update Per Inciweb: Washburn Fire is now at 1,190 acres, with 360 total personnel.

Incident Information

Basic Information

Current as of	7/9/2022, 8:27:00 PM
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Location	Southern portion of Yosemite National Park;
Incident Commander	Josh Boehm, California Interagency Incident Management Team 13.
Incident Description	Managed for Full Suppression.
Coordinates	37.499 latitude, -119.614 longitude

Current Situation

Total Personnel	360
Size	1,190 Acres
Fuels Involved	Timber and Brush - Mostly high load conifer litter (TL5) with heavy dead and down component as well as substantial standing dead.
Significant Events	Moderate Fire Behavior Observed, including Long-range Spotting, Group Torching and Backing.

Outlook

Planned Actions

Continue direct handline construction where possible and prep for indirect line when needed.

Projected Incident Activity

12 hours: Expect the fire to keep growing moderately. The fire has remained active overnight, and that will be expected tonight.

24 hours: With the forecast warming and drying, fire activity will increase during the day tomorrow (7/10).

48 hours: Forecast weather indicates heating trend through the week. Fire activity will remain actively spreading.

72 hours: Forecast weather indicates heating trend through the week. Fire activity will remain actively spreading.

Anticipated after 72 hours: Forecast weather indicates heating trend through the week. Fire activity will remain actively spreading. Once the fire reaches some of the recent fire scars, spread may slow, but fire will continue to burn into the fire scar with reduced intensity and increased dead and down fuel loading.

Current Weather

Weather Concerns

Synopsis: Heavy smoke from the Washburn Fire will impact Yosemite National Park this afternoon (7/9) due to southerly transport winds. Downslope winds may push smoke into the Sierra Nevada foothills this evening into Sunday. A warming trend is expected Sunday and Monday. Hot and dry conditions will persist through at least Thursday morning. Winds will be generally light and terrain-driven.

Observed: Today at ICP Wawona Fire Station, max temperatures reached high 80s, min humidity dropped to 28-32%. Winds were light and variable. Observations taken by fire weather observation system deployed at ICP.

Forecasted: Sunday July 10 Sky/weather... Mostly sunny. Areas of smoke in the morning, then haze in the afternoon. Max temperature... 77-82. Min humidity... 26 percent. Eye level winds... South winds up to 5 mph in the morning shifting to the west in the afternoon with gusts up to 10 mph. Surrounding ridge... Northwest winds up to 5 mph. Mixing height... Rising to around 4200 ft AGL after 0900 PDT. Transport winds... Northwest around 5 mph. (from spot forecast)

Update 4:25 P.M. :

OCFA’s Intel 24 on the #WashburnFire Yosemite National Park. Fire is mapped at 1384 acres at 16:02 hours. pic.twitter.com/IEEDowYTIA
— FIRIS (@FIRIS) July 9, 2022

Update 4:05 P.M. Per: Fire Integrated Real-time Intelligence System (FIRIS) OCFA’s Intel 24 on the #WashburnFire Yosemite National Park.
Fire is mapped at 1384 acres at 3:46 P.M.

What is FIRIS?
The Fire Integrated Real-time Intelligence System (FIRIS) is a public-private partnership program that provides real-time intelligence data and analysis on emerging disaster incidents in California. Funded by the California Office of Emergency Services, the funding supports aircraft, a common operating picture, and near-real-time fire modeling by WIFIRE that is available at the onset of emerging incidents.

Update 11:45 A.M. Per NPS: The Washburn fire grew to 703 acres overnight and remains at 0% containment. Evacuation of the Wawona community and Wawona Campground remain in place. The Wawona Road (Highway 41) is closed at the South Entrance to Henness Ridge Road. Yosemite West remains accessible from the northern side of the Wawona road. Structure assessment and preparation work is on going in the community of Wawona.

Firefighters worked through the night and aerial and ground resources are continuously being utilized to fully suppress the fire.

The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias is home to over 500 mature trees. Efforts to protect these trees and the historic structures within the Grove include: removing hazard fuels, deploying temporary sprinkler systems, and utilizing protective structure wrap on the base of the trees as well as on the Galen Clark Cabin.

Update 6:55 A.M. Per Caltrans: Highway 41 IS CLOSED FROM 5.2 MI NORTH OF OAKHURST /AT CEDAR VALLEY RD/ (MADERA CO) TO THE YOSEMITE PARK BOUNDARY (MARIPOSA CO) - DUE TO A WILDFIRE - MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO USE AN ALTERNATE ROUTE - LOCAL RESIDENTS WITH PROPER IDENTIFICATION WILL BE ALLOWED ACCESS

July 9, 2022 - Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park is at 703 Acres and 0% Containment.

Washburn Fire in Yosemite National Park Operations and Infrared Maps for Saturday, July 9, 2022

703 acres (+237 acres), brush and timber, 0% contained (+0% containment)

· Active fire behavior overnight with long range spotting
· Threat to critical communications infrastructure
· Evacuations orders are in effect
· Threat to Giant Sequoias
· Road and trail closures in the area
· CAIIMT13 (Boehm) will assume command today 7/9/2022 @ 0700

Basic Information

Current as of	7/9/2022, 6:13:16 AM
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Incident Commander	Wakowski, California Interagency Incident Management Team 13.
Coordinates	37.499 latitude, -119.614 longitude

Current Situation

Total Personnel	209
Size	703 Acres
Fuels Involved	Mixed timber with significant dead/down.
Significant Events	Moderate Fire Behavior Observed, including Long-range Spotting, Group Torching and Backing