Tamarack Fire in Alpine County Updates for Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Details: Last Updated: Wednesday, 28 July 2021 07:23

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Hwy. 395 area on the afternoon of July 22
Credit: USFWS

Click here for Wednesday Updates

Update: Tamarack Fire Community Briefing Video for Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Evening Update: The Tamarack Fire as of Tuesday evening is now at 68,327 Acres with 59% Containment.

Basic Information

Current as of	7/27/2021, 8:19:43 PM
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Lightning
Date of Origin	Sunday July 04th, 2021 approx. 04:00 PM
Location	16 Miles south of Gardnerville, NV
Incident Commander	Dan Dallas, IC Bill Hahnenberg, Deputy IC
Coordinates	38.628 latitude, -119.857 longitude

Current Situation

Total Personnel	1,321
Size	68,327 Acres
Percent of Perimeter Contained	59%
Estimated Containment Date	Tuesday August 31st, 2021 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved	Timber (Grass and Understory) Chaparral (6 feet) Timber (Litter and Understory)
Significant Events	Active Uphill Runs Flanking Fire is burning in mixed conifer, Pinyon Juniper and brush fuel types, with active spread still possible. Torching, and running fire behavior with shortrange spotting.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Branch I - Hold fire south of China Spring. Secure Hwy 395 slopover. Secure structures along Hwy 395. Continue right sizing organization. Branch II - Keep fire north of Highway 89 (Monitor pass)between Hwy 395 and Hwy 4. Continue right sizing organization. Branch III - Hold fire south of Hwy 88 and east of Blue Lake Road. Secure structures in Crystal Springs. Hold fire east of Rocky Spine Ridge. Continue right sizing organization. Structure - Secure structures in all branches. Continue right sizing organization. Night Operations - Patrol and secure structures in all Branches.
Projected Incident Activity	12 hours: Primarily backing and flanking fire. Precipitation on the fire has slowed fire spread. 24 hours: Fire spread is primarily backing and flanking to the south.
Remarks	Acreage estimated from IR flight: 1910 7/26/2021

Current Weather

Weather Concerns	Today's weather was mostly cloudy with a few thunderstorms east of the fire area. High Temps 72-84. Min RH 25-35%. Upslope 4-8 mph with WSW 10-15 G25 in the afternoon and evening. HAINES 3 Tonight-Partly cloudy. Min Temp 50-60. Max humidity around 55-65%. Light winds, localized breezy down canyon winds. Wednesday-Mostly cloudy with numerous thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall is possible. High Temps 72-84. Min RH 30-45%. Upslope 4-8 mph with WSW 8-13 G20 in the afternoon and evening. HAINES 3, LAL 3 CWR 40%.

Update 5:15 P.M. Cal Trans: ALPINE COUNTY – The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) plan to reopen State Routes 4 and 89 in Alpine County to through-traffic only at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28, 2021.

There will be no access to the United States Forest Service (USFS) lands.

Be advised there is still firefighting work being done in many areas. Best to avoid the area, but if you must travel, use caution and reduce speeds on roadways as firefighting vehicles will also be sharing the road.

Additionally, utility companies will work to restore services and repair damaged equipment. These repairs may require road closures up to 2 hours and without notice. These repairs are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., beginning Saturday, July 31, through Monday, August 2, 2021.

For updates, check quickmap.dot.ca.gov or @CaltransDist10 on Twitter. Download the Quickmap app to your smartphone or call the Road Condition Hotline at 1-800-427- ROAD (7623). For the safety of workers and other motorists, please Be Work Zone Alert

Update: Douglas County Providing Recovery Services to Residents Affected by the Tamarack Fire

Douglas County Providing Recovery Services 7-27-21 (pdf 170 kb)

Update: Tamarack Fire Operations Briefing Video for Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Update: Tamarack Fire Virtual Community Briefing at 6:00 P.M. Tonight, July 27, 2021

View the Live Meeting at: https://www.facebook.com/tamarackfireinfo or on YouTube: https://bit.ly/36RqNHy.

Alpine County Sheriff Sets Up Temporary Non-Emergency Line & Dispatch Line
Alpine County Sheriff’s Office Non-Emergency Line: 530-721-0757
Alpine County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Line: 775-782-5126

EMERGENCY DIAL 911
Road Closures State Route 89 from the junction of Highway 88 to Highway 395 (Evacuee Access Allowed) State Route 4 from the junction of State Route 89 to the Silver City Gate.

Update: Smoke/Air Quality Outlook for the Tamarack Fire in Alpine County for Tuesday, July 27

July 27, 2021 - The Tamarack Fire as of Tuesday morning is now at 68,103 Acres with 54% Containment.

Tamarack Fire Update Tuesday, July 27, 2021 – 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Management Team

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Information Phones: 775-434-8629 (public),

Email: 2021.tamarack@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Special Notes: Residents returning to their homes following evacuations should be aware that there may still be fire activity nearby. Smoke and possible isolated flare-ups may occur for several weeks within the fire area as the fire burns through isolated fuels such as dead or downed trees. There is still firefighting work being done in many areas. Use caution on roadways, as firefighting vehicles will also be sharing the roads.

Grover Hot Springs State Park remains closed to the public due to the impacts from the Tamarack Fire.

Current Situation:

A change in the weather brought much-needed moisture onto the fire area yesterday. A group of afternoon thundershowers dropped heavy rain onto some sections of the fire. Last night steady rainfall covered the entire fire area.

Firefighters yesterday made more progress securing the fire perimeter. Containment is now at 54%. Evacuations were lifted for the Blue Lakes area, Holbrook Junction/Highlands and Spring Valley. The only remaining evacuations are for people living in the SR 4 corridor from Hwy 89 to Ebbetts and Burnside Lake area.

Road Closures: Hwy 89 is closed between Hwy 88 and Hwy 395 to all traffic except local residents and incident personnel. Hwy 4 is closed throughout the fire area to all traffic except incident personnel.

Branch I: Division K Firefighters finished mopping up hot spots in Spring Valley yesterday. Mopping up is when firefighters extinguish or remove burning material near control lines and take other actions to make an area safe. Today crews will patrol the edge and be ready to respond if lightning from potential storms ignites any new fires.

Division O After several days of work on the fire’s edge, hand crews were successful in containing the northeast corner of the slopover fire that crossed Hwy 395 last week. Firefighters also secured a section south of Holbrook. The entire east side of the fire is now contained. Today crews will mop up hot spots in the Holbrook area. Structure protection crews will continue to patrol communities along the 395 corridor.

Branch II: Division Q New containment was added yesterday stretching from the southeast corner of the fire west to just below Leviathan Peak. Crews worked from there to establish new line, getting support from helicopters that dropped water to cool the fire’s edge. Today firefighters will continue their direct attack and work the fire towards the Leviathan Mine.

Division T is now fully staffed with crews and heavy equipment, looking to directly engage the fire where possible to safely do so. Yesterday firefighters scouted and began work on new fireline. The effort continues today.

Division A is adding a second wildland module of firefighters today. The fire is burning in steep, rugged, scattered fuels. Supervisors will continue to look for opportunities to engage the fire while limiting risk to firefighters.

Branch III: Division F Firefighters secured two more sections of line yesterday. The western edge of the fire is now contained from Burnside Lake north to Crystal Springs. Today crews will patrol the area looking for any hot spots. They will also help with structure protection in nearby communities.

Weather & Fuel Conditions:

Today will be cooler and windier with higher winds in the afternoon and another chance for thunderstorms. High temperatures will range from 71-83 degrees over the fire area. Fire activity will be moderate in the morning because of yesterday’s rain, but fuels will dry out quickly.

Temporary Flight Restriction (TRF):

TFR violations can disrupt aerial firefighting operations and may force fire managers to ground essential aircraft. Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Evacuations, Closures, and Fire Restrictions:

For evacuation notice specifics in Alpine and Douglas Counties visit:
https://www.alpinecountyca.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=EVACUATION-INFORMATION-53 and

https://www.douglascountynv.gov/government/departments/emergency_management/current_emergencies/tamarack_fire__markleeville__c_a

For road closure specifics visit https://roads.dot.ca.gov/ and https://nvroads.com/.

For closures and fire restrictions on National Forest lands, visit

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/alerts-1069notices/?cid=fseprd573309

Tamarack Fire Statistics:

Size: 68,103 acres

Containment: 54%

Total Personnel: 1,505

Location: Markleeville, CA

Reported: July 4, 2021