Note: Click here for Saturday's Updates
California Monument Fire Saturday, August 28, 2021 Updates
Evening Update: Monument Fire Update for Friday evening, the fire has increased to 160,148 Acres with 22% Containment and 2,319 total personnel.
MODIS map of the Monument Fire on Friday at 6:00 A.M PST
Note: 1,200 Pixels Wide - Note: Older Yellow not shown
MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program Frequently Asked Questions
Update: Monument Fire Operational Video Updates for Friday Morning, August 27, 2021
August 27, 2021 - Monument Fire Update for Friday Morning, 160,148 acres with 22% containment.
Monument Fire North Zone Update
August 27, 2021
RESOURCES: 2,072 personnel, 25 hand crews, 160 engines, 18 helicopters, 57 dozers, 47 water tenders, 3 skidgines, 18 masticators, 7 excavators.
CURRENT SITUATION: The Monument Fire is currently estimated at 160,148 acres with 22% containment.
Hotter and drier conditions are expected across the fire area today and increasing into Saturday. This could result in increased fire activity even without much wind.
There was minimal growth across the fire overnight and activity was mostly quiet on the North Zone. A new spot fire across the New River was hit hard by helicopters dropping water yesterday and infrared imagery is not showing any remaining heat. This spot fire is still north of the Trinity River and to ensure that no threat remains, firefighters may be inserted by helicopter today to check the area and take action, if needed, to contain the spot fire. Fire activity was also light near Pattison Ridge in the Hyampom area as firefighters monitored it through the night.
Smoke from fires to the north is expected to blanket much of the Monument Fire area today, which will continue to inhibit new fire growth. “This gives us more time to get around the fire with our primary and alternate fire lines,” said Fire Behavior Analyst Erik Valdez, “which makes them stronger and better able to hold the fire, if the fire does advance toward those lines,” he added.
Because the fire still has potential to grow rapidly, in any number of spots around the perimeter, fire managers will watch today’s weather carefully and, in close coordination with CAL FIRE on the South Zone of the Fire, move forces around as needed to meet any new threats. “This is a huge area to cover with a relatively small number of firefighters,” says Operations Section Chief Karen Scholl, “so we are focusing on putting the right resources in the right place at the right time.” Helicopters will support those ground forces if the air is clear enough for them to fly and to make effective water drops over the fire.
Highway 299 is now open at designated times during daylight hours between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Pilot cars are being used to lead vehicle caravans between Burnt Ranch and Helena. Residents may travel this section of highway at any time with proof of address. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office has also opened Dutch Creek Road from the intersection of Redhill Road to Soldier Creek Road on Friday afternoon.
PUBLIC MEETING: CAL FIRE Team 5 and the Alaska Incident Management Team will hold a virtual public meeting tomorrow, August 28, at 6:00 p.m. The meeting can be viewed at the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and CAL FIRE Shasta-Trinity Unit Facebook pages, on Zoom at https://blm.zoomgov.com/j/1601844560 or youtube.com//watch?v=5ef7etA_epU. You may also call in at 833-568-8864, ID#160 184 4560.
WEATHER: Critically low humidity and northerly winds with hotter temperatures are expected today and Saturday. Smoke may clear over the fire area from west to east in the afternoon with some gusty winds out of the north of up to 20 mph.
FOREST CLOSURE: Due to extreme fire conditions throughout northern California, and strained firefighting resources throughout the country, the USDA Forest Service has temporarily closed nine National Forests, including the Shasta-Trinity. The closure order can be found at https://go.usa.gov/xF7EM. Questions can be directed to https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/about-region/offices or by calling 707-562-9113 or email SM.FS.R5inquiries@usda.gov.
ROAD CLOSURES: State Highway 299 is closed between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. between Burnt Ranch and Junction City. Monitor Caltrans's District 2 website (https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-2).
EVACUATION ORDERS: In effect Barker Mountain, NW portion of Hayfork Summit and North Hayfork Valley north of Highway 3.
EVACUATION WARNINGS: In effect for Big Bar, Big Flat, Burnt Ranch, Douglas City, Junction City, areas south from Barker Mountain to Haystack, the north side of Hyampom Road from Hayfork to 9-mile bridge, Denny, Hawkins Bar and Trinity Village. For more information, visit the Trinity County Office Sheriff Facebook page at Trinity County Sheriff's Office | Facebook
EVACUATION CENTERS: American Red Cross Shelters have been set up at Shasta College, 11555 Old Oregon Trail, Building 1900, Redding CA; Willow Creek Bible Church, 39 Brannan Mountain Road, Willow Creek, CA; and Fireman’s Hall Pavilion, 9 Park Street in Fortuna.
ANIMAL EVACUATIONS: (Domestic + Large Animals) Hoopa Rodeo Grounds on Pine Creek Rd, Hoopa, CA. (Large Animals with the exception of Swine): Redding Rodeo Grounds, located at 715 Auditorium Dr., Redding, CA (Sandy Ekman 530-739-8469)
CLEAN AIR CENTERS: Trinity County has established a Clean Air Center at the Trinity County Library, 351 Main Street, Weaverville. Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-6 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Clean Air Center at the Murray Building at 6641 Highway 3 in Hayfork has been closed due to fire activity.
PROPERTY DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS: Damage assessment teams have confirmed 50 structures have been destroyed. For questions or information regarding the status of your property, call Trinity County Office of Emergency Services (OES) at 530-623-1116.
Basic Information
| Current as of | 8/27/2021, 6:43:30 AM |
| Incident Type | Wildfire |
| Cause | Lightning |
| Date of Origin | Friday July 30th, 2021 approx. 06:00 PM |
| Location | Del Loma, CA near Monument Peak |
| Incident Commander | Norm McDonald, Alaska IMT and Mike Parkes, CAL FIRE IMT |
| Incident Description | Wildfire |
| Coordinates | 40.752 latitude, -123.337 longitude |
Current Situation
| Total Personnel | 2,072 |
| Size | 160,148 Acres |
| Percent of Perimeter Contained | 22% |
| Estimated Containment Date | Monday November 01st, 2021 approx. 08:00 AM |
| Fuels Involved |
The fire remains squarely within the 2008 Buckhorn, Eagle, Miners and Cedar Fire footprints. Type converted brush and a heavy dead and down component dominate most areas. Fuels to the north of Hayfork are characterized as widely spaced mixed conifer and grass. All live fuels are cured to levels normally seen in late September. |
| Significant Events |
Fire is fuels driven resulting from extended and extreme/enhanced drought with influence of steep slopes and winds. Several small, short duration runs, exhibiting moderate fire behavior, occurred late in the burn period yesterday. Activity was associated with partial clearing of smoke and adequate ventilation to allow the fire behavior to increase. Flanking and backing fires consumed all surface fuels with moderate flame lengths and rates of spread. Minimal surface wind allowed smoke to remain over the majority of the fire and created a cap which limited fire behavior. Moderate overnight relative humidity recovery has been consistent for the past 3 nights. |
Outlook
| Planned Actions |
Provide structure defense for the communities of Burnt Ranch, Friedrich Road, Cedar Flat and Underwood Mountain. In the southwest segment of the fire, patrol and mop-up along Corral Bottom Road/47 Road and Prodigy site. Continue direct handline down Haypress Road. Continue developing and improving primary indirect line along Pattison Road to Pattison Ridge, Pattison Peak Road, down through Halfway Ridge and east to Jud Creek tying in at Nine Mile Bridge to connect with the South Zone. Monitor fire on north side of the Trinity River backing west off of Ironside Mountain. Fire is backing into the confluence of the New and Trinity Rivers at this point and if established to the west, resistance to control will be problematic. Patrol and secure current fire line around structures within the communities of Don Juan Point east through Big Flat along the Highway 299 corridor. Scout for opportunities for indirect line north of the New River from Happy Camp Mountain to the confluence of the Trinity River. Take action on any spots across and west of the New River. Prepare structures along the New River from Five Waters northward towards Denny. Provide structure defense for the communities from Helena east through Junction City and north along Canyon Creek and the East Fork of the North Fork Trinity River. Finish handline from Canyon Creek west to indirect dozer line along ridges around Helena. Continue to prep structures in Canyon Creek. Evaluate options for managing fire to keep from progressing east of the East Fork of the North Fork and impacting values of risk to the east. This may include burning out along the East Fork and Hobo Gulch Road and implementing dozer line along Backbone Ridge within the Trinity Alps Wilderness. In Branch 20: continue tactical patrol in the vicinity of Junction City and continue mop up activities to build and strengthen containment lines. In Branch 30: continue constructing direct, indirect and contingency line, engage in structure protection operations. |
| Projected Incident Activity |
12 hours: Active fire growth will likely occur in areas where the smoke clears. All fuels remain critically dry and ERCs have increase over the past few days as daytime clearing has allowed fuels to dry out more. High resistance to control is being realized on spot fires and slop-overs. Dry conditions will contribute to the potential for spotting and active surface fire. Moderate to high fire spread and flame lengths are anticipated in all areas where established fire has smoke clear out enough to allow solar heating and max predicted temperatures to be reached. Even under smoke covered conditions, the fire could see moderate growth in all areas of uncontained line. 24 hours: Potential for active fire behavior with high resistance to control is likely in areas where the smoke clears. Predicted winds likely will bring in smoke from the River Complex and reduce ventilation on the northern and eastern fringes of the fire. The possibility of clearing and ventilation is reduced from previous burn periods as a north to northeast flow will likely push smoke into drainages. Expect moderate fire behavior to develop in areas with established fire in areas that clear out by late afternoon, mainly on ridges. |
Current Weather
| Weather Concerns |
Observed Weather: A ridge of high pressure over the eastern Pacific strengthened westward as a mid-level trough departed to the east. A drier northerly flow this morning funneled smoke into drainages. Lower overnight ridge humidity recovery ranged from 30-50% as low temperatures ranged in the 50s, with moderate to good humidity recovery in drainages. Smoke from fires to the north lingered through early afternoon and held temperatures down about 5 to 10 degrees below yesterday's observed early afternoon temperatures. As west-northwest transport winds developed in the midafternoon, smoke shifted eastward with partial clearing across the fire. The alignment of transport winds and local up-canyon winds brought stronger up-canyon winds within the Trinity River Basin through the early evening with exposed ridge top gusts of 20-30mph. High temperatures neared 90 in the valleys to 70s across higher elevations with minimum humidity falling into the 16-25% range. Friday Outlook: A hotter and drier airmass builds across the area Friday and peaks Saturday under north-northeast transport winds. Critically low humidity in the teens is expected with poor overnight recovery due to the light offshore flow. |
Click here for: California Monument Fire Thursday, August 26, 2021 Updates
