The air tankers that shored up control lines yesterday with over 200,000 gallons of fire retardant were grounded this afternoon due to the winds. However, with the addition of numerous engines and crews newly assigned to the incident, firefighters were able to complete containment lines around several spot fires including the 130 acre spot in Yellow Creek, which abuts private timber land. Additional spots were identified outside containment lines near Rattlesnake Peak and the Butt Lake Road. All the spots were two acres or less and contained and cooled immediately.
Fires ignited last night continued to back into the active fire area on the interior of the burn today. Protection around structures in the community of Seneca remains a high priority as crews applied structure fire protection gel to homes and outbuildings, and placed sprinklers on historical buildings to preserve their integrity.
Fire Status: In preparation for a wind event that will hit the fire area on Sunday and Monday, firefighters will execute a burnout operation on the eastern flank of the fire. This will enlarge the active fire area from the north fork of the Feather River area around Seneca to Caribou.
With winds predicted to gust up to 30 miles per hour Sunday, firefighters will light the unburned section in night operations on Friday and Saturday when the winds are favorable and temperatures moderate. Introducing fire into this area will create a low intensity burn in an area that has been difficult for firefighters to contain. Crews will light off of containment lines and allow the fire to creep back into the active fire area, removing critical fuels that could create a high intensity burn. Firefighters will secure and patrol containment lines along the eastern flank and continue mopping up control lines around the fire area.
Helicopter drops will continue into the evening as firefighters prepare for the firing operation. Crews will continue to mop-up fire lines along Highway 89. Patrol units will also stay in the communities of Prattville, Big Meadows and Canyon Dam areas searching for any additional spot fires.
Firefighters continue to work in a contained slop-over in the Rocky Point area. Power was returned to the PG&E line that services homes along the southwestern shore of Lake Almanor this morning after falling operations around the line were completed.
This will be the last fire update from California Interagency Incident Management Team 3.
Crews will continueto take a series of post-fire actions to repair damages and minimize environmental impacts resulting from fire suppression activities, and continue to patrol the firelines and mop up any remaining hot spots. There are 3 phases of rehabilitation; fire suppression repair, BAER (Burn Area Emergency Response) and long term recovery.
In a pair of public meetings, fire officials said they were getting the upper hand on the Chips Fire.
A meeting to discuss the Chips Fire was held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at Lake Almanor West Community Park.
“Chips Fire has gotten a lot of attention. It was the first fire to take off and is certainly not the last. It looks like it is going to be a very challenging year for us,” said Lawrence Crabtree, Deputy Plumas National Forest Supervisor.
The Ponderosa Fire is now 27,978 acres and 57% contained. The fire continued to burn in the Battle Creek and Panther Creek areas with some burning in the Blue Ridge area over the evening. The fire is approximately 2.25 miles west of A line road. Due to the concern that the fire may burn out of the Panther Creek area to the northeast, the contingency line to the east of the fire continues to be strengthened.
Feather Publishing
8/22/2012
10:00 p.m. Update -
The Chips Fire is now at 63,147 acres and up to a 40% containment...
Fire Status: Today, winds were lighter and temperatures cooler, allowing fire fighters to make excellent progress moving towards containment goals. Smoke lingered in the area most of the day, however, limiting use of aircraft support over much of the fire area. Throughout the day, crews scouted and contained several spot fires caused by burning material transported ahead of the main fire during yesterday's wind event. All of the detected spot fires have been contained, however patrols will continue in the area and throughout the communities of Canyon Dam, Prattville and the Big Meadows areas to ensure no spot fires remain undetected.Late in the day today, two areas of the fire became active. However this increased activity did not pose a threat to the fire line. The two areas that became more active were the Red Mountain area, scheduled for burning operations tonight, and the Rattlesnake Peak area, well within the interior of the fire east of Butt Valley Reservoir.
Along the west flank of the fire, hotshot crews continue to slowly and methodically build fire line directly along the fire's edge, working from north to south towards the Chips Creek drainage. Terrain in this area is extremely rugged, making progress slow but steady.
The Wildland Fire Module, which is a specialized crew of ten people trained to work self-sufficiently in the back country for extended periods, which arrived on the south-west area of the fire yesterday identified opportunities for containing the fire in this area by constructing hand line and using natural barriers. Due to heavy smoke throughout the fire area, the infra-red mapping scheduled for today in the south-west flank of the fire was not conducted. It is anticipated that this will be accomplished tomorrow. The aerial infra-red mapping will pin-point hot spots for the crew to focus on extinguishing.
Along the northern flank of the fire, crews continue to mop up into the fire's interior, remove equipment left behind from fire-fighting activities, and begin repair of areas damaged by fire suppression activities. This work will continue throughout the fire area as containment is gained.
Several injuries occurred today, including three knee injuries and one ankle injuries. These injuries were directly related to the steep, treacherous, unstable terrain fire fighters are working in while fighting the Chips fire.
Evacuations and Closures: No changes have occurred to evacuations and road closures. The Plumas County Sheriff's Department continues to enforce Mandatory Evacuations for the communities of Prattville, Canyon Dam and the Big Meadows area. A Voluntary Evacuation is in place for Almanor, and an Advisory is in effect to all West Almanor and East Shore residents (Hwy. 147) advising of the potential threat of the fire to the areas. An evacuation Center continues to be available at the Chester Memorial Hall on Gay Street.
Highway 89 from Butt Lake Road to 4.3 miles north of Greenville is closed to all traffic due to heavy smoke and a large amount of emergency equipment on the roadway. For more information, please go to: http://www.countyofplumas.com/CivicAlerts.aspx
Community Meetings: A community meeting will be held tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Hamilton Branch Fire Station, 3791 Big Springs Road, Westwood, CA 96137.
5:10 p.m. update
An updated Chips Fire Progression Simulation from about 11 p.m. Tuesday night has been posted in the Fire Management Links on the right side of this page. Once you get to the page that loads, press the Play (>) button in the upper left corner.
2:45 p.m. update
Chips Fire now listed as 62,820 acres, and 37% containment.
STATE ROUTE 89 in Plumas County is CLOSED to northbound traffic at the Junction of SR 147 (0.59 miles north of Canyon Dam) and to southbound traffic at Butt Lake Rd (6.9 mi south of Jct SR 36) due to wild land fire.
STATE ROUTE 147 in Plumas County is now OPEN but subject to traffic control and closure depending on continued fire activity.
Disclaimer: Road conditions change continually during a wildfire event...
1 p.m. update:
The following message was posted on InciWeb about 12:30 p.m.:
Rumor Control: "There have been no new fire starts today. Mop-up continues within containment lines."
10:00 a.m. update
Chips Fire. 62,541 acres. 37% contained
Fire Status: High winds pushed the fire into containment lines along Highway 89 yesterday as crews secured and mopped-up small spot fires that escaped the perimeter. This operation continued through the night with firefighters patrolling the area and containing every spot that was identified.
Long range black and white photo of the Chips Fire taken from the top of Dyer Mtn. on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 at 5:36 a.m. Photo compliments of DigitalPath.
Today, crews will continue to patrol the communities of Big Meadows, Prattville and Canyon Dam while also mopping-up the edge of the fire from Butt Lake Road through the Canyon Dam area. Firefighters will also be in Seneca mopping up control lines around the community.
Crews along the southern edge of the fire will prepare for a burnout operation in the Caribou and Red Hill areas that will be executed tonight. This burnout operation will take advantage of the lower temperatures and increased moisture in the air to complete a low intensity burn in an area where firefighters have had difficulty securing the control line. This will also protect a critical communication site from uncontrolled fire in the area.
Current Situation: The Reading Fire is 100% contained. When referring to a wildland fire, the difference between a fire being contained or controlled is that when a fire is contained, a fuel break had been completed around the fire manually by hand line and/or mechanically by dozer line. These fire breaks may also include the use of natural barriers such as rocky outcroppings. When a fire has been controlled, the fireline is secure enough so that flare-ups within the fire perimeter will not break through the line. A fire referred to as contained does not mean that the fire is controlled.
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