MARIPOSA COUNTY — Firefighters worked through the night hitting hot spots and patrolling the perimeter of the nearly-contained Detwiler Fire.
The fire is still holding at 81,826 acres and is now 90 percent contained.
As the Detwiler Fire is winding down from active fire suppression, fire managers will start the next phase of the control effort — Fire Suppression Repair.
Fire suppression repair is a series of immediate post-fire actions taken to repair impacts to the land and minimize the potential for soil erosion and other issues that might arise. It usually begins before the fire is completely contained and before the demobilization of the Incident Management Team.
This work includes mitigating the impacts of hand lines, dozer lines, and helispots that were used to support the crews.
Other work firefighters will complete include water bar construction on the hand and dozer lines. Water bars divert water from trails and roads to reduce soil erosion and prevent gullies from forming.
Before leaving the fire, crews will also construct berms, spread brush and rocks onto the cut lines and bare ground that were used to support suppression targets, remove refuse, flagging, and other equipment as part of their efforts to restore the land to a more natural condition.
There are currently 2,069 personnel assigned to the incident including 114 engines, 32 water tenders, 53 hand crews, 5 dozers, 2 helicopters and air tankers as needed.
Crews continue to be demobilized to return to their units or be made available for other fires across the region.
All evacuation orders and advisories have been lifted, and all evacuation centers are now closed.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
For detailed maps of the fire, click here.
