MARIPOSA – Cal Fire’s Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU) has resumed fireline suppression repair of the Detwiler Fire in the Midpines and Hunters Valley areas of Mariposa County.
Fire suppression repair is a series of actions taken once a fire has been suppressed, to repair the 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.
However, in the case of the Detwiler Fire, suppression repair was halted in August due to the high fire danger and the possibility that repair work could cause another fire.
The work includes mitigating the impacts of hand lines, dozer lines and helispots. Firefighters will construct water bars in those areas, which will divert water from trails and roads to reduce soil erosion and prevent gullies from forming when the winter rains come.
Crews will also construct berms, spread brush and rocks onto the cut lines and bare ground, and remove trash, flagging, and other equipment to restore the land to a more natural condition.
The Detwiler Fire started on Sunday, July 16, at about 4 p.m. in the Hunters Valley area, and burned 81,826 acres.
The fire was determined to have been caused by the discharge of firearms on public lands, according to Cal Fire.
