NORTH FORK — A large plume of smoke above North Fork is a fire resulting from last night’s wind event which increased activity on large burn piles on the Sierra National Forest.
During the rain about a week ago, several large tractor piles – made up of dead trees from the tree mortaility work done by SNF crews last year – were ignited on the Ponderosa Fuelbreak southeast of North Fork, says SNF Community Protection Officer Dan Tune.
The piles had been burned and were smoldering for the past week, when high winds last evening pushed embers across the burn pile containment line.
SNF crews, assisted by Cal Fire and Sequoia National Forest personnel, responded to the increased activity last night. There are currently three engines, three hand crews and two dozers – nearly 80 personnel – assigned to the incident.
Dozers have a line around the fire area, which encompasses about 150 acres, except in places where rocky terrain prevented their operation.
