CLOVIS – The Lions Fire, burning in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, spread only slightly to the southwest overnight and is now estimated at 3,007 acres.
Winds are expected to be lighter today which may help firefighters with their containment efforts. The fire is now 5 percent contained. Crews continue working on building and securing containment lines primarily along the eastern and southwest edges.
Mule team supplying firefighters in the wilderness – photo USFS
The lightning-caused fire was detected in early June and is located primarily in the Stairway Creek drainage, north and west of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River.
This fire poses many challenges to firefighters including hard-to-reach, steep, rugged and sometimes inaccessible terrain, which makes supplying and replenishing firefighters with equipment, food and water very difficult.
Thanks to mule teams like the one pictured here, receiving supplies in remote wilderness areas can be managed successfully.
A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 28, at 6 p.m. at the US Forest Service Amphitheater located across the pavilion from the Mammoth Lakes Welcome Center, 2510 Main Street. Interested members of the public and media are encouraged to attend. Fire management staff will be present to answer questions.
All lodging and recreational services are open in Mammoth Lakes and Devils Postpile National Monument. The Pacific Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail are open at this time.
The following lateral trails leading into the fire area will be closed in the near future: Sierra National Forest: 26E01 (Mammoth Trail) to the Inyo NF Boundary, 26E56, 26E14, and 2646 from the Inyo NF boundary.
Inyo National Forest trail closures include 26E01 from the Sierra NF to 2601 junction, and 2601 from the boundary of the Inyo NF and Devils Postpile National Monument (King Creek Trail).
“Wildland fire, just like wind and water, has helped shape the beauty of the Sierra Nevada and fires like the Lions fire help diminish the risk of future fires being larger, more destructive, and harder to control,” say Sierra NF officials.
The fire is currently staffed by 330 people, including seven crews of firefighters and eight helicopters.
Air quality and smoke forecasts are available at https://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=topics.smoke_wildfires.
For more information about smoke conditions in the area, visit webcams at www.mammothmountain.com and nps.gov/DEPO.
For more information, see https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/news/5850 or call 760-582-5203.
