More Evacuations Lifted On Ferguson Fire, Now Over 94,000 Acres

MARIPOSA COUNTY – Moderate fire behavior on the Ferguson Fire today allowed crews to make significant progress on constructing and strengthening containment lines, say officials.

The fire is now estimated at 94,331 with 39 percent containment.

The mandatory evacuation order for the community of Wawona was lifted at 10 a.m. for residents only. Highway 41 remains closed between the south entrance to Yosemite National Park and Yosemite Valley. The Valley has been evacuated of all but essential personnel.

At 6 p.m., residents of El Portal and the Highway 140 corridor were allowed to return home (see details below) after being evacuated for the second time on Aug. 3.

On the northwest corner of the fire burning on the Stanislaus National Forest, crews brought fire down the dozer line from Pilot Peak along Montgomery Ridge last night. The line was holding well throughout the day with no spot fires, and the fire remains on the east side of the containment line. Mop-up work is underway, and officials don’t expect any more movement on that corner of the fire.

Up north of the Merced Grove, burning snags continue to pose a danger to firefighters. Those hazard trees are being removed so crews can get in there to begin cooling things down so that Highway 120 can be reopened, and it sounds like that will happen soon. Merced Grove is outside of the fireline to the east, and no damage to the Grove or the infrastructure has been reported.

There was not much movement on the fire burning north into the narrow canyon between Big Oak Flat Road and Highway 140 today, and the fire has not crossed Big Oak Flat Road, though there is a spot fire near the tunnel. Crews are burning along dozer lines to widen the containment lines as the fire moves north.

Crews continue to work on containing the fire north of El Portal in the Crane Creek drainage, and with less active fire behavior in the area throughout the day, they were able to construct direct line around the fire and allow for the repopulation of El Portal and several other communities along the corridor.

Crews are also working to finish securing the lines protecting Foresta, which remains under a mandatory evacuation. Structure defense specialists and law enforcement remain in the area, and no structures have been lost.

Line construction continued from the Glacier Point Road north and west toward Elephant Rock to tie in with Highway 140.

Firefighters are using direct attack on the finger of fire burning south of the Glacier Point Road. The head of that fire is still about a mile to the west of the Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area. The fire camp at that location was evacuated on Friday due to the increase in fire activity.

About a half-mile farther south, crews worked on a spot fire near Indian Creek today. Firefighters were able to get hose around it and as of 3 p.m., and it was holding at a reported 15-20 acres.

Extensive mop-up has been done around the community of Yosemite West. No structures have been reported damaged or destroyed. Firefighters and law enforcement still maintain a heavy presence.

Firing operations on the line from Wawona south to Chowchilla Mountain Road have been completed. Crews are doing mop-up to cool off and secure the southeastern corner, and resources will be freed up to assist on other parts of the fireline as soon as conditions allow.

Along the southern perimeter and the western flank of the fire, everything remains within containment lines and restoration work has begun.

The estimated date for full containment is Aug. 15.

There are currently 2,357 personnel assigned to the incident including 202 engines, 39 crews, 18 water tenders, 33 dozers, 5 masticators, 14 helicopters, and fixed-wing tankers as conditions allow.

Officials report 995 structures threatened by the fire. Ten structures have been destroyed, though officials do not believe that any of those structures had been recently inhabited.

Damage assessment teams have been able to get into some of the burn areas of the fire, and report the 10 structures lost have been in the Ned Gulch area on the north end of the fire. Officials say it appears that the road had been washed out for some time, requiring teams to go on foot to assess the damage. We will provide more details as they become available.

There have been 12 firefighter injuries reported, and numerous instances of heat exhaustion-type symptoms. There have been two fatalities on the fire; HFEO Braden Varney was killed in a dozer rollover accident on July 14, and Brian Hughes, Arrowhead Hotshot Captain, lost his life on July 29 when he was struck by a tree during a firing operation.

Yosemite National Park

Officials have announced that the closure of some portions of Yosemite National Park will be extended indefinitely. There has been no update to this information as of this posting. The closure includes Hetch Hetchy. When the park does open these areas, limited visitor services will be available inside Yosemite Valley, including campgrounds, lodging, and food service operations.

Yosemite Valley has been temporarily closed since July 25 due to smoke impacts and for firefighting operations along El Portal Road and the Wawona Road due to the Ferguson Fire.

The Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and the Wawona Road (Highway 41) from the south entrance of Yosemite National Park to Tunnel View will remain closed until further notice.

The Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120 West) to Crane Flat is closed. Tioga Road (Highway 120 East) from Crane Flat to Tioga Pass, remains open to all visitors and vehicles. All trails and campgrounds along Tioga Road, including the Tuolumne Meadows Campground remain open. All visitor services along Tioga Road, including the High Sierra Camps and visitor services near Tuolumne Meadows, remain open.

Several other park facilities and roads have been closed due to fire impacts and the need to support firefighting operations. These closures include Glacier Point Road, Bridalveil Creek Campground, the Wawona Campground, and the Merced Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Non-essential personnel in Yosemite Valley were evacuated Friday due to hazardous road conditions, smoke and a loss of power, say park officials. Yosemite Valley has been closed to the public since July 25, however Yosemite National Park remains open on the east side out of Lee Vining, and Tioga Pass Road (Highway 120 East) provides access to the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center, the Pacific Crest and John Muir trails.

Yosemite National Park is working closely with the Incident Management Team and continues to assess park conditions daily.

For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again. Updated information is also available on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/yose and on the Yosemite National Park Facebook page.

Air quality issues

At 1 p.m. today, Mariposa County reduced or closed services at many County departments due to unhealthy air quality both outside and inside some County offices. They plan to reopen tomorrow, Aug. 7. If you plan on visiting a County office over the next few days please call ahead to check the status of that office. Public Safety offices such as the Sheriff’s Office, Fire and EMS are not affected by this closure and remain fully staffed as usual. The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled for Tuesday Aug, 7, at 9 a.m. will proceed as usual.

For information on air quality specific to Mariposa County visit http://www.mariposacounty.org/index.aspx?NID=1434. For additional information on air quality you can visit the AirNow website or the air fire smoke page.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District has also warned that a health caution is in place and smoke impacts will continue until the fire is extinguished.

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of gases and fine, microscopic particles that can cause health problems including triggering asthma attacks, aggravating chronic heart and lung diseases, and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Where conditions warrant, people with heart or lung disease should follow their doctors’ advice for dealing with episodes of particulate exposure. People with existing respiratory conditions, young children and elderly people are especially susceptible to the health effects from these pollutants. Anyone being exposed to poor air quality or wildfire smoke should move inside to an air-conditioned environment.

Residents can check the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s wildfire page at www.valleyair.org/wildfires for information about any current wildfires and whether they are impacting the Valley. The District’s Real-time Air Advisory Network (RAAN) provides localized air quality data from an extensive air-monitoring network which allows Valley residents to track PM at any Valley address by visiting myraan.com.

If community members see new fire activity, they are asked to call 911, not the fire information line.

As of July 21, there are fire restrictions in place on the Sierra National Forest. Please read and be informed before you use any type of fire in the forest.

The Incident Command Post for the Ferguson Fire is located at the Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park. Please be aware of heavy fire equipment moving through the area. There is also a base camp set up on the Stanislaus National Forest. Personnel at the fire camp at Badger Pass have been relocated to the ICP in Ahwahnee due to active fire in the area.