Now 49 Days Old The Creek Fire Is 60% Contained And Has Burned 357,656 To Date.
Mammoth Lakes Air quality still in dangerous stages but poses no threat to Mammoth Lakes or Devil’s Postpile
October 23, 2020 Update: Current Situation: The Creek fire continues to burn in the Ansel Adams Wilderness and produce large amounts of smoke. This area is very steep and inaccessible, making it difficult to safely attack the fire from the ground. It is moving slowly southeast from Pincushion Mountain and northwest from Vermillion and will soon grow together. It is also backing off the northside of Junction Bluffs towards the confluence of the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River and Fish Creek.
A hotshot crew is in place to act if it moves in an unexpected direction. Currently, the Creek Fire poses no threat to Mammoth Lakes or Devil’s Postpile. The far northern area of the fire has moved into areas of granite outcrops where it continues to creep and burn any available fuels, minimal forward spread is anticipated. Around the rest of the fire heavy
suppression repair is ongoing, prioritizing those areas in the high county that may be impacted by weather first. A UAV was used on the fire yesterday and picked up several small slop overs that had not been located because of the smoke conditions. These have all been addressed.
Weather: Unseasonable temperatures with low relative humidity’s continue through Saturday with continued light winds. Smoke will continue to accumulate in and near the fire as well as in nearby valleys. A significant cool down is expected Sunday night, possibly accompanied by strong northeast winds. If these winds occur they should help with the
smoke situation.
Summary: In the northwest firefighters are working on strengthening fireline, mopping up, and removing hazard trees where needed. On the western side of the fire crews continue to patrol, mop up and backhaul any unneeded equipment and remove hazard trees along roads. The southern end of the fire, from the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin River to Mono Springs Resort is unstaffed. On the east side of the fire, in and below the horseshoe, crews are working on strengthening control lines and mopping up. Crews are continuing to work on structure protection around the Vermillion Resort area and may carry out strategic firing operations as needed.
Sierra National Forest Closures: For the latest information on the Forest closure order, please click on
https://www.fs.usda.gov/sierra/
Virtual Public Meeting tonight at 7:00 PM on the Creek Fire YouTube channel (https://bit.ly/2HhOSh8) or the Sierra National Forest Facebook page.