Park Fire – 7/30/2024

Overview of the Park Fire 7/30/24 at 9 am. White line to red line shows approximately 24 hours growth to the fire. Red shaded areas are within the perimeter of the fire.

July 30th Update – Ryan Cowper Stephens

Firefighting efforts on the Park Fire have yielded notable progress, though the situation remains dynamic, and with some seemingly insurmountable challenges to overcome, particularly on the Northern and Eastern flanks of the fire.

The fire continues to burn very actively in remote, steep and inaccessible terrain. The added complexity of critically low fuel moistures and high winds have made it even more difficult to suppress the fire’s spread. As of today, the current total acreage of the Park Fire stands at 383,619.

As we say here at The Lookout, not all of these acres within the fire are lost, and some areas within the 260 mile perimeter of the fire haven’t burned at all.

After all is said and done, when the smoke clears, we will find refuges that were in the right place, at the right time. Let’s take a look at the East Los Molinos Alert Wildfire camera for a closer look at one of those areas:

Oak Savanna in the foothills of Eastern Los Molinos look to have benefited from a gentle grass fire as the Park Fire backed down to the valley floor. These oak trees have adapted over thousands of years to not only survive, but thrive with fire. These photos capture perfectly what we in the prescribed fire world call, a successful underburn! These areas will come back healthier and more productive. They’ll provide better habitat for critters and over all, they’ll be better suited to provide a resilient buffer between the town of Los Molinos and the Ishi Wilderness.

FIRE WEATHER

Today, winds were expected to be about 5 miles per hour lighter than yesterday, generally out of the south-southwest, ranging from 6 to 10 miles per hour with gusts up to 15 miles per hour. Daytime temperatures continue to climb a couple of degrees each day but will still be below normal. Daytime relative humidity (RH) values will be in the 20-25% range, which is around normal for this time of year. Humidity recoveries will moderate the fire, but it will continue to burn well in the heavier fuels late into the overnight hours.

Highway 99E corridor:

On the Western side of the fire, crews have completed a lot of direct line work between Mill Creek and Chico, and this section is holding well so we’ll skip over it in our maps today.

As we move up the Northwestern part of the fire, the situation is still being managed effectively, although there was a significant increase in fire activity yesterday afternoon. The upper left shoulders in Tehama County experienced numerous spot fires. Crews, supported by aircraft, responded to these with substantial success, especially in the rugged and inaccessible terrain from Mill Creek north to Highway 36.

Firing operations were conducted yesterday to halt the fire’s westward advance, particularly around the Hogsback area, connecting lines from the Hogsback to Antelope Creek and on Highway 36. While progress has been made, there are still gaps between these lines that crews have been working to connect today.

Looking to the East near the Highway 99/36 intersection: We see some heat coming down the slope north of Mill Creek. This area, up to Highway 36 is difficult terrain but crews have managed to build direct and indirect containment lines. Yesterday hand crews picked up where dozers were unable to access and had a successful firing operation to stop the rapid advance of the fire moving to the West.

Highway 36 corridor

The fire’s advance towards Lane Valley and Battle Creek was particularly intense Sunday and Monday. Defensive firing operations were conducted Sunday but were only partially successful due to the fire’s intensity and rapid spread. Crews are continuing efforts to halt the fire’s progression today and working on direct dozer lines in Lane Valley.

Eastern side of the fire:

The Northeastern side has been active over the past 24 hours, with significant efforts focused on putting in direct lines near Little Giant Mill Road. Additionally, a slop-over in Dead Horse Creek is being addressed.

Most notably, fire has been pushing hard up both Mill Creek and Deer Creek drainages today.

Plans are still being developed to connect lines between Highway 36 and Highway 32. The terrain within Mill and Deer Creek Canyons is as gnarly as it gets.

Heat satellite data at 10pm on 7/30 shows major fire runs in the Deer and Mill Creek drainages today (red).

Fire has crossed Deer Creek near Windy Cut and is actively spotting ahead, in it’s quest to eat Onion Summit soup and continue on its push East.

This view looks south over the still-quite-active northern flank of the fire. White line shows 24 hour spread.

Highway 32 Corridor:

A spot fire or slop over the 32 near the Humboldt Road/Butte Meadows turnoff, covering 150 to 200 acres, presented challenges due to difficult terrain and extremely heavy fuels, but it has been contained, and mop-up operations were ongoing yesterday, with additional spot fires emerging in this area. A firing operation along Highway 32, which had been paused due to conditions, looks to have been wrapped today, and has, so far, kept fire west of Highway 32 from Lomo to the K-Line Road, near where Hwy 32 drops into Deer Creek Canyon. Mop-up continues down to Forest Ranch, where repopulation efforts are also in progress.

Looking West over Butte Meadows: SPI lands continue to burn northwest of Highway 32. A spot fire and some slop-over near Lomo has been contained and work continues to mop up interior heat. Last but certainly not least, firing operations completed a 700 to 1000-foot buffer along 6 miles of Highway 32 from Lomo to the East. This operation looks to have been a win on the Highway 32 corridor… assuming we can emulate this incredible feat and outpace the fire as it advances in the canyon below.

In other news around the fire…