We’ve been reporting on how the Garnet Fire, burning on the Sierra National Forest east of Fresno, has been spreading into a large area of old-growth forest in the Teakettle Experimental Forest. The Climate & Wildfire Institute, a think tank with connections to UCLA, got about $5.4 million from the California Climate Investments (CCI) fund … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Root Fire, which was taken off Mount Shasta, and its potential impact on the surrounding area. The fire, started in a clear-cut on private land, is expected to spread north towards Lake Siskiyou, driven by unstable weather conditions and strong winds. The area hasn’t had fire for over 100 years, leading … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Garnet and Blue fires, noting the Garnet fire’s active status and the Blue fire’s recent growth to 1,000 acres. He highlighted the challenges of managing fires in the northern Sierra due to strong east winds and the impact on old-growth forests. Zeke mentioned the upcoming interview with Jamie Allen, a biologist … Read more
Zeke Lunder discussed the Garnet Fire, which started near the Kings River and spread into the Sierra Nevada, highlighting its rapid growth and the challenges of suppressing it. He also covered the Teakettle Experimental Forest, where a planned 3,000-acre burn is being incinerated by the fire’s advancement. Lunder explained the complexities of fire behavior in … Read more
The livestream discussed current fire behavior and management tactics on major fires in California. The Garnet fire is spreading rapidly, with a 1,000-acre spot fire across the North Fork of the Kings River. The L-2 fire near Deer Creek Falls, in Tehama County is under control, thanks to a lot of heavy helicopter drops. The … Read more
KNP COMPLEX *** 7:00am on October 11 – Ryan Stephens: The fire grew by one acre last night. Unless conditions change, today will be my last day covering fire progression for the KNP Complex. *** 9:50pm on October 10 – IR Interpreter’s Log: MAP KEY: RED perimeter line to WHITE perimeter line showing one acre … Read more
KNP COMPLEX *** 7am on October 8 – Ryan Stephens: With a heavy heart we’re reposting a special announcement that came out from the KNP Complex yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved. *** 9:45pm on October 7 – Special announcement from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks *** October 7 … Read more
KNP COMPLEX By Ryan Stephens ***10:30am on October 6 – Operational update reported slopover near North Fork Drive in the area of Advance. Looking southeast toward Advance (lower left) and Three Rivers (center right). Today’s Ops Map ***10:00am on October6 – Today’s operational update video from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. ***9:50pm … Read more
KNP COMPLEX Maps and commentary by: Ryan Stephens ***Noon on October 1 ~ KNP Complex Weather Update by Incident Meteorologist Jason Straub Watch the weather update here. ***10am on October 1 ~ Morning briefing video from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Watch today’s briefing here. ***9:30pm on September 30 ~ Sequoia and Kings Canyon … Read more
KNP evening update 500-600 acre spotfire reported across the north fork of the Kaweah RIver ***9:30pm on September 30 ~ Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks KNP Complex Facebook Update KNP Complex Fire Announcement: Ground and air resources are currently responding to a 500-600 acre spot fire that has crossed the north fork of the … Read more
SOUTHERN SIERRA FIRES MAP KEY: The RED shaded areas at center of the map are our current Windy and KNP fire perimeters, The Tule River Reservation is shaded BROWN, Giant Sequoia Groves are shaded LIGHT GREEN, the past 10 years of Rx fires are shaded DARK BLUE, and LIGHT BLUE shows the past 20 years … Read more
WINDY FIRE Commentary by Sequoia National Forest – Lookout Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens LOOKOUT MAP KEY: Windy Fire footprint – RED PERIMETER LINE to WHITE LINE shows approximately 24 hours of growth, RED DOTS are isolated heat sources, Tule River Reservation is SHADED BROWN, Giant Sequoia Groves are SHADED GREEN, all of the … Read more
7am on September 27, 2021 – Weather update for the Southern Sierra Fires Below is a Tweet from an Incident Meteorologist regarding a weather shift that could have significant impacts on the South Sierra fires: https://twitter.com/psuweatherman/status/1442478180581863429?s=20 WINDY FIRE Commentary by Sequoia National Forest ***** Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens 7am on September 27, 2021 … Read more
***September 26 at 11:30am, Commentary from Chuck Ervin Windy mid-day update. While I was writing on KNP this morning, the Windy was making a major push up toward Tobias Peak. About 4:30am the fire overran the communication site at Tobias peak, visible on the remote cameras stationed there. It appears from the timelapse footage that … Read more
Here is a guest photo essay from Darin McQuoid. He saw a post we did last week on the fires in the Southern Sierra where we mentioned tree mortality, so he sent us these great photos. We welcome submissions like this. Thanks, Darin! December 12, 2015: Tree mortality from bark beetle. Castle Rock and Paradise … Read more
WINDY FIRE Commentary by Chuck Ervin ***** Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens 11am update from a knowledgeable local via wildfireintel.org: Pretty quiet this morning in Pine Flat. Fire made it to the northwest part of the community near Flying T and Rocking K yesterday, but there were no issues. Tons of resources remain in … Read more
KNP COMPLEX Commentary by Chuck Ervin ***** Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens Overview Map – IR Flight – September 23 – 11:11pm: Overview of 24 hour fire growth looking east. MAP LAYERS: Giant Sequoia Groves are Shaded GREEN. The area between red and white lines around the perimeter of the fire show roughly … Read more
KNP Complex Commentary by Chuck Ervin ***** Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens: Today’s Operations Map Alexander Pincus IR interpreters log, September 22 at 11:55pm: Observed perimeter growth along the majority of the western and northern sides of the perimeter. Several smaller fingers advancing past the perimeter to the east and south. MAP … Read more
Windy Fire – September 22, 2021 Let’s take a look at today’s briefing map: _______________ Maps and Captions by Ryan Stephens with commentary by Chuck Ervin Ryan Stephens: IR was back in the air last night and today we have the maps to prove it! So far, the fire has reached into five giant sequoia … Read more
9/21/2021 at 6am KNP COMPLEX Today’s Briefing Map IR Interpreter’s log Jeremy Hurd: Minor growth to perimeter, with the most significant in the SSW areas. Center of the perimeter continues to show some isolated heat sources as the scattered heat continues to withdraw toward the outer perimeters. Below are maps of the KNP Complex burning … Read more
9/20/2021 at 6am Briefing Map KNP Complex – Maps by Ryan Stephens, with commentary by Chuck Ervin. Below are maps of the KNP Complex burning in Sequoia National Park made from infrared data captured at 2306PDT (11:06pm) on September 19. IR Interpreter Alex Pincus log: Significant growth in the NNW section. Perimeter slightly grew to … Read more
9/19/2021 at 7:30am – Maps from Ryan Stephens Below are maps of the KNP Complex burning in Sequoia National Park made from infrared data captured at 2350PDT on September 18. IR Interpreter Alex Pincus log: -Imagery shows the fire advancing to the East NE and has reached the Wuksachi Lodge and crossed Clover Creek in … Read more
6:00am 9/18/2021 – Chuck Erwin KNP Complex KNP Complex IR this morning shows a major extension of the Colony Fire (both fires are well joined at this point) up through Marble Canyon. Then over the Generals Highway, impacting Red Fir and Wuksachi. Ash Mountain RAWS shows that the usual down slope, down canyon winds – … Read more
09/17/2021 – 8pm update from our correspondent, Chuck Ervin. Div A is clearing Paradise Ridge towards General’s Highway (as reported this morning). Shepard Saddle Roads being improved as well with dozer and retardant line, courtesy of CALFIRE. Structure protection is ready as far up as Grant Grove, down to Three Rivers and out to Silver … Read more
The fires burning in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and on the Tule River Indian Reservation are a bit outside our territory, but as Caldor and Dixie Fires wind down, we have some bandwidth to post the heat maps. I (Zeke) am a Northern Sierra kid and not familiar with this part of the world … Read more