Owens Valley - Fort Fire

[kd6ecz]

From: CA-BDU- Fort Fire- Owens Valley - 5000+ ACRES

Fort IC 11:45 – BDU #001287 - Fort Fire - Multiple Vegetation fires -

Update: 1430hrs - Report on Conditions - Updated acreage 5,000+ acres
Winds are 35 to 40 mph.
Additional resources ordered:
2 S/T engines (1 local govt.)
5 S/T crews
2 Helicopters (total)
Owens Valley DWP : 1 dozer & 6 water tenders
Overhead personnel
Problems/Concerns: The fire is in close proximity to a single 230 kv line
It is also 1.8 miles from a twin set of 115 kv lines
Fire behavior: The fire is being pushed East by SW winds towards the White Mountains
Wx: 56 degrees – SW winds estimated at 40 to 60 mph
Structure Threat: None at present
Evacuations: None
Infrastructure Threat: Possible threat to ISO grid – will update as information becomes available
Fire Cause: Undetermined
Resources Committed: 1 CAL FIRE helicopter, 2 CAL FIRE engines, 5 CAL FIRE crews,
1 Chief Officer, 2 USFS Chief Officers and 1 USFS engine
Update: 1430hrs - 5000+ acres. Potential for 20,000.Type 1 Command Team on order.
Update: 1310 - Fire is moving North towards division creek area. S/T 9310C leaving RRU immediate need
Update: 1300 - 3000+ acres along the Owens river near Fort Independence. Well east of highway 395 in the Black rock area, potential for 6,000 acres, Dozers working on line construction.

IC: BDU Chief 3505 has arrived on scene and established command
Location: US395 Junction North Fort Road, 6 miles East of Fort Independence in Owens Valley area near Independence.
GPS Location: Lat/Long 36 degrees 50.13 N by 118 degrees 13.51 W
Google map link
Sizeup: Per CAL FIRE Div Chief on scene, fire appears to be around 1000 acres. Unknown potential
Resources: 2 type 3 engine strike teams on order. 5 type 1 crew strike teams on order. Aircraft on order. - DC4701, E331A, BE321, BE313, E412, BE302...

 

[kd6ecz]

There is also some information here:
CAL FIRE Incident Information

Apparently Fort Irwin FD is part of one of the strike teams sent to fight this fire.

 

[Eng74]

I can't see anything to the north from Ridgecrest. It's been raining for the last two hours.

 

[kd6ecz]

Seems kind of odd having a vegetation fire when it's been raining in So Cal off and on the past 24 hours doesn't it? Hopefully they've seen some rain in Owens Valley by now.

2,000-acre fire burns in California's Owens Valley
The Associated Press
7:31 p.m. February 5, 2009

INDEPENDENCE, Calif. — A wind-driven wildfire spread over 2,000 acres in California's Owens Valley even as a Pacific storm moved into coastal areas of the parched state Thursday.

The fire erupted just before noon about six miles east of Fort Independence and was burning in brush and heavy grassland, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Sparsely populated with ranches, the region is 185 miles north of Los Angeles and below the eastern flank of the southern Sierra Nevada. The largest town is Independence, with a population of about 3,000 people.

The flames were fanned by strong southwest winds related to two different pressure systems associated with the storm, Berlant said. Containment was estimated at 20 percent by evening. Winds decreased and rain had started to move in, helping firefighting conditions, Berlant said. Full containment was expected Friday morning.

Even though it's winter, California wildfires have been getting somewhat large for this time of year because of droughtlike conditions that have withered the state for three years, Berlant said.

"California is dry and we have to be extra careful," he said.

Five inmate handcrews of 15 to 17 people each were battling the fire along with a helicopter crew, two state fire engines, a U.S. Forest Service engine and some local government engines, Berlant said. More equipment was en route.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Fort Independence is a remote site where the U.S. Army established a military camp in the early 1850s. It's now on what is known as the Fort Independence Indian Reservation.
Showers were reported up and down the coast as far north as Eureka and as far south as the Mexican border, said National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt.

The heaviest rain had been reported in Los Angeles County and to the northwest in Kern County. Since about 2 p.m. rainfall rates in Los Angeles County ranged from a half-inch to three-quarter inch per hour

Boldt said a colder storm system was expected to move into Southern California on Friday, with possible thunderstorms and waterspouts off the coast. Snow levels were expected at the 5,000-foot level or lower.

Southern California just ended an unusually hot and dry January, with many days at 80 degrees or above. The first week of February has been similar. Before the arrival of Thursday's storm, downtown Los Angeles had recorded only 7.77 inches of rain since the start of the rain-year on July 1, a deficit of more than 2 1/2 inches for this time of year.

In late January, the state Department of Water Resources reported that the vital snowpack along the 400-mile Sierra Nevada range was only at 61 percent of its usual depth.

 

[MCIAD]

I just looked at the "official" 209 submitted by the IC (and/or rep), and it states containment expect on the 5th - yesterday. It also had the following info:

30: Observed Weather for Current Operational Period
Peak Gusts (mph): 60 Max. Temperature: 57
Wind Direction: S Min. Relative Humidity: 23
and
34: Forecasted Weather for next Operational Period
Wind Speed (mph): 10 Temperature: 27
Wind Direction: S Relative Humidity: 91

In other words - cold and wet overnight.