Creek Fire update: Trump reverses course on relief; containment projection pushed

Creek Fire disaster victims received a pair of gloomy forecasts amid efforts to recover from the devastation of the fifth largest fire in California history.

Then one of those projections turned favorable.

A day after the federal government originally rejected California’s request for financial relief to help with the latest series of wildfires throughout the state, California Rep. Tom McClintock and Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that California will receive what could be hundreds of millions of dollars to help recover from the state’s worst fire season in history.

The Creek Fire for the past six weeks has burned mountainous and foothill areas of Fresno and Madera counties.

On Thursday, Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told The Sacramento Bee that the state was denied for a major presidential disaster declaration, though reason for the denial was not given.

But by Friday, both McClintock and Newsom said they spoke to president Donald Trump and that the president reversed that decision.

“Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request. Grateful for his quick response,” Newsom said.

Meanwhile, fire officials dealing with the Creek Fire on Thursday night projected it might still be another month before the Creek Fire is fully contained.

And for the fire to be completely extinguished, it likely will require significant help from Mother Nature, fire officials said.

The fire grew by just over 2,000 acres Thursday night and has burned 344,042 acres as of Friday morning.

Approximately 987 personnel were assisting with fire suppression and logistical operations.

▪ The now months-old SQF Complex Fire (the Castle and Shotgun fires) has now burned 167,766 acres near Sequoia National Park.

As of Friday morning, it remained at 70% containment.

Southern California Edison is working to restore power to areas affected by the fire. Some 382 customers remain without power.

Sequoia Crest, Alpine Village and Cedar Slope will continue to be without power for several weeks, given the extensive damage to facilities there.

A generator has been instaled in the Ponderosa area and power has been restored to most of the Camp Nelson area. Mountain Home and Balch Park are expected to have power Friday.

▪ There seems to be little change in the Bullfrog Fire near Dinkey Creek. The fire has burned 1,185 acres and remains 60% contained, according to updates.

Containment could still be a month away

The Creek Fire has been burning for 41 days. It could be another month for full containment.

“It could be at least another 30 days,” Steve Watkins, Deputy Incident Commander, said in an update Thursday night.

“It’s going to take some time. We know we’re not seeing anything (rain or now) on the horizon due to moisture.”

Operations Section Chief Jeff Hinson added that crews will continue to do suppression acts while keeping firefighters safe.

“Ultimately, the rain or snow is what’s going to put out this fire completely, and keep the smoke from still rising in the air and coming into town,” Hinson said.

Temperatures warm, but not record-breaking

The temperatures on Friday are expected to be warmer than normal for October in the Central Valley. But they won’t be recording-breaking, according to the National Weather Service.

More dry weather is expected into next week, with fire weather concerns will continuing through the region.

The air quality forecast has slightly more orange than yellow, meaning the most counties will experience air that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. The northern counties, along with Kern County are expecting moderate air quality for the day.

As of Friday morning, Fresno’s AQI was ranging from 90 to 110, depending on location. The PM2.5 concentration remained just above level two, much as it has all week.

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 7:58 AM with the headline "Creek Fire update: Trump reverses course on relief; containment projection pushed."