Creek Fire update: Weekend snowstorm wasn’t enough to stamp out slow-growing flames
On Wednesday morning, the Creek Fire and SQF Complex fires remained stable.
Fire area increased for the first time in days on Tuesday night by 70 acres on the northwest portion of the Creek Fire, to 379,802 acres. The fire remained 70% contained and is still expected to reach full containment by Nov. 15, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The slight increase in acreage confirmed what fire managers suspected — there had been no real growth in the fire for days, in large part thanks to the foot of snow that fell over the weekend. That same snowstorm had previously grounded mapping flights.
But the snow that fell wasn’t enough to put out the heavier fuels that continue to burn. Reconnaissance flights spotted smoke just north of Lake Thomas A. Edison and east and south of Pond Lily Lake and Pumice Butte on Tuesday evening.
“Until we get 5 or 6 inches of (precipitation) and get that moisture to penetrate those heavy fuels, we’re going to see smoke produced. At this point, it’s just a matter of letting those heavy fuels burn out,” said Fire Behavior Analyst Bryon Kimball in Tuesday’s report.
For the second day, firefighters have been plowing snowy areas to continue suppression repair and the removal of hazardous trees along roads, trails, and campgrounds. Stalled roadwork on about 100 miles of fireline due to the snow and icy roads but picked back up Wednesday, as the weather warms and snow begins to melt.
The number of personnel on the fire continues to dwindle: 597 people worked the fire on Wednesday, down from over 800 last week, according to the latest Facebook update. That number will continue to fall in the coming days, according to Wednesday’s update.
On Friday, management of the fire will switch to California Interagency Incident Management Team 10, from the Alaska Incident Management Team. Thursday, then, the new crews will shadow the current firefighters.
A freeze warning remains in effect in the San Joaquin Valley until 8 a.m. this morning, “before temperatures see (an) upward trend for the remainder of the week,” according to the National Weather Service. U.S. Forest Service officials predict Thursday will bring more clouds and a small chance of light rain or snow.
The Sierra National Forest will remain closed through Nov. 24.
SQF Complex Fire
The SQF Complex Fire remains at 171,032 acres and 80% containment, with 308 people working on it, according to the Forest Service. Active burning is limited to large logs not reached by the rain and snow.
Fire managers predict those heavy fuels will continue burning for months, “until the entire area is blanketed by winter storms,” according to a Wednesday morning update.
In total, firefighters have constructed 26 miles of handline and 148 miles of dozer line and dropped 6 million gallons of water and 2 million gallons of fire retardant in efforts to suppress the fire. Now, about half of the firelines still need to be repaired to return as close to normal as possible.
An Interagency Emergency Task Force is working to prevent flash floods by identifying trigger points and cleaning up debris.
The FEMA Mobile Registration Intake Center serving wildfire survivors in Tulare County was closed Wednesday to observe Veterans Day.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 8:41 AM with the headline "Creek Fire update: Weekend snowstorm wasn’t enough to stamp out slow-growing flames."