California wildfire updates: Progress on Yosemite’s Washburn Fire; new blaze near Redding
Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle the Washburn Fire, which ignited a week ago inside Yosemite National Park, threatening giant sequoia trees and spreading into Sierra National Forest.
The fire has remained active due to wind, low humidity and terrain, burning in “very heavy accumulations of available dead surface fuels,” according to a Friday morning incident update from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service.
The Washburn Fire has burned at least 4,700 acres and was 27% contained as of a 6 a.m. update, compared to 4,375 acres with 23% containment on Thursday. More than 1,500 personnel are now assigned to the blaze.
The town of Wawona within Yosemite National Park remains under a mandatory evacuation order, and the park’s Mariposa Grove is also closed. Crews have raced to save mammoth, historic trees: Mariposa Grove includes more than 500 mature giant sequoia trees, some of which are more than 2,000 years old. So far, no significant damage has been reported to the giant sequoias.
The rest of the park remains open, accessible from Highways 120 and 140.
Portions of Sierra National Forest will be closed to the public through Aug. 1, according to the Forest Service.
“A persistent weather pattern for the next several days will support active-to-very active fire behavior in heavy dead and down fuels,” authorities wrote in incident reports Thursday and Friday. “Expect afternoon episodes of group torching, short crown runs, and spotting.”
The Washburn Fire ignited July 7. The official cause of the fire remains under investigation, but because there was no lightning at Yosemite the day it started, authorities say it appears to be human-caused.
Peter Fire: Tortoise sanctuary damaged
A 300-acre fire that sparked Thursday afternoon near Anderson is now 35% contained, officials with Cal Fire’s Shasta-Trinity Unit said in a 7 a.m. update, up from 25% containment Thursday evening.
Forward progress has been stopped on the Peter Fire after it destroyed 12 structures and burned 304 acres, according to Cal Fire. Improving weather conditions overnight helped crews boost containment.
Evacuation orders remained in place in the immediate area of the fire, with nearly 500 personnel assigned to the Peter Fire as of 9 p.m. Thursday.
The fire and air response by fire personnel caused damage to a nonprofit tortoise sanctuary.
Tortoise Acres Rescue & Sanctuary in Anderson shared a series of Facebook posts Thursday evening and Friday morning showing photos of damage to the sanctuary’s property, including outdoor pens and fencing.
The sanctuary’s videos also showed pink fire retardant from one or more air drops that had covered the grounds, fences and several tortoises’ shells.
“The tortoises are safe right now,” Katie Hoffman, who owns the sanctuary with her husband, wrote in a post Friday morning.
“Lots of people threw tortoises in their cars and we don’t know where half of them are yet.”
The sanctuary asked followers for donations to help repair and rebuild damaged areas; dozens of Facebook users had contributed more than $2,500 as of 9 a.m.
No injuries have been reported in the Peter Fire.
Grant Fire
Crews with Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit responded Thursday evening to a vegetation fire near Boys Ranch and Scott roads in Sacramento County. Officials reported the Grant Fire as of Friday morning at 74 acres with 65% containment.
Cal Fire in an evening update said crews made “great progress” containing the fire, with no threat to structures.
Officials said the Grant Fire sent significant amounts of smoke into the El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park areas late Thursday evening.
Other recent wildfires
▪ The Electra Fire, which ignited on July 4 near Jackson in Amador County, is now on the brink of full containment as crews continue mop-up duties. The fire burned 4,478 acres and was reported 99% contained Friday morning by Cal Fire’s Amador-El Dorado Unit. No structure damage was reported, and evacuation orders have been lifted except inside the fire’s perimeter.
▪ Firefighters have fully contained the Rices Fire, which sparked June 28 south of Dobbins in Nevada County. Full containment was achieved Wednesday afternoon at 904 acres, Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit said.
Thirteen structures were destroyed in the Rices Fire: five homes and eight outbuildings. At least 15 firefighters and one civilian were reported injuries, with the firefighter injuries described by Cal Fire as heat-related illness.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 8:26 AM.
