It was planned to be a one-day, 90-acre prescribed fire in Yosemite National Park in the Big Meadow area near the community of Foresta on Wednesday, but the Big Meadow prescribed fire “jumped a holding line” and as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday it had burned 300 acres.
Big Meadow fire at 0915 Aug. 27, view from Turtleback Dome. The small smoke in the distance is the West fire on the Sierra National Forest. NPS photo
A Type 2 Incident Management Team will be assuming command. Numerous air tankers and helicopters are assigned.
Some excellent photos of the fire are on the Yosemite Blog. A web camera showing the fire that updates about every 15 minutes is HERE.
We will update this information as it becomes available.
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UPDATE at 10:00 a.m. PT, August 27
The Park just posted on their web site an update written at 1 a.m.:
This fire is now an escaped prescribed fire and is being suppressed. Fire Managers estimate that 400 acres have burned.
Fire managers began the burn on the morning of August 26 and in a very short time realized the holding lines were not going to contain the fire within the boundaries of this burn. The fire began spotting across the line into pockets of brush, down and dead logs and standing dead trees (snags) to the east of the community of Foresta.
This fire is within the 1990 A-Rock fire scar. Yosemite Helicopter 551 began bucket drops, which was followed by additional aircraft resources including other water dropping helicopters, (one 3000 gal per drop, heavy helicopter), and Cal Fire fixed winged air tankers. However, aircraft resources terminate operations at night; they will resume flying in the morning. Other ground resources were ordered including additional hand crews, engines and water tenders from Mariposa County and the Stanislaus National Forest.
Crews will be working through the night. A Type 2 Incident Management Team will take over the fire on August 27.
Road Closures: The Big Oak Flat Road is closed from Highway 140 to Crane Flat and the Foresta road into the community of Foresta. There is no estimated time for the road to re-open. Highway 120 from Big Oak Flat entrance station is open to Crane Flat, on to Tuolumne Meadows, and Highway 395.
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UPDATE at 10:30 a.m. PT August 27
We just talked with a fire information officer at Yosemite National Park. The fire has now burned 1,170 acres. There was some confusion about the fire name from some sources, but it is confirmed that it is named “Big Meadow”.
Crane Flat Campground and Foresta have been evacuated.
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UPDATE at 6:45 p.m. PT August 27
As of 4 p.m. PT the fire has burned 2,200 acres and it is 10% contained. A Type 2 Incident Management Team will assume command of the fire today. Resources currently on the fire include approximately 500 firefighters, three helicopters, four air tankers, and 24 engines.
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UPDATE at 10:27 p.m. PT August 27
McGowan’s Type 1 Incident Management Team has been mobilized for this fire.
Ooops, we had a large fire near there in 1990 A Rock fire
why would they ‘prescribe’ any sort of fire in the first place??
HR:Here is information from a U.S. Forest Service site:Prescribed Fire is used to approximate the natural vegetative disturbance of periodic fire occurrence. This vegetative management tool is used to maintain fire dependent ecosystems and restore those outside their natural balance. Generally, low intensity prescribed fire, is applied by trained experts to clear ground of dangerous fuels like dead wood and brush. This low-intensity fire is vital to the life cycles of fire-dependent range and forest lands.Most prescribed fires are lit by crews using the drip torch, a hand-carried device that pours out a small stream of burning fuel. Other fires or burns are ignited by helicopters carrying a gelled fuel torch (helitorch) or a sphere dispenser machine that drops material to ignite the surface fuels in forest and range types. Exactly how each unit is ignited depends on weather, the lay of the land, and the intensity of the fire needed to meet the goal of the burn.
Back in the days, before we can to this land and messed with the forest, natural fires use to come through the forest all the times. This is what managed the forest, there was no need for any other kind of management. It kept the forest healthy with a good stand density. As soon as the first American decided that they were going to fight these fires and put them out, the forest begin to grow to very high density rates. These high dense forests cause for very unhealthy stands. It results in easy and fast spread for various fungi, bettles, and other diseases like Mistle Toe, Bark Bettle, "Indian Paint" conks, root rut, and many more. Due to the high density, these diseases spread very easily, killing many trees. High dense forests also have high competition within species of trees and vegetation. With too much competition you will have very poor quality trees that will not provide the various objects that they need to provide to the enviro. Prescribed fire is used to help keep the density of the forest down to the ideal range, (which is still much more then before we came, and is much more then needed to keep the forest obtained). They also keep the understory fuels to a low density so when a natural fire does come through, it will not burn as heavily, as hot, as dangerous, and as fast as they do now. The reason why the famous Angora fire spread to be so big and so fast is because of this. So don’t worry, prescribed fires is ok. It will not kill the forest, it wont even hurt it. And the little smoke that they put off is much less then the fires that get out of control. The only thing that will take away our forest are the diseases and the uncontrolled fires. This information I am giving you has been gathered from me by working for the Forest Service and by taking many classes in Forestry and having my degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis on Forest Management.
I don’t think that any word is strong enough to express the incompetence of Yosemite’s proscribed fire managers. Idiocy, madness, or just plain stupid as hell doesn’t cut it, not this time. An RX fire, under such known bad conditions and forecast? Insane. The only way NPS Rx fire management might be able to redeem themselves is unconditional public apology for their incompetence, payment in full of all fire related losses and firefighting costs out of their own pockets, followed by termination. One other thing; if a Park visitor, resident, or firefighter dies as a result of the fire, homicide charges must be filed.
"Yosmite Resident" has some pretty strong words about the NPS Prescribed Fire folks that lost their burn this week in Yosemite NP. I’m assuming that the writer has never been involved – or been responsible – to conduct a prescribed fire, or the planning and preparation to blend the art and science necessary when dealing with a force of nature like fire?As a long-term wildland fire person who has conducted numerous prescribed burns – and lost a few, too – I can only ask "Yosmite Resident" to think about the alternatives: unnatural habitat changes, loss of species diversity for no fire, and of course, the impacts when the inevitaable high-intensity wildfire does occur.An old college Prof in my Forestry School said that "any fool with a tree in his backyard and a dollar in his pocket thinks he can manage a commercial forest". To paraphrase him: any fool that has put out a camp fire with a shovel and bucket like Smokey suggests thinks that they are smarter than wildland fire managers! Comments like those offered by "Yosmite Resident" will only help to drive more qualified prescribed managers into a less risky business, leaving the forests, Parks and Wildlife Refuges as the ultimate losers!
Nice try Emmett……..all your pompous comments about unnatural habitat changes and loss of species and tree in your backyard forest managers just doesn’t cut it.I don’t care what their so called perimeters said…….you don’t do prescribed burns in that part of the world in August! The risks are far too great to take the chance as they immediately found out.There are far better times during the year to accomplish their so called habitat improvement/firerisk reduction burns than the middle of the hottest part of the year, when humidity, wind and fuel are at a point where fires are explosive.The parks neighbors to the north (USFS) learned that many years ago. Having fought fires many times over the last thirty years in that area, I can say from experience that your way off the mark when you try to browbeat the "Yosemite Resident". Instead of driving away so called qualified prescribed burn managers, they should all learn something from this incident. You can’t learn it all from a book…..it takes many years for a person to acquire the skills and knowledge to manage a fire.Many of the new folks coming up through the ranks need far more experience in these areas. And yes, maybe it would be a good thing if they sought a less riskier profession where their mistakes are not so catastrophic.Wally
Emmett, no one’s arguing against prescribed fires. They’re quite beneficial for the reasons you and David mentioned. The issue is with the timing. The weather forecast that week had Yosemite Valley in the upper 90s – around 97, 99. I don’t see what the debate is about. It’s just common sense. Do you go ahead and do a prescribed fire during Santa Ana conditions?In the end, this fire will cost people – taxpayers footing the bill to extinguish the blaze and numerous people whose their vacations were canceled. This wasn’t an act of nature, just really poor judgment.
After reading the Acting Park Superintendent’s comments when asked specific questions regarding the rational behind setting this fire in August, I am now throughly convinced the place is run by rookies.When asked if he would do it again his answer was YES!!. He claims its all based on science. Well folks, to accurately predict conditions it that area this time of year you would need Cray computer!!The only science involved is temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, fuel moisture. Those are the basic components that can be used and all the rest is pure speculation based on what it has done in the past. I’ve never been on a fire that had the same conditions as any in the past! I think they call it junk science. Sorry if folks think this is a harsh response but who owns the problem? This guy says he would do it again…….Good luck to the folks in El Portal and other communities surrounding the park and to the folks that come to visit.Wally