Ferguson Fire grows to over 12,000 acres

The fire has caused evacuations west of Yosemite National Park in California

(Originally published at 8:07 a.m. PDT July 17, 2018)

map Ferguson Fire
Map produced by the Incident Management Team, July 17, 2018. The line with the dots and plus signs represents a proposed dozer line. Click to enlarge.

For days the Ferguson Fire has been marching across the remote, steep terrain west of Yosemite National Park. On Monday it grew on all sides to some extent, with most of the additional blackened acres being added on the south and east sides.

Areas that are under mandatory evacuation orders include Incline Road from Clearing House to the last BLM campground; Jerseydale/Mariposa Pines; Cedar Lodge/ Indian Flat Campground, Savage’s Trading Post and Sweetwater Ridge.

CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.

Many areas are under an advisory or potential evacuation order should conditions change. A few examples are Yosemite West, National Park Service El Portal Complex, and Old El Portal. The Mariposa County Sheriff’s office has more current details about evacuation orders.

map Ferguson Fire
Map with red shaded areas indicating areas of intense heat at 9:08 p.m. PDT July 16, 2018.

Monday morning the incident management team announced that overnight mapping flights determined that 12,525 acres have burned in the Ferguson Fire.

Road closures:

  • Highway 140 from Abbie Rd in El Portal to 14 miles north of Mariposa;
  • Incline Road;
  • River Road from Briceburg to the gate at Railroad Flat;
  • Hites Cove / Jerseydale Road.

Approximately 1,486 personnel are assigned to the fire, including 118 engines, 5 water tenders, 4 helicopters, 39 hand crews, and 16 dozers. Air tankers are assigned as needed and as smoke and visibility allow. We have seen up to eight being used at the same time, ranging from the 1,200-gallon S2T’s to the 11,600-gallon DC-10’s.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

2 thoughts on “Ferguson Fire grows to over 12,000 acres”

  1. After surviving the Rim Fire it became clear that we need a lot more air assets. Inexplicably we seem to be going the other direction.
    http://fireaviation.com/2018/02/16/air-tankers-cut-one-third-2018/
    We run a camp for special needs folks and we will be forced to cancel sessions again this year due to smoke. It is only a matter of time before the policies of the forest service and Cal-fire put us out of business.

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