Detwiler Fire awakens, burns another 100 acres

Above: A spot fire at the north end of the Detwiler Fire July 27, 2017 between the main fire and Lake McClure. CAL FIRE photo.

(Originally published at 12:35 p.m. PDT July 28, 2017)

The Detwiler Fire south of Coulterville, California had been relatively quiet for several days, until Thursday when a spot fire took off outside the fireline near Lake McClure. It burned about 100 acres before firefighters could stop the spread. This brought the total size up to 81,650 acres.

spot fire detwiler fire
Map showing the location of the spot fire at the northern end of the Detwiler Fire, July 27, 2017.

These photos were provided by CAL FIRE. The helicopters were stationed at the helibase near Highway 49 north of Mariposa.

Detwiler Fire air tanker 116
USFS Air Tanker 116 sprays retardant on the spot fire on the north end of the Detwiler Fire, July 27, 2017. CAL FIRE photo.

helicopter Detwiler fire helicopter Detwiler fire helicopter Detwiler fire

All articles about the Detwiler Fire on Wildfire Today can be found here, with the most recent being at the top.

Three arrested for stealing fire equipment on Detwiler Fire

The Mariposa County Sheriff’s office announced that three people have been arrested for stealing firefighting equipment on the Detwiler Fire, an 80,000-acre fire between Mariposa and Coulterville, California.

This is one of the more despicable crimes. Congratulations to the Sheriff’s office for making the arrests.

Here is an excerpt from their press release issued July 24, 2017.

stealing from firefighters arrested

All articles about the Detwiler Fire on Wildfire Today can be found here, with the most recent being at the top.

Firefighters making progress on Detwiler Fire

Above: This photo was taken four days ago (July 19, 2017) on the Detwiler Fire off Highway 49 just south of CAL FIRE’s county headquarters in Mariposa. Credit: Randy Johanson, EPN.

(Originally published at 10:10 a.m. PDT July 23, 2017)

On Saturday there was moderate growth on the north and northeast sides of the Detwiler Fire southeast of Coulterville, California. Most of the fire activity was in the northeast one-quarter of the fire.

There has been no change in the reported number of residences destroyed; it remains at 63, but the number of outbuildings increased to 67.

CAL FIRE is saying 76,000 acres have burned.

Evacuation orders for some areas have been lifted; CAL FIRE has the details.

We have not revised the map we published on July 21 because the minor growth of the perimeter would barely be noticeable.

Detwiler Fire
This photo was taken four days ago (July 19, 2017) on the Detwiler Fire off Highway 49 just south of CAL FIRE’s county headquarters in Mariposa. Credit: Randy Johanson, EPN.

It will be hot and dry on the Detwiler Fire Sunday. The forecast for the Coulterville area calls for 101 degrees, 11 percent relative humidity, and winds out of the southwest and west at 6 mph.

Resources assigned to the fire include 501 fire engines, 96 hand crews, 20 helicopters, 88 dozers, and 65 water tenders for a total of 4,756 personnel.

The photos above were from four days ago, but the video below shows much quieter conditions today, Sunday.

All articles about the Detwiler Fire on Wildfire Today can be found here, with the most recent being at the top.

Detwiler Fire update, July 22, 2017

(Originally published t 6:40 a.m. PDT July 22, 2017)

The Detwiler Fire in the California Sierra foothills was less active Friday than in previous days but there was growth of the fire on the northeast side 6 miles southeast of Coulterville and also in an area 5 miles south of the community. CAL FIRE is calling it 75,200 acres.

The evacuation order for Mariposa has been lifted but remains in effect for other areas. PG&E has re-energized some of the power lines along Highway 49.

An inversion overnight helped slow the spread of the fire. Friday night a weather station in Mariposa recorded a low of 62 degrees and a relative humidity that reached 65 percent before dawn. But it will be warm and dry on Saturday at Coulterville —  97 degrees, 19 percent RH, with 6 mph winds out of the southwest and west.

Fire officials have almost completed a survey of structures affected by the fire, reporting that 61 residences and 63 “minor structures” have been destroyed and another 13 residences damaged.

All of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Detwiler Fire can be found here.

Detwiler Fire update, July 21, 2017

Above: Detwiler Fire photo courtesy of Sacramento Fire Department

(Originally published at 7:58 a.m. PDT July 21, 2017)

Firefighters working to keep the Detwiler fire out of Mariposa and Coulterville Thursday were grateful for the moderate weather that resulted in less spread of the fire than in previous days. The south end has not seen much growth for a couple of days but the north side continues to get closer to the community of Coulterville in the central California foothills of the Sierras. The fire is less than two miles from the town but the incident management team has large numbers of resources in the area constructing firelines and prepping structures.

The map of the Detwiler fire below was current at 8 p.m. July 20, 2017.

Map of the Detwiler Fire
Map of the Detwiler Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 8 p.m. PDT July 20, 2017. The white line was the perimeter at 1 a.m. PDT July 20. The red shaded areas represent intense heat. Click to enlarge.

The wind on Thursday recorded at a weather station in Mariposa, was primarily from the west and north at six mph. If it was similar at Coulterville it would have slowed the growth of the fire toward the community, buying firefighters more time to put in defenses.

The weather forecast in the Coulterville area for Friday is not as favorable, with southwest winds of 10 to 13 mph gusting at 15 to 20, then switching to come out of the northwest late in the afternoon at 8 mph. The temperature should be in the mid-90s with the relative humidity in the high teens.

CAL FIRE is calling the fire 74,083 acres, but the map they distributed Friday morning along with that acreage figure (below) has a fire perimeter that was current at 1 a.m. on July 20 and does not show the most recent fire growth near Coulterville and on the east side of the fire.

CAL FIRE reports that 58 residences have been destroyed.

Highways 49 and 140 are both closed in the fire area. CAL FIRE and the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office have more information about evacuations, however CAL FIRE’s information site is updated infrequently.

Most of the large air tankers are reloading with retardant at Castle Airport, which is 25 miles west of the fire. On Wednesday the vendor at the base ran out of fuel, so air tankers needing more had to divert to Mather Airport southeast of Sacramento to get fuel, and then fly to Castle for retardant. A CAL FIRE spokesperson said that by Thursday the fuel shortage had been resolved.

Fire officials are establishing a retardant site for helicopters so that they can drop long term retardant on the fire rather than water, which is less effective.

The Detwiler Fire still has not spread into the Stanislaus National Forest. Southeast of Coulterville it is about half a mile away from the Forest boundary.

(All articles on Wildfire Today about the Detwiler Fire are tagged “Detwiler Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.)

Detwiler Fire advances 4 miles to the north

(Originally published at 7:30 a.m. PDT July 20, 2017)
(Updated at 7 p.m. PDT July 20, 2017)

CAL FIRE reported Thursday that the Detwiler Fire has destroyed 50 single family residences.

In the photo below Air Tanker 912, a DC-10, makes a retardant drop on the Detwiler Fire.

(Updated at 5:02 p.m. PDT July 20, 2017)

Above: A 3-D map of the Detwiler Fire looking south from Coulterville, CA. The red shaded area was the perimeter at 1 a.m. July 20. 

The Detwiler Fire was very active again Wednesday for the fourth day since it started and moved to within 2 miles of Coulterville, California. It grew by 4 miles on the north side, 3 miles on the south side, and 2 miles on the east. There was much less movement on the west side.

At 1 p.m. on Thursday the fire had spread north beyond the fire perimeter that was mapped at 1 a.m. and was less than 2 miles from Coulterville. It had crossed Crown Lead Road, which is south of Coulterville. The incident management team has a great many firefighting resources making preparations south of the town, including helicopters, hand crews, fire engines, and dozers. Firelines are being built and it is likely that when they are complete air tankers will reinforce those lines. The fire was also active at 1 p.m. Thursday on the northeast side as well as southeast of Catheys Valley on the south side.

Satellite photo Detwiler Fire
Satellite photo showing the Detwiler Fire Thursday afternoon. Click to enlarge.

Southeast of Coulterville the fire is less than a mile from the boundary of the Stanislaus National Forest. A CAL FIRE incident management team has been running the fire but an Interagency Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered to report to the fairgrounds at Sonora 22 air miles north of the fire. The assumption probably is that the fire will be in the National Forest in a day or two.

By Thursday morning at 1 a.m. the fire had burned 73,096 acres, an increase of 27,372 acres since the previous mapping flight at 10 p.m. on July 18. (There is some confusion about the acres burned, with some sources reporting the total is 70,096.)

CAL FIRE reports that 45 structures have been destroyed. It is not clear if that number includes outbuildings.

The map of the Detwiler Fire was current at 1 a.m. PDT July 20, 2017

Map Detwiler Fire
Map of the Detwiler Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 1 a.m. PDT July 20. The white line was the perimeter 27 hours earlier. Click to enlarge.

Highways 49 and 140 are both closed in the fire area. CAL FIRE and the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office have more information about evacuations, although CAL FIRE’s information site about this rapidly spreading fire is updated infrequently.

smoke Yosemite visibility
Smoke from the Detwiler Fire is affecting the visibility in Yosemite National Park east of the fire. This was the view of Half Dome at 7:21 a.m. July 20.
El Capitan Yosemite National Park smoke visibility
El Capitan in Yosemite National Park at 7:31 a.m. PDT July 20.

(All articles on Wildfire Today about the Detwiler Fire are tagged “Detwiler Fire” and can be found here, with the most recent at the top.)