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.
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.
==========================
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.
=========================
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.
=========================
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.
=====================
UPDATE at 10:27 p.m. PT August 27
McGowan’s Type 1 Incident Management Team has been mobilized for this fire.
