Firefighters are making progress but the fire continues to spread to the east.
Above: the Rey Fire earlier in the week.
Over the last two days the Rey Fire north of Santa Barbara, California has spread an additional two to three miles to the east, but firefighters are making progress and have fireline around much of the perimeter.
Tuesday crews constructed line on the north side near Old Mountain and along the southern side north of Gibraltar Reservoir. Tuesday night the fire backed down into Mono Creek on the east flank where crews hope to stop the fire’s eastward spread.
The red line was the perimeter of the Rey Fire at 10 p.m. PDT Aug 23, 2016. The white line was the perimeter at 9 p.m. August 21, 2016. Click to enlarge.
Today firefighters hope to hold the Mono Creek containment line and will continue to build contingency lines further east. A secondary containment line is being constructed along the P-Bar Trail.
On Wednesday the forecast calls for stronger southwest winds pushing the fire east and northeast, challenging firelines. Winds should be up canyon at 3 to 6 mph with gusts in the late afternoon up to 25 mph. Smoke will impact areas north and east of the fire.
Map of the Chimney Fire at 10 p.m. MDT August 23, 2016. Click to enlarge.
Over the last two days the Chimney Fire north of Cambria near the central California coast has grown by over 10,000 acres, and has now blackened a total of 40,800 acres. Most of that expansion has been on the north side where it has moved another mile and a half into Monterey County. Late Tuesday evening and into the night it was also very active on the southwest side spreading about a mile to the southwest. It is now 2.7 miles from the Hearst Castle. Some of the additional acres on the west side are a result of firing operations by firefighters.
CAL FIRE has updated the information about the impact the fire has had on structures, reporting that 45 residences and 20 other structures have been destroyed, while 7 have been damaged.
On Tuesday the fire behavior was described as extreme after the inversion broke as usual at about 2 p.m. Firefighters have taken advantage of favorable weather conditions at night to conduct firing operations to secure firelines. One of their priorities is burning out an area on the west side that would protect the Hearst Castle.
Evacuation orders are still in place for some areas in San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties.
Above: dozens of large hay bales were destroyed in the Maitland Fire on August 23, 2016.
The Maitland Fire burned 34 acres of ranch land on August 23, 2016, 12 air miles south of Hot Springs, South Dakota. There was no damage to structures, but there was the temporary loss of grazing acreage, dozens of large hay bales, and possibly some fences.
In the video below the smoke patterns generated by burning objects on the ground are interesting.
The National Weather Service has posted Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches for areas in California, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota.
The Red Flag map was current as of 10:45 a.m. MDT on Tuesday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts and maps. For the most current data visit this NWS site.
The south entrance into Yellowstone National Park is still closed by the Berry Fire which is being monitored, rather than suppressed, in order to benefit the ecosystem.
On Tuesday the fire spread farther into the Bridger-Teton National Forest after burning out of Grand Teton National Park. The northeast and south sides were the most active where it moved about half a mile beyond the previous perimeter.
The red line was the perimeter of the Berry Fire at 8 p.m. MDT on August 22, 2016. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:12 a.m. MDT August 24, 2016. Click to enlarge.
A Type 2 incident management team led by Incident Commander Tim Rodie is now in place. He is assisted by 115 personnel, which is an increase of 77 over the previous day. There are 4 hand crews, 5 engines, and 3 helicopters assigned to the fire.
The incident management team is calling the fire 6,819 acres.
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(UPDATED at 5 p.m. MDT August 23, 2016)
The Berry Fire continued to spread Tuesday into the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway.
US Highway 89/191/287 in Grand Teton National Park is closed at Leeks Marina on the south, and at the South Gate of Yellowstone National Park on the north.
Berry Fire. The red line was the perimeter during an 8 p.m. mapping flight August 22. The red shaded areas had the most heat at that time. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:16 p.m. MDT August 23, 2016. Click to enlarge.
The weather recorded at the Coyote Meadows weather station 12 miles west of the fire has been fairly moderate for the last 24 hours, showing 2 to 6 mph winds out of the southwest and west and 70 degrees Tuesday afternoon. The exception to the “moderate” weather has been the relative humidity which got up to only 35 percent overnight, and at 5 p.m. Tuesday was 12 percent. That will change Tuesday night when the RH increases to 71 percent, but it will fall to 19 percent Wednesday afternoon. The wind Tuesday night and Wednesday will be out of the northeast and north at 5 to 13 mph. This could influence the fire to move to the south over the next 24 hours.
There are still no plans to put out the fire. Grand Teton National Park explained on Tuesday in a statement:
Fire management goals for the Berry Fire include providing for public and firefighter safety; suppressing fire to protect structures and campgrounds; and monitoring fire growth as it burns in wilderness and contributes to long-term forest health.
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(Originally published at 10:14 a.m. MDT August 23, 2016)
Map of the Berry Fire. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:31 a.m. MDT August 23, 2016. The yellow dots were detected within the previous 6 days. Click to enlarge.
The Berry Fire in Grand Teton National Park more than doubled in size Monday, closing Highway 89 which leads to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The highway is closed at Leeks Marina road (south) and the Flagg Ranch (north) and will remain closed indefinitely, a park spokesperson announced Tuesday morning.
Pushed by a 5 to 8 mph southwest wind gusting up to 22 mph, the fire ran out of the park to the northeast crossing the northern tip of Jackson Lake, the Snake River, and Highway 89. It then spread into the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Lizard Creek Campground has been evacuated.
3-D Map of the Berry Fire looking north. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:31 a.m. MDT August 23, 2016. The yellow dots were detected within the previous 6 days. Click to enlarge.
The rapid fire spread on Monday added about 3,800 acres, bringing the size of the Berry Fire up to approximately 6,900 acres as of 4:31 a.m. on Tuesday.
Motorists expecting to enter Yellowstone from the popular south entrance will be forced to take long detours stretching for hundreds of miles. They may not be pleased to learn that National Park Service officials decided on July 25 when the Berry Fire started to allow the fire to “enhance the area’s natural resources”, rather than suppress it.
The moderately strong winds that caused the fire to leave Grand Teton National Park were accompanied Monday by 7 percent relative humidity and 80 degree temperatures.
Highway 89 south of Yellowstone’s south entrance remains closed due to fire. At this time, there is no estimated time of opening.
Grand Teton National Park brought in a Type 3 incident management team for the fire on August 21 when Red Flag Warnings for extreme wildfire danger appeared in the weather forecast. At that time there were 25 personnel assigned. As of August 22 that had increased to 39. Eight fires listed on the August 23 National Situation Report have more than 500 personnel assigned. Five have more than 1,300. However, those fires are larger and are threatening more structures.
Now that the fire has closed Highway 89 and burned outside the park they have ordered a higher level team, a Type 2 team to manage the fire, with Incident Commander Tim Roide. The next level up would be a Type 1 team.
Wildfires in Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP. The red areas represent heat detected by a satellite at 4:31 a.m. MDT August 23, 2016. The yellow areas were detected within the previous 6 days. Click to enlarge.
There are three active fires in Yellowstone National Park, the Maple, Fawn, and Buffalo fires. We covered these earlier. They all continued to spread on Monday. The Maple fire east of West Yellowstone, Montana marched another mile to the north, but was active on most of the perimeter. The park says all roads and businesses remain open, including the east and west entrances and the highway that goes right by the Maple Fire, Highway 20.
