A mapping flight Monday night determined the blaze had burned 8,559 acres
8:40 a.m. PDT Sept. 27, 2021
Fawn Fire map. The outer red line was the perimeter mapped by a fixed wing flight at 11:10 p.m. Sept. 26, 2021. The blackish/red line was the perimeter about 26 hours before. The dark red area represents intense heat when the fire was mapped.
The incident management team on the Fawn Fire north of Redding, California reports that Damage Inspection Teams have documented 76 residences and 79 other structures that have been destroyed.
Shasta County has established a map showing the structures that have been evaluated for damage. Redding maintains a map showing evacuation status.
A mapping flight Monday night determined the blaze had burned 8,559 acres.
Backfiring operations near the lake on the northwest and northeast sides were both successful Sunday, stopping the spread. Firefighters now have a fireline around the entire fire, however the weather could test those lines.
Weather forecasters predict breezy conditions beginning late Monday afternoon ahead of a front which could drop 0.1″ of rain, but no wetting rains are expected. Winds will be out of the southwest gusting from 25 to 35 mph then turning to come from the northwest with gusts to 25.
A 30-year-old woman has been arrested for starting the blaze
9:18 a.m. PDT September 26, 2021
Fawn Fire map. The red line was the perimeter at 9:43 p.m. PDT Sept. 25, 2021. The black line was the perimeter about 24 hours earlier. The darker red areas indicate intense heat when the fire was mapped.
The Fawn Fire north of Redding, California grew by about 1,000 acres Saturday to bring the size up to 8,537 acres Saturday night. All of the growth was on the north side where it reached the shore of Shasta Lake west of Ski Island, and on the northeast side near Bear Mountain Lookout Road and west of Silverthorn Road.
For the second time it spotted across the lake onto an island, which is 500 to 1,000 feet away from the mainland. However with the lake as low as it is, that distance may be much shorter, or non-existent.
Below is a zoomed-in archived satellite photo overlaid with areas of intense heat in red.
North edge of the Fawn Fire, mapped at 9:43 p.m. PDT Sept. 26, 2021
Fire officials report that 131 structures have been officially documented as destroyed, with 44 of them being residences. CAL FIRE Damage Inspection Teams are still assessing the affected areas.
Starting late Monday morning, there is a chance for rain through mid afternoon Tuesday. Unfortunately, this will only produce 0.1 inch over the fire area, but the increased moisture should moderate fire behavior.
Looking toward the Fawn Fire from the Highland Trail camera pointing northwest at 9:08 a.m. Sept. 26, 2021. AlertWildfire.
Resources assigned to the fire include 12 helicopters, 201 engines, 46 dozers, 30 water tenders and 49 hand crews for a total of 1,886 personnel.
9:25 a.m. PDT September 25, 2021
Fawn Fire map 9:21 p.m. PDT Sept. 24, 2021. The dark red areas had intense heat when the fire was mapped Friday night.
The Fawn Fire has burned approximately 25 residences and 75 other structures just north of Redding, California according to fire authorities. When it started Wednesday afternoon it grew very rapidly but slowed after reaching the north-facing slopes above the shore of Shasta Lake. Friday night it was mapped at 7,544 acres and was active on the west side near Radcliff Road and on the northeast side west of Juniper Drive and Bear Mountain Lookout Road.
Saturday morning live cameras showed very dense smoke in the area which would prevent aircraft from assisting firefighters on the ground.
A map showing the evacuations that are in effect is available at the Redding website.
Friday night the fire was four miles north of Highway 299 and was east of Interstate 5 and a large powerline right-of-way east of the Interstate. It was north of Bear Mountain Road.
Alexandra Souverneva. Photo by Roseburg Police Dept..
Fire investigators arrested 30-year old Alexandra Souverneva of Palo Alto, California for starting the fire. She was booked into the Shasta County Jail charged with arson and a special allegation for starting a fire during a state of emergency.
KRCR reported that Souverneva was seen in the general area where the fire started earlier in the day. When questioned by investigators while the fire was burning she was carrying a lighter and said she was hiking because she was trying to get to Canada.
[Souverneva] said she was thirsty and had found a puddle in a dry creek bed but that it contained bear urine. She said she tried to filter the water using a tea bag but that didn’t work so she tried to start a fire to boil the water. She said it was too wet to start a fire so she drank the water and continued walking uphill.
Souverneva is suspected of starting another fire in the nearby city of Shasta Lake on September 21.
On September 12, 2021 Souverneva was arrested in Oregon, for Criminal Trespass, 2nd Degree according to the Douglas County Sheriff. She was released the following day.
On the KNP Complex of fires in Southern California
10:58 a.m. PDT Sept. 24, 2021
KNP Complex of fires map. The red line was the perimeter at 11 p.m. PDT Sept. 23, 2021. The white line was the perimeter Sept. 19. The green areas are the approximate locations of giant sequoia groves.
One of the highest priorities on the 36,850-acre KNP Complex of fires in Sequoia National Park other than protecting the giant sequoia trees is stopping the south edge of the fire before it gets to Mineral King Road, the location of many structures. On Thursday there were five hotshot crews and a dozer building fireline on the perimeter from Oriole Lake to the east to tie it in with rock. This is not far from the Oriole and Atwell Groves of sequoias. Aircraft supported this operation to reduce the fire’s intensity, enabling firefighters to work closer to the edge of the fire. They expect to complete this section of line on Friday.
To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the KNP Complex of fires, including the most recent, click HERE.
In recent days the fire spread closer to the National Park Service facilities in the Ash Mountain area, including the helibase and park headquarters. After weeks of planning and preparation, on Thursday firefighters conducted a tactical firing operation north of the Generals Highway to remove fuel and help protect the structures. They reported it went well. Weather permitting, on Friday firefighters will conduct a similar operation south of the highway not far from park headquarters. The smoke will again be very visible from Three Rivers. Tying all this in will be key to preventing further westward movement of the fire toward park HQ and the communities along the highway.
KNP Complex of fires. Firing operation above park headquarters, Sept. 23, 2021. Looking toward Fry Point from Ash Mountain Headquarters. NPS photo by M. Theune.
In a Thursday morning briefing Operations Section Chief Jon Wallace said he did not have enough hand crews and other resources to be able to work on all of the high priority areas at the same time, and is forced to shift them around based on fire activity.
Roads in shaded fuel breaks on National Forest land northwest of the fire were being re-opened Thursday by 17 dozers. This will allow firefighters access if the fire moves into the area. Other fuel treatments in the park, including a long history of prescribed fire, have been very effective in slowing the spread of the fire, Mr. Wallace said.
A dozer improved the fire road from Ash Mountain to North Fork on Sept. 19, 2021. NPS photo by Mark Garrett.
The General Sherman tree and all of the other giant sequoias are still standing in the Giant Forest. The fire moved into the grove a fairly short distance before firefighters were able to stop it in that area.
A drone is being used to help ignite burnout operations on the north side of the fire west of Little Baldy.
A mobile retardant base is now operational north of the fire at Meadows. Helicopters will be loaded there with fire retardant and gel to slow the spread of the fire in the sequoia groves, assisting firefighters on the ground.
Resources assigned to the fire include 49 hand crews, 58 fire engines, 28 dozers, 35 water tenders, 11 masticators, and 21 helicopters for a total of 1,620 personnel.
KNP Complex of fires in Southern California has burned more than 21,000 acres
5:55 a.m. PDT Sept. 19, 2021
KNP Complex of fires map, 11:50 p.m. Sept. 18, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The green areas are the approximate locations of giant sequoia groves.
There was less growth of the KNP Complex of fires on Saturday than the day before, but it has spread 1.5 miles north of the Generals Highway northwest of the Lodgepole Visitor Center. Smoke cleared in the afternoon, allowing air tankers and helicopters to resume direct attack on the fire in steep terrain inaccessible to fire crews. This includes areas on the southwest perimeter of the fire nearest the Three Rivers community.
Photo by Matthew Mehle, Incident Meteorologist for U.S. National Weather Service (NWS), assigned to the KNP Complex Fire.
Despite the fire reaching the Four Guardsmen trees in the Giant Forest, the incident management team reported that fuel removal efforts by firefighters, combined with structure wrap applied by crews to the base of the iconic sequoia trees, successfully protected these national treasures.
The fire also crossed the Generals Highway again farther to the north in the area of the General Sherman tree.
The fire was mapped at 21,777 acres by a fixed wing aircraft at 11:50 p.m. Saturday.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect through 8 p.m. Sunday for gusty winds and low humidity. Northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph will be possible within the area identified by the NSS, along with relative humidity ranging from the upper single digits to the high teens. However localized forecasts for the fire area on Sunday predict much less wind — near calm becoming east-southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon with 34 percent relative humidity in the higher elevations of the fire.
To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the KNP Complex of fires, including the most recent, click HERE.
11:25 a.m. PDT Sept. 18, 2021
Wrapping the General Sherman tree to protect it from the approaching wildfire in Sequoia National Park. NPS photo.
The two fires that comprised the KNP Complex in Sequoia National Park in southern California, the Colony and Paradise Fires, merged Friday when the Paradise fire spread north into the Colony Fire. On Friday humidities as low as 10 percent and air that was more free of smoke set up conditions for extreme fire behavior with spotting and sustained crown fire runs. The fire was mapped Friday night at 11,365 acres, an increase of about 6,000.
The fire impacted the southwestern tip of the Giant Forest grove of sequoia trees, the location of the Four Guardsmen trees, when the Colony Fire made a big three-mile run to the northeast, starting spot fires up to one mile ahead. Those four huge trees and others have been receiving attention from firefighters in recent days who cleared around them, removed duff, and applied fire shelter wrap to the bases of the trees.
KNP Complex of fires map, 11 p.m. Sept. 17, 2021. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. The green areas are the approximate locations of giant sequoia groves.
During that three-mile run, farther north the fire crossed the Generals Highway again, this time near Red Fir and Wuksachi Lodge, west of the Lodgepole Visitor Center. Firefighters, to the extent they are available, are working on structure protection in these areas.
CAL FIRE is still constructing the indirect dozer line outside of the park southwest of the fire near Paradise Ridge. When that is complete the dozers will work with masticators to open an old road to Shepards Saddle in the southwest corner of the park, a road popular with mountain bikers. The last step before and if the fire arrives at the old road will be to use fire engines or water tenders to apply fire retardant along the edge of what will become a fire line. Fire retardant is most frequently dropped from helicopters or fixed wing air tankers, but it can also be applied from the ground. This method was used extensively on the Dixie Fire six weeks ago and can be especially useful if smoke makes flying impossible.
A south wind has been causing the fire to spread primarily to the north, so there has been little movement to the south. Operations Section Chief Jon Wallace in a Saturday morning briefing did not mention constructing any direct or indirect fireline on the south side of the fire, but said their personnel are working with cooperators to protect structures at Mineral King.
A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Saturday evening through 8 p.m. Sunday for gusty winds and low humidity. Northwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph will be possible, along with relative humidity ranging from the upper single digits to the high teens, and with poor overnight humidity recovery. This wind direction with the low humidities could drive an intense fire through the Giant Forest, and possibly the Paradise Peak groves south of the fire.
Emigrant Fire at 4:21 p.m. Sept. 17, 2021. KTLA 5.
A fire that started off Interstate 5 east of Pyramid Lake burned approximately 220 acres by 4 p.m. Friday. At that time most of the spread had been stopped by firefighters assisted by air tankers and helicopters. The location of Pyramid Lake just across the freeway from the blaze allowed for quick turnarounds by the helicopters.
Initially it was putting up a large column of smoke, spreading rapidly uphill, and was spotting a quarter mile ahead.
The fire is 10 air miles south of Gorman and 22 miles north of Santa Clarita.
Map showing the location of the Emigrant Fire, September 17, 2021.DC-10 drops on the Emigrant Fire, Sept. 17, 2021. KTLA 5.MD87 extends drop made by the DC-10, Emigrant Fire, Sept. 17, 2021. KTLA 5.Emigrant Fire, Levbec Oaks camera, looking southeast at 2:34 p.m. Sept 17, 2021. AlertWildfire.
KNP Complex of fires, Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park in Southern California
5:51 a.m. PDT Sept. 17, 2021
KNP Complex of fires, 3-D map, looking northeast, 8 p.m. PDT Sept. 16, 2021. The bright red areas had intense heat when the fire was mapped. Green represents the approximate location of giant sequoia groves.
In order to protect the largest tree in the world from a wildfire in Sequoia National Park extraordinary measures are being taken. In an effort to prepare a grove of giant sequoias for the expected spread of the KNP Complex of fires into the area, personnel are attaching fire resistant material usually used on structures on some of the iconic monarch sequoias that characterize the most famous area of Sequoia National Park. Firefighters are also carefully burning out around the largest or most vulnerable trees, basically treating them again with prescribed fire.
General Sherman sequoia tree with protective wrap Sept. 16, 2021. NPS photo.
The KNP Complex of fires ignited by lightning on September 9 is growing in all directions in Sequoia National Park in Southern California. The complex is comprised of the Paradise and the Colony Fires. A mapping flight Thursday night found that the combined size of the two, which were about a quarter-mile apart, was approximately 11,300 acres.
To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the KNP Complex of fires, including the most recent, click HERE.
North of the Paradise Fire is the Giant Forest, a grove of very large giant sequoias. In this area is the General Sherman, the world’s largest tree measured by volume. It stands 275 feet tall, and is over 36 feet in diameter at the base. The National Park Service has been managing this grove with prescribed fire since the 1960s which will help the monster trees fend off the fire, but the multi-year drought has led to historically low fuel moistures, leading to concern that they could be damaged by these very intense fires.
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office is maintaining a map showing the areas under evacuation orders.
KNP Complex of fires, map, 8 p.m. PDT Sept. 16, 2021. The bright red areas had intense heat when the fire was mapped. Green represents the approximate location of giant sequoia groves.
On Thursday fire activity picked up in the late afternoon with terrain driven surface spread and short crown fire runs as the smoke cleared, humidity levels dropped, and the temperature increased.
Firefighters from CAL FIRE are building an indirect dozer line southwest of the Paradise Fire outside the National Park, a project that is expected to take several days to complete. It starts at park headquarters near the Ash Mountain Entrance and runs southeast along the toe of Paradise Ridge south of Milk Ranch.
There are multiple large giant sequoia groves and structures southeast of the Paradise Fire that could be threatened, including Atwell Grove, Silver City Resort, and Mineral King Ranger Station.
Resources assigned to the fire include 10 hand crews, 28 engines, and 8 helicopters for a total of 416 personnel.
Protecting the Sequoia National Park sign with structure protection wrap, September 14, 2021. InciWeb.
