Airport Fire prompts evacuations in Owens Valley, California

About half of Big Pine is under evacuation orders

Updated 2:17 p.m. PT Feb. 17, 2022

Airport Fire 11:27 a.m. PT Feb. 17, 2022
Airport Fire, photo posted at 11:27 a.m. PT Feb. 17, 2022 by @captain2500agl

The growth of the Airport Fire slowed substantially by mid-day Thursday, judging from photos taken in the morning and afternoon. There are still a few residual smokes showing in the image shot by the camera on Marzano Peak at 1:56 p.m., but no dark gray columns.

Airport Fire 1:56 p.m. Feb. 17, 2022
Airport Fire, from the Marzano Peak camera at 1:56 p.m. Feb. 17, 2022 looking west-southwest.

Caltech, the operator of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, said that as of Thursday morning at 11 a.m. personnel were reporting that a perimeter had been established around buildings and the main threat to the structures had passed. Assessment of instrumentation and antennas in the field surrounding the main facility structures, however, was ongoing.

CAL FIRE said at 9:53 a.m. Thursday that the Airport Fire had burned 3,900 acres.


Updated 9:47 a.m. PT Feb. 17, 2022

Map, Airport Fire, 8 a.m. PT, Feb. 17, 2022
Map, Airport Fire. The red area shows the location of the fire mapped Wednesday afternoon by FIRIS. The red squares represent heat detected by a satellite at 8 a.m. PT, Feb. 17, 2022.

The map of the Airport Fire above is more accurate than our earlier map.


9:10 a.m. PT Feb. 17, 2022

Map of the Airport Fire 2:15 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022
Map of the Airport Fire showing heat detected by a satellite as late as 2:15 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022. The yellow dots exaggerate the extent of the fire, at least in its width. Many of the yellow dots are very questionable. The red dots appear to be more accurate. The gap between the yellow and red dots is likely the result of the light vegetation burning and cooling between the two satellite passes, which were about 11 hours apart.

The Airport Fire was very active Wednesday night. When the sun rose Thursday it spanned for about 13 miles from the airport in Bishop, California south to Big Pine. CAL FIRE reports that evacuations have been ordered for properties in Big Pine that are east of US Highway 395. The town has a population of about 1,500.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today including the most recent, click https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/airport-fire/)

CAL TRANS closed Highway 168 from the junction of 395 in Big Pine to Death Valley Road.

CAL FIRE said at 7 a.m. Thursday it had burned 2,800 acres as it spread south through the Owens Valley.

The photo in the tweet below which was taken from Big Pine was posted at 7:05 a.m. Thursday.

CAL FIRE dispatched six S-2 air tankers Thursday at about 8 a.m.

Areas that are threatened include two research facilities, White Mountain Research Center and Owens Valley (Caltech) Radio Observatory. Both were evacuated Wednesday.

The blaze started Wednesday afternoon near the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport at Bishop.

Photos taken from Marzano Peak early Thursday morning showed active fire near Big Pine. In the southernmost area of the fire dense, dark smoke was visible which could indicate heavy fuels, such as structures or vehicles burning.

Airport Fire, 6:15 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022
Airport Fire, from the Marzano Peak camera at 6:15 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022 looking west-southwest.
Airport Fire 9:07 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022
Airport Fire, from the Marzano Peak camera at 9:07 a.m. Feb. 17, 2022 looking west-southwest.

The wind, which on Wednesday was out of the north at 28 mph gusting up to 50 mph, slowed during the night but was still strong, 15 to 22 mph gusting at 26 to 32 mph with the relative humidity in the mid-30s. At 8:20 a.m. Thursday the Big Pine weather station recorded 15 mph north-northwest winds gusting to 21 mph while the relative humidity was 40 percent.

The forecast for Big Pine on Thursday is for 56 degrees, 16 percent relative humidity in the afternoon, and 10 to 14 mph winds out of the northwest gusting until noon at 20 mph. These conditions will be conducive to active spreading of the fire, as long as the fuel is continuous.

Resources assigned to the fire Thursday morning include 66 fire engines, 7 water tenders, 1 helicopter, 16 hand crews, and 7 dozers for a total of 432 personnel.

Airport Fire spreads rapidly southeast of Bishop, California

Spreading south, pushed by strong winds

6:19 p.m. PT Feb. 16, 2022

Map, Airport Fire
Map, Airport Fire at approximately 5 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022, looking north. By FIRIS aircraft, via Muni-Captain.

A fire in the northern end of California’s Owens Valley has burned about 2,156 acres, according to the FIRIS mapping aircraft at 4:45 p.m. PT Wednesday.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today including the most recent, click https://wildfiretoday.com/tag/airport-fire/)

The incident is three miles east of Bishop and one mile southeast of the Eastern Sierra Regional Airport. Aircraft are having difficulty flying safely and dropping retardant accurately in the very strong winds gusting out of the north at 28 mph gusting at 32 to 50 mph while the relative humidity is 30 percent.

Map, Airport Fire
Map, Airport Fire, heat detected by satellite at 1:03 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022.

The wind is pushing it to the south. The CHP reports it has crossed Collins Road, which is five miles south of Bishop.

CAL FIRE reported at 5:38 p.m. that the town of Big Pine is being evacuated. The agency said the evacuation center is at the Bishop Senior Center, 506 Park Ave., in Bishop.

Airport Fire
Airport Fire, posted by CAL FIRE BDU at 4:54 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022.

Below is video, visual and infrared, of the Airport Fire southeast of Bishop, California at 4 p.m. PT Feb. 16, 2022. Shot by the Orange County FIRIS aircraft, Intel 12. When in infrared mode, the bright white areas represent heat from the fire.

Airport Fire
Airport Fire, posted by CAL FIRE BDU at 4:54 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022.
Airport Fire
Airport Fire, as seen from the Silverpeak 2 camera at 4:31 p.m. Feb. 16, 2022.