Map showing the 2013 Rim Fire and the 2018 Ferguson Fire as of July 21, 2018. Click to enlarge.
At its peak the 2013 Rim Fire east of Sonora, California, had over 5,000 personnel assigned. At over 257,000 acres it stands today as the fourth largest wildfire in the recorded history of California, 30 miles wide, west to east. Most of the blaze was in the Stanislaus National Forest but it spread into Yosemite National Park where it burned almost 79,000 acres of the Park’s back country, but never made it to the most visited area, Yosemite Valley.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
The Ferguson Fire which as been burning for 10 days already has 2,900 personnel assigned and reached 30,000 acres Saturday. So far it has not destroyed any structures. As large as it was, the Rim Fire burned a surprisingly small number of structures — 11 homes, 3 commercial buildings, and 98 outbuildings. But if the Ferguson Fire grows east in a big way, several communities would be at risk, including El Portal, Foresta, Yosemite West, and possibly Wawona.
For the last week the Ferguson Fire has been slowed by inversions that typically do not break until mid-afternoon, after which it has been adding several thousand acres each day. If the weather changes and brings a strong wind with a westerly component, the complexion of the fire will change dramatically. In two days in mid-August, the Rim Fire burned nearly 90,000 acres.
Saturday night only four miles separated the Ferguson Fire from the footprint of the 2013 Rim Fire. If it does burn into it, the resistance to control should decrease, allowing firefighters a better chance to stop it in that area. If the north end of the Ferguson Fire spreads northeast three miles it will burn into Yosemite National Park. From that point, Yosemite Valley would be 13 miles to the east.
The Fire History map the Incident Management Team uploaded to InciWeb on July 21 is very cluttered and extremely difficult to decipher, but there have been some fires in the last 20 to 40 years years north of Highway 140 and east of the Ferguson Fire which, to a certain extent, may help firefighters a bit.
By Saturday night the fire had burned over 30,000 acres.
(UPDATED at 4:19 a.m. PDT July 22, 2018)
Friday night and Saturday the Ferguson Fire west of Yosemite National Park in California grew by more than 3,300 acres to bring the total to about 30,400 acres. Most of the activity was on the north flank where it jumped across Highway 140 and the Merced River Friday afternoon but the fire also ate up additional acreage on the southeast side. Firefighters engaged the slop over across the river early Saturday but were unable to make headway in the steep, rugged terrain.
Map showing the Ferguson Fire, mapped at 11 p.m. PDT July 21, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time, while the yellow line was the perimeter about 24 hours before. Click to enlarge.
Again Saturday the inversion trapped smoke, decreasing visibility and making it a challenge to use aircraft. The inversion also slows the fire, reducing solar heating of the fuels and preventing strong winds which can be the most important factor affecting the rate of spread. When the smoke cleared in the afternoon fire activity increased, which has been the pattern for the last several days.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
(UPDATED at 4:25 p.m. PDT July 21, 2018)
The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office issued additional mandatory evacuation orders Saturday for the Ferguson Fire west of Yosemite National Park in California.
Anderson Valley Area — northwest of the El Portal Area. At this time there are no Evacuation Orders or Advisements in the Greeley Hill or Coulterville Communities.
Yosemite West
On the map below, click on the circles to see more information.
(Originally published at 7:24 PDT July 21, 2018)
At about 3 p.m. PDT Friday afternoon two spot fires occurred on the Ferguson Fire west of Yosemite National Park in California. These “slop overs” were on the north side of Highway 140 and the Merced River on a large dog leg near Miller Gulch and Ned Gulch in an area that was too steep and rugged for fixed wing air tankers.
Map showing the Ferguson Fire, mapped at 9:30 p.m. PDT July 20, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time, while the yellow line was the perimeter about 23 hours before. Click to enlarge.
While helicopters and hand crews attacked the spot fires near the river, air tankers painted the upper slopes with retardant. Firefighters on other parts of the fire and additional resources from outside the fire were assigned to suppress this new threat. But when a mapping aircraft flew over at 9:30 p.m. 2,000 acres had become established across the river.
This slop over and other growth on the fire brought the total size up to 27,129 acres according to fire officials, an increase of more than 4,000 acres from the day before.
3-D map, looking north, showing the 2,000-acre slop over on the Ferguson Fire, mapped at 9:30 p.m. PDT July 20, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time, while the yellow line was the perimeter about 23 hours before. Click to enlarge.
This prompted a mandatory evacuation order from the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office for Rancheria Government Housing, Old El Portal, Yosemite View Lodge, and Foresta.
The spot fires were across the Merced River and north of Ferguson Ridge which forms a large mile-wide dog leg in the river. On the west side of the dog leg the fire had been tied in with the highway, but from the maps we have seen it appeared that about two miles of the fire edge on the east side of the dog leg were about a third of a mile from the river. (Note the yellow line on the map above that represents the fire edge Thursday night.)
Until Friday, firefighters on the Ferguson Fire had been able keep the fire south of the highway and the river. This is a whole new ball game for the incident management team. In crossing the river the fire spread from the Sierra National Forest into the Stanislaus National Forest in an area that is very steep with difficult access. Friday night the slop over was about four miles from Yosemite National Park burning in a major drainage leading to the park boundary. A mile or two beyond that — Highway 120, Tioga Road, and Big Oak Flat Road.
Other areas on the fire were also active Friday, with most of the additional growth being on the south and east sides. Crews continued to make progress building line along the southwest and western edges of the fire near Jerseydale and Mariposa Pines.
The fire near Yosemite National Park grew by over 5,000 acres during the last two days
(Above: Ferguson Fire photo uploaded to InciWeb around July 18, 2018)
(Originally published at 3:24 p.m. MDT July 20, 2018)
The Ferguson Fire that has been burning since July 13 has become almost predictable over the last three or four days, adding a few thousand acres each day. Since we last wrote about this fire two days ago west of Yosemite National Park in California it has added about 5,500 acres, again on the west, south, and east sides bringing the total up to 22,892 acres. So far firefighters have been mostly successful in keeping the north side of the fire from crossing Highway 140, one of the several routes into the Park. The highway has been closed from El Portal Road to 1.5 miles West of Midpines for several days.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
Map showing the Ferguson Fire, mapped at 10:15 p.m. PDT July 19, 2018. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time, while the yellow line was the perimeter two days before. Click to enlarge.
About half a dozen areas are under mandatory evacuation orders, primarily on the north and west sides of the blaze. Other areas have been warned that they may have to evacuate on short notice.
On Thursday firefighters worked on the primary containment line on the west side of the fire along Henness Ridge which should be complete by the end of the day on Friday. Firefighters working on indirect lines (built away from the fire’s active edge) around the community of Jerseydale also made good progress Thursday.
As of Friday morning no structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Yosemite National Park remains open, but often the smoke is very dense. For information about the park, go to: nps.gov/yose or call 209-372-0200.
The fire has burned 17,319 acres northeast of Mariposa, California
Above: Map showing the perimeter of the Ferguson Fire at 11:34 p.m. PDT July 17. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time. The yellow line was the perimeter two days before.
Again Tuesday the Ferguson Fire spread in all directions. On the north side firefighters are attempting to tie it in with one of the routes that leads into Yosemite National Park, Highway 140. The highway has been closed west of El Portal since the fire started on July 13 and there’s no indication when it will reopen. Other routes into the park are open, but Yosemite Valley has severely degraded visibility due to heavy smoke from the fire.
Most of the growth Tuesday and Tuesday night was on the southeast and southwest sides. The high pressure that has been dominating the area is causing an inversion that has been preventing the smoke from blowing out of the area, holding it close to the ground. This makes it difficult or impossible to use fixed wing air tankers until the inversion breaks in the late afternoon when the inversion lifts.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
On Tuesday the fire backed down Ferguson Ridge and became well established in the Sweetwater Creek drainage and behind Cedar Lodge. Crews worked Tuesday night to secure line around Cedar Lodge and Indian Flat. The power line has been repaired, and electrical service has been restored to the area. Work on Tuesday involved improving containment lines, as well as protecting the communities of Jerseydale, Mariposa Pines. and Yosemite West.
Judging by the number of resources assigned, the Ferguson Fire is becoming a very large incident. There are a total 1,850 personnel, including 158 engines, 5 water tenders, 5 helicopters, 44 hand crews, and 16 dozers. A mapping flight Tuesday night determined it has burned 17,319 acres.
The weather on Wednesday will again be hot and dry, and the inversion will most likely keep air tankers grounded until late afternoon.
The fire has caused evacuations west of Yosemite National Park in California
(Originally published at 8:07 a.m. PDT July 17, 2018)
Map produced by the Incident Management Team, July 17, 2018. The line with the dots and plus signs represents a proposed dozer line. Click to enlarge.
For days the Ferguson Fire has been marching across the remote, steep terrain west of Yosemite National Park. On Monday it grew on all sides to some extent, with most of the additional blackened acres being added on the south and east sides.
Areas that are under mandatory evacuation orders include Incline Road from Clearing House to the last BLM campground; Jerseydale/Mariposa Pines; Cedar Lodge/ Indian Flat Campground, Savage’s Trading Post and Sweetwater Ridge.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
Many areas are under an advisory or potential evacuation order should conditions change. A few examples are Yosemite West, National Park Service El Portal Complex, and Old El Portal. The Mariposa County Sheriff’s office has more current details about evacuation orders.
Map with red shaded areas indicating areas of intense heat at 9:08 p.m. PDT July 16, 2018.
Monday morning the incident management team announced that overnight mapping flights determined that 12,525 acres have burned in the Ferguson Fire.
Road closures:
Highway 140 from Abbie Rd in El Portal to 14 miles north of Mariposa;
Incline Road;
River Road from Briceburg to the gate at Railroad Flat;
Hites Cove / Jerseydale Road.
Approximately 1,486 personnel are assigned to the fire, including 118 engines, 5 water tenders, 4 helicopters, 39 hand crews, and 16 dozers. Air tankers are assigned as needed and as smoke and visibility allow. We have seen up to eight being used at the same time, ranging from the 1,200-gallon S2T’s to the 11,600-gallon DC-10’s.
Latest high resolution smoke model output shows the most likely areas to affected by smoke from the #FergusonFire. It should be noted that the model assumes a constant supply of smoke is produced by the fire. #cawxpic.twitter.com/ixLWzHdoDb
Spectacular video at a fire near Blythe, California
Above: screenshot from the video below.
Chris Mackie posted this video on July 15, 2018 of spectacular fire behavior at a wildfire on the Arizona side of the Colorado River near Blythe, California. It is not uncommon to see dust devils and fire whirls during unstable weather conditions on a fire, but as you can see beginning at about 1:10 the rotating vortex over this fire intensifies into what some might call a fire tornado (or “firenado”) as trees are uprooted and debris is thrown into the water as it moves over the river (and transforms into a waterspout?).
“The news media sometimes calls any little fire whirl a “fire tornado, or even a “firenado”. We found out today that these and related terms (except for “firenado”) were, if not founded, at least documented and defined in 1978 by a researcher for the National Weather Service in Missoula, David W. Goens. He grouped fire whirls into four classes:
Fire Devils. They are a natural part of fire turbulence with little influence on fire behavior or spread. They are usually on the order of 3 to 33 feet in diameter and have rotational velocities less than 22 MPH.
Fire Whirls. A meld of the fire, topograph, and meteorological factors. These play a significant role in fire spread and hazard to control personnel. The average size of this class is usually 33 to 100 feet, with rotational velocities of 22 to 67 MPH.
Fire Tornadoes. These systems begin to dominate the large scale fire dynamics. They lead to extreme hazard and control problems. In size, they average 100 to 1,000 feet in diameter and have rotational velocities up to 90 MPH.
Fire Storm. Fire behavior is extremely violent. Diameters have been observed to be from 1,000 to 10,000 feet and winds estimated in excess of 110 MPH. This is a rare phenomenon and hopefully one that is so unlikely in the forest environment that it can be disregarded.”
