The fire has burned over 9,000 acres west of Yosemite National Park in California
(UPDATED at 7:50 a.m. PDT July 16, 2018)
3-D map of the Ferguson Fire at 8:53 p.m. PDT July 15, 2018. Click to enlarge.
After 3 p.m. Sunday the intensity of the Ferguson Fire increased dramatically as it spread 1.5 to 2 miles to the south and southeast, coming closer to the structures in the Jerseydale area.
Mandatory evacuation orders are still in effect. Sunday morning a fire advisement was issued for the Yosemite West area, which is on Wawona Road southeast of El Portal. It is an advisement of a potential Evacuation Order should conditions change.
CLICK HERE to see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent.
Based on an 8:53 p.m. mapping flight Sunday night the Incident Management Team reported that the fire at that time had burned 9,266 acres.
Map of the Ferguson Fire at 8:53 p.m. PDT July 15, 2018. The yellow line was the approximate perimeter at 2 p.m. July 15. Click to enlarge.
The weather at the Ferguson Fire is expected to remain hot and dry for the next seven days, with isolated thunderstorms possible.
The 20-second video below is a time-lapse of still images of the fire captured between 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. July 15. Toward the end you will see a smoke column break through the inversion as the fire intensity increases. Sierra Fire Watch posted it, saying it was shot from a point near Mt. Raymond.
(UPDATED at 7:41 p.m. PDT July 15, 2018)
Ferguson Fire. Photo uploaded to InciWeb Sunday afternoon.
We regret to have to report that a firefighter died this morning, July 14, on the Ferguson Fire west of Yosemite National Park. CAL FIRE announced this afternoon that Heavy Fire Equipment Operator Braden Varney was tragically killed while battling the fire. Mr Varney leaves behind a wife and two small children.
One of the firefighters on the fire reported this morning that he thought there was a dozer rollover, and just in case, he wanted to get medical help started to the scene. It turned out that the dozer had rolled several times and ended up in a location that was very difficult to access by foot or see from an aircraft.
(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Just after 1 p.m. local time CAL FIRE made the official announcement about the fatality.
We send out our sincere condolences to Mr. Varney’s family, coworkers, and friends.
Above: map showing heat on the Ferguson Fire detected by a satellite at 3 a.m. PDT July 14, 2018.
(UPDATED at 3:15 p.m. PDT July 14, 2018)
For a while late Saturday morning, smoke and impaired visibility grounded all air tankers on the Ferguson Fire, but by early afternoon the smoke had cleared enough to bring them back to drop retardant.
(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Ferguson Fire, including the most recent, click here.)
Now we are hearing that the fire has spotted across the South Fork of the Merced River on the west side of the fire. There is an effort to have the air tankers pretreat a ridge in an attempt to slow down the fire in that area.
Fire crews battle the #FergusonFire along steep terrain behind the Redbud Lodge on Highway 140 in Mariposa County, Calif., on Saturday, July 14, 2018. pic.twitter.com/R60PBGWlX1
We regret to have to report that a firefighter died this morning on the Ferguson Fire west of Yosemite National Park. CAL FIRE announced this afternoon that Heavy Fire Equipment Operator Braden Varney was tragically killed while battling the fire. Mr Varney leaves behind a wife and two small children.
One of the firefighters on the fire reported this morning that he thought there was a dozer rollover, and just in case, he wanted to get medical help started to the scene. It turned out that the dozer had rolled several times and ended up in a location that was very difficult to access by foot or see from an aircraft.
Just after 1 p.m. local time CAL FIRE made the official announcement about the fatality.
We send out our sincere condolences to Mr. Varney’s family, coworkers, and friends.
(UPDATED at 9:26 a.m. PDT July 14, 2018)
At 9:26 a.m. PDT Air Attack said the Ferguson Fire was holding at about 150 acres. The terrain, smoke, and power lines are challenges for the air tankers working the fire.
At 9 a.m. PDT flight tracking showed two S2T air tankers and an Air Attack aircraft over the Ferguson Fire. The green line was the approximate track of the Air Attack ship.
(Originally published at 7:44 a.m. PDT July 14, 2018)
Highway 140, one of the three highways that lead into Yosemite Valley in California, is closed due to a new wildfire. The Ferguson Fire was reported at 10:35 p.m. Friday and at last report had burned about 75 acres. The fire is just off Highway 140 near Hite Cove and has high potential to grow. Since firefighters were working under electrical lines the power in the area has been shut off, which may affect Yosemite National Park. The area around Savages Trading Post has been evacuated.
The fire is spreading in steep terrain in the Sierra National Forest 7 miles west of El Portal. The incident commander has requested four fixed wing air tankers, of any type, to attack the fire early Saturday morning if possible. They also requested dozers, helicopters, water tenders, and hand crews.
Long time fire photographer Jeff Zimmerman sent us these photos he shot at two recent Southern California fires that you did not hear about. Like many, many others, they were successfully attacked by firefighters and contained before growing into major conflagrations.
The photo above as well as the next three, were from the July 6 Hunter Fire off Sylvan road near Lake Hughes. Jeff got some quick shots with a camera phone of U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County personnel working at a vehicle fire that got into the brush at 5:20 a.m. during Red Flag Warning conditions. It burned one acre in addition to the vehicle.
Hunter Fire at Lake Hughes. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.Hunter Fire at Lake Hughes. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.Hunter Fire at Lake Hughes. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.
On July 8 Jeff was at a fire in Lebec, California as firefighters from Kern County, BLM, USFS and LA County battled a stubborn vegetation fire. It was reported at 1:35 p.m. along Lebec and Lebec Oaks Road which brought a large response including fixed wing aircraft. No structures were damaged but several rural homes had to have structure protection put in place and large animals were evacuated. Firefighters stopped it at 62 acres. Jeff said extremely high temperatures and very low relative humidity have been a big factor in spawning wildfires across the State this week.
The next four photos are of the fire in Lebec:
Fire at Lebec, California. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.Fire at Lebec, California. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.Fire at Lebec, California. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.Fire at Lebec, California. Photo by Jeff Zimmerman.
Jeff Zimmerman photographs fires and writes about them, usually from Southern California.
Firefighter suffers severe burns when his engine is burned over
(Originally published at 6:18 a.m. PDT July 8, 2018)
After burning 31 homes and killing one civilian in Hornbrook California, the Klamathon Fire has spread almost a mile across the state line into Oregon. Jefferson Public Radio is reporting that 10 people are missing in Siskiyou County, but the agencies have not provided any details.
Firefighter Brandon Feller suffered severe burns when his engine was burned over. He is being treated at the UC Davis burn center and they expect a full recovery. A GoFundMe account has been created for Mr. Feller.
Map of the Klamathon Fire, July 7, 2018.
Evacuation orders have been issued for the communities of Hornbrook, Hilt, Colestin and Irongate Reservoir. Some locations in Oregon’s Jackson County have also been evacuated.
A wedding had to start early and was cut short when evacuation orders were issued.
My niece about to get married 1 hour early in impromptu shortened ceremony conducted by my husband (without most of the guests) as the #klamathonfire raced down the hill and we were given mandatory evacuation orders. Everyone is safe; we don’t know about the property. pic.twitter.com/Gy12hbNgtM
CAL FIRE reported Saturday that the fire has burned 22,000 acres, but our very unofficial analysis of a Saturday night mapping flight found that it has spread to an estimated 32,000 acres.
Saturday evening the 747 Supertanker made its first retardant drop of the year on the Klamathon Fire after being activated on a Call When Needed contract with CAL FIRE. From the flight tracking, it appeared that it dropped on the far north end of the fire in Oregon, and then returned to Sacramento McClellan Airport.
Firefighters on the 1,000-acre Valley Fire on the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California are experiencing unusual weather. Extreme heat was on the agenda Friday, and Saturday brought several thunderstorms through the area, resulting in some flooding and debris flows along Valley of The Falls Drive and Highway 38.
The Arrowhead Hotshots, the National Park Service crew that posted these photos on Twitter, wrote Saturday night about conditions on the fire:
From one extreme to the next. Hot, fire, thunderstorms, lots of rain, hail, flash flood.
The Incident Management Team reports that the fire is far from being out:
The higher elevations of the fire have not seen significant rainfall, and continue to burn. The fire is moving north and east, higher into the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area.
