The L.A. Times reports that the Ponderosa Fire near Manton, California, is threatening nearly 1,000 homes; it’s 57 percent contained. The fire, about 30 miles east of Redding, has now burned more than 80 structures.
A Reuters report put the fire at nearly 28,000 acres, with 84 structures burned, including 64 homes. The report said that another 900 homes, 10 commercial properties, and 30 outbuildings are still threatened. Residents of the town of Mineral have been warned to be ready to evacuate.
VESTRA / ESRI map
Evacuation orders have been issued for Manton and the area around the fire perimeter, and evacuation warnings have been issued for Mineral, Ponderosa Sky Ranch, and Lassen Lodge. anewscafe reported that some residents are returning to their homes and more areas north of the fire will be re-opened. Most of the utilities in the fire area have been restored and roads are being rehabbed. As many as 300 structures inside the fire area were saved.
Map of Ponderosa Fire, 1:18 pm PT, August 22, 2012. MODIS/Google (click to enlarge)
The Ponderosa Fire, 22 miles northeast of Red Bluff, California, has grown to over 24,000 acres according to CAL FIRE in their 2:30 p.m. update today. The number of structures burned remains at 50. CAL FIRE has not announced the location of the structures.
The map of the fire shows heat detected by a satellite at 1:18 p.m. PT time today. There are some heat signatures that appear indicate that the fire crossed Highway 36 on the south side of the fire, but this satellite data can have errors of up to a mile. Most of the current heat, as shown by the red squares, was on the south and southeast sides.
According to CAL FIRE at 2:30 p.m. today, evacuations for the following areas were in effect near Manton, Shingletown, Viola, and Mineral:
Canyon View Loop north of Hwy 36.
Forward Mill Rd from Rock Creek Rd to Forward Camp Rd
Rock Creek Rd from Manton Rd to Long Hay Flat Rd
Forward Rd at Yuen-Veritas Ln to the C Line
Southside of Highway 44 from S-Line and A-Line including S-Line, P-Line, Long Hay Flat Rd, Rock Creek Rd & Viola Rd
Evacuation Warning – Hwy 36 at Oasis Springs Ranch Rd to Lassen Lodge on both sides of the Highway including Ponderosa Sky Ranch and Lassen Lodge.
Evacuation Warning – Hwy 36 from Lassen Lodge east to, and including, the community of Mineral.
At 12:30 p.m. Wednesday many of the evacuations for the Shingletown, Lake McCumber area and roads north of Hwy 44 were lifted.
Map of Ponderosa Fire, showing heat detected by a satellite at 2:15 p.m. PT, August 21, 2012. MODIS/Google (click to enlarge)
(Updated at 6:48 p.m PT, August 21, 2012)
The Ponderosa Fire, 22 miles northeast of Red Bluff, California, has grown to 21,506 acres as of Tuesday afternoon. At 6:15 p.m today CAL FIRE increased the number of structures reported as destroyed to 50, which is 43 more than they reported this morning and yesterday. Another 200 structures remain threatened. The fire is burning in a mix of grass, brush, and heavy timber and is being called 40 percent contained.
The above map shows that as of 2:15 p.m. PT today most of the heat detected by a satellite was on the south side of the fire near Highway 36. Keep in mind that the locations depicted were identified from hundreds of miles above the earth, so there can be errors by up to a mile or so.
The fire continues to burn to the east and south in the Battle Creek Drainage.
The areas that are evacuated were confirmed by CAL FIRE for the following areas in Manton, Shingletown & Viola:
Forward Rd at Graham to the C Line
Forward Mill Rd from Rock Creek Rd to Forward Camp Rd
Rock Creek Rd from Manton Rd to Long Hay Flat Rd
All of Long Hay Flat Rd and Woodcutter Way
Southside of Highway 44 from Viola to Brush Oak
Northside of Hwy 44 from Viola to Alward
Hazen Rd area and South Power House Rd south of Manton
Hwy 44 at Brush Oak east to and including Viola, Plateau Pines, Starlight Pines and Lake McCumber area
South side of Hwy 44 from Viola to Brush Oak and on the north side of Hwy 44 from Viola to Alward
Evacuation warnings have been issued for Hwy 36 from Ponderosa Sky Ranch to Lassen Lodge communities.
Resources assigned to the fire include 2,133 personnel, 278 engines, 38 hand crews, 11 helicopters, and 53 dozers
“TurtleSloth” uploaded this video yesterday showing of one of the DC-10 very large air tankers dropping near Highway 36 on the Ponderosa fire.
Map of Ponderosa Fire, 1:32 p.m PT, August 20, 2012 (click to enlarge)
The Ponderosa fire 22 miles northeast of Red Bluff, California is causing evacuations of thousands of residents near the community of Mandan. According to CAL FIRE 15,000 acres and seven homes have burned since the fire started at around noon on Saturday.
The map above shows heat from the fire that was detected by a satellite Monday afternoon at 1:32 PT. The dark red squares indicate heat that was detected within the previous six hours.
At 7 a.m. Monday, CAL FIRE announced the following evacuations in the Manton, Shingletown & Viola areas:
Forward Rd at Graham to the C Line
Forward Mill Rd from Rock Creek Rd to Forward Camp Rd
Rock Creek Rd from Manton Rd to Long Hay Flat Rd
All of Long Hay Flat Rd and Woodcutter Way
Southside of Highway 44 from Viola to Brush Oak
Northside of Hwy 44 from Viola to Alward
Hazen Rd area and South Power House Rd south of Manton
Hwy 44 at Brush Oak east to and including Viola, Plateau Pines, Starlight Pines and Lake McCumber area
South side of Hwy 44 from Viola to Brush Oak and on the north side of Hwy 44 from Viola to Alward.
In addition, CAL FIRE warned people in the area of Highway 36 at Oasis Springs Road to Lassen Lodge on both sides of the highway, which includes Ponderosa Sky Ranch, Canyon View Loop area and Lassen Lodge, of a potential threat to life and property. An evacuation warning considers the probability that an area will be affected and prepares people for a potential evacuation order.
The weather through Tuesday will not be extreme, but the wind direction will shift several times pushing the fire in various directions, challenging firefighters to remain safe. Monday night the wind will be out of the southwest at 6-10 mph, shifting to the southeast and then from the east Tuesday morning, and finally changing to a 13 mph southwest wind by noon on Tuesday.
Map showing heat detected by a satellite on the Ponderosa and Reading fires, 1:50 p.m., August 19, 2012. MODIS/Google. (click to enlarge)
The Ponderosa fire just east of the communities of Manton and Shingletown in northern California is forcing the evacuation of many residents in the area 25 miles northeast of Red Bluff. CAL FIRE reports that the fire has burned 12,000 acres and is zero percent contained since it started at about 11:30 on Saturday. At least 3,000 structures are threatened and four have already been destroyed. As of Sunday afternoon 974 personnel, 105 engines, 31 dozers, and 22 hand crews were assigned to the fire.
As you can see in the map above, the Ponderosa Fire is only 12 miles from the Reading fire in Lassen Volcanic National Park. That fire was not initially suppressed by the National Park Service when it started on July 23, but has now burned almost 28,000 acres and is only 51 percent contained. The estimated costs to the taxpayers for the Reading fire to date is $13 million. Today 795 people were working on the fire
