Creek Fire updates: Containment nears 50%; rain could clear smoke later this week

The Creek Fire has overtaken the North Complex fire in terms of total acreage burned and now ranks as the fifth-largest wildfire (and largest single-fire incident) in California history.

As of Monday morning the fire has burned 322,089 acres and is 48% contained, according to Cal Fire.

On Sunday, officials reported containment at 62%, but have since corrected that number, citing a calculation error.

The wildfire has been burning since Sept. 4 on both sides of the San Joaquin River in the Sierra National Forest northeast of Fresno. There is still no word on what caused the fire, though there is some speculation.

While some areas in the fire saw visitation and re-population efforts over the weekend, new evacuation orders were issued Sunday night for several zones around the Florence Lake area after the fire spotted south of Kaiser Pass Road at the turnoff to Florence Lake Road.

▪ The SQF Complex Fire continues to burn in and in and near Sequoia National Park and forest. The fire, which has been burning since mid-August, was reported at 158,058 acres as of Monday morning. It was 65% contained.

▪ There has been little update on the The Bullfrog Fire, burning east of Shaver Lake near Courtright Reservoir. As of Friday, it was listed as 1,185 acres burned and 50% contained, according to incident reports.

1 p.m.: More temporary entry allowed in Sierra National Forest this weekend

Those who were evacuated from campgrounds, camping areas and cabins in the south zone of the Creek Fire in the Sierra National Forest will be able to return and collect their belongings Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11 with a permit.

Permitting information can be found online at fs.usda.gov.

Access to areas to the north will be added as permit requests dictate.

In the fire’s northern zone, firefighters are attacking the slow-moving flame front directly along the area of uncontained fire perimeter near Cold Springs and in close proximity to Little Shuteye Peak.

The last structure assessments are taking place in the northern interior. Assessment damage is 98% complete.

There is the opportunity for reignition within already burned areas of the fire due to seasonal and fire-induced loss of needles and leaves on trees. Crews are assessing and clearing these new flammable materials to ensure the fire does not move into unburned areas.

10:45 a.m.: New evacuation orders for area near Florence Lake

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced new evacuation orders for two areas within the Creek Fire on Monday.

The order includes zones F10F and F10G.

Zone designations can be found on the Creek Fire evacuation map.

The evacuations follow orders given on Sunday for zones F10C, F10D and F10E as the fire spotted south of Kaiser Pass Road at the turnoff to Florence Lake Road.

Additionally, lands within the Sierra National Forest System will remain closed through Nov. 1.

8 a.m.: When will Fresno’s unhealthy air get cleared out?

The hourly graph of Fresno’s air quality is a block of red from Sunday night into Monday morning — red being the color designated as unhealthy.

The Air Quality Index is again predicted at unhealthy levels for all of the San Joaquin Valley on Monday.

As of 7 a.m. the AQI in Fresno was already in the 160-170 range. The city peaked at 179 on Sunday afternoon. The level of PM2.5 particulate was above the level five range, when everyone should avoid outdoor activity.

There is a chance this could all change later this week.

The National Weather Service is predicting much of the same through Tuesday at least, though a storm system expected to come through later in the week could flush out the smoke and pollutants. It could also bring with it some rain, which would be the first significant rain in they Valley since May 18, the weather service said. The highest elevations of the Sierra may even see the first snow of the season.

Biggest wildfires in California history

This story was originally published October 5, 2020 at 8:45 AM.