Creek Fire updates: Heavy resources at Florence Lake; wildfire moves into Mammoth Lakes area

Fire crews remain in an active fight against the Creek Fire as the wildfire burned into the Mammoth Lakes area. The fire’s footprint grew by just over 2,000 acres on Wednesday.

As of Thursday morning, it had burned 330,899 total acres. Containment remained at 49%. Those statistics remained the same into the night.

Full containment is not expected until Oct. 31 and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

▪ The SQF Complex Fire, what was the Castle and Shotgun fires near Sequoia National Park, grew by some 4,000 acres on Wednesday and is now active in the northwest area near Cedar and Squaw Creek.

It has spread to Homers Nose moving east toward the Hockett Meadow area, according to a Cal Fire update.

There continues to be threats to infrastructure on Case Mountain, the Hockett Ranger Station and several Sequoia groves and wilderness values within Sequoia National Park . The ranger station is being prepped for fire with protection wrap, along with several structures in South Fork. Crews are working to stop the fire from spreading by securing the perimeter and building contingency lines along Mineral King Road to Case Mountain.

The potential for smoke columns starting to form near Homers Nose may be seen in the South Fork and Three Rivers areas.

▪ The Bullfrog Fire continues to burn east of Shaver Lake near Courtright Reservoir with little change. It has scorched 1,185 acres.

Predicted storm may miss the Valley, keeping things dry

Earlier in the week, the National Weather service was predicting a chance of rain within the area of the Creek Fire for Saturday. Those predictions have been updated to show a splitting of the low pressure trough that will now miss the region to the north and south.

Temperatures will be cooler through the weekend, but a dry pattern will prevail, according to the National Weather Service.

That dry weather will continue into the foreseeable future, with a warming trend coming through the middle of next week.

Smoke rising along Forest Road near Kaiser Pass

Heavy resources are protecting property around Florence Lake, where crews have conducted defensive firing operations.

Smoke will be seen in the area as fire personnel continue to strengthen the perimeter. Smoke seen along Forest Road 80 between Kaiser Pass Road and Florence Lake is from moderately active fire behavior, according to a Cal Fire update.

In the fire’s northern zone, crews to the east of Bass Lake completed a fire line in the Little Shuteye Peak area and continue to mop up and widen the line with helicopter assistance as smoke allows.

In Whisky Falls, crews completed five miles of chipping.

In Johnson Meadows, crews are finishing up with structure security.

Fresno air quality at moderate levels

The region’s air quality was expected to improve mid-week with a shift in weather patterns, though the air quality forecast on Thursday looked fairly similar to Wednesday’s: unhealthy for sensitive groups in the Valley’s southern counties including Fresno, Tulare and Kern. The forecast was for moderate air quality for all northern counties.

Fresno’s Air Quality Index was in the moderate range on Thursday morning. As of 7 a.m., the AQI was between 83 and 92 depending on exact location. Fresno hit a peak of 137 (just under the unhealthy range) for Wednesday.

At 7 a.m., PM2.5 concentrations were at level two, when sensitive individuals should consider reducing prolonged and/or vigorous outdoor activities.

This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 8:19 AM.