Creek Fire update: Containment delayed. What’s happening and why there’s still smoke

While weather and burning may increase smoke around the Creek Fire, the incident remains mostly contained and without new growth.

“Sometimes, no news is good news,” said Sunshine Meitzner, U.S. Forest Service public information officer.

The Creek Fire on Monday morning remained at 379,895 acres and 78% containment. There was no overnight fire activity to report, but fire managers look forward to potential snow or rain on Tuesday evening, Meitzner said.

Full containment, which had been Nov. 15, was pushed back to Nov. 30.

According to the National Weather Service, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for elevations above 7,000 feet in the Mariposa, Madera, and the northern Fresno County portion of the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

In the Forest Service’s daily update, officials report the incoming storm will bring wind, which may increase smoke slightly. While heavy fuels continue to smolder in the northern portion, the area is under snow, and no fire growth is expected.

A total of 335 people are working on the fire. That number will keep decreasing, but much less dramatically than last week. That will depend on how much help firefighters get from the weather, she said.

Most of the crews are working around Huntington Lake, repairing some of the damage to the forest created by fighting the fire with heavy equipment, including bulldozers.

So far, 258 of 338 miles of “dozer line” have been completely repaired, or 76%. Of 148 miles of roads that were used as a fire line, about 80% or 118 miles have been repaired.

The Cal Fire, Fresno-Kings Unit will continue burning brush piles collected during suppression repair work along Highway 168 between Shaver Lake Village and Shaver Point, which will also produce some smoke.

The Creek Fire is the fourth-largest fire in California history and the largest single-incident fire, trailing three “complex” fires where multiple incidents merged. It has destroyed 853 structures and damaged 64 structures, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

In the Sequoia National Forest, the SQF Complex Fire was 83% contained as of Saturday and had burned 174,178 acres. Containment is still anticipated Nov. 20.