Creek Fire update: Will looming snowstorm be enough to help firefighters?

Snow was expected over the Creek Fire on Tuesday, which spelled good news for containment and bad news for firefighters wishing to wrap up repairs.

Models are conflicting, but officials expect anywhere between 3 to 15 inches of snow on Tuesday night, according to Sunshine Meitzner, U.S. Forest Service public information officer.

The snow and approaching cold weather will prevent safe access to heavy equipment, so crews will likely be unable to finish suppression repair until next spring. Luckily, repair work is “almost done,” Meitzner said.

The Creek Fire on Tuesday remained at 379,895 acres and 78% containment. But 3 inches of snow will not be enough to put an end to the single largest fire in California history.

Instead, Meitzner said, a sustained weather pattern of cold and snow will be needed to contain the fire fully. That might be possible if another precipitation event follows Tuesday’s snow, “and it becomes a pattern,” she explained.

Full containment is expected on Nov. 30, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The National Weather Service expected rain and snow in the higher elevations north of Tulare County on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Temperatures will dip below average again later this week.

The only active fire activity remained confined to the north and northeast edges of the Creek Fire. But video footage of the area from Monday shows clear skies, green trees, and isolated bits of smoke.

On her reconnaissance flight Monday afternoon, Operations Section Chief Heather McRae described the only flames as being two to three inches in height stemming from individual logs with snow around them, according to a video posted to the Sierra National Forest Facebook page.

Because the area is surrounded by granite and high elevation rock without any vegetation, and snow continues to blanket the area, the likelihood of the fire continuing to spread “is extremely low,” McRae said.

The Central Camp Road closure has been in effect since Nov. 14 and may continue the entire week because crews are removing hazard trees from the side of the road. The road remains closed to the public between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Cal Fire, Fresno-Kings Unit will continue burning brush piles collected during suppression repair work along Dinkey Creek Road, producing some smoke.

The Sierra National Forest closure remains in effect through Nov. 24.

SQF Complex Fire

In the Sequoia National Forest, the SQF Complex Fire remained 83% contained as of Monday evening and had burned 174,178 acres.

Containment is still anticipated Nov. 20, but fire suppression repair work will continue through next summer, because of the unsafe working conditions created by the winter weather, according to their daily update.

An Interagency Emergency Task Force is cleaning debris and establishing trigger points for flash floods and debris flow.

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 8:48 AM.