Creek Fire contained slightly for the first time as fire crews go on the offensive
The Creek Fire that’s scorched parts of the Sierra National Forest in central California might have reached a turning point with crews slightly containing the massive wildfire for the first time.
Cal Fire announced during a Thursday night news conference that the Creek Fire had 6% containment.
That containment of about 10,000 acres is expected to help firefighters combat the fire more aggressively.
“Today was really the first day we really shifted from being primarily on the defense to being on the offense,” U.S Forest Supervisor Dean Gould said. “We’re taking the fight back to the fire.
“Instead of reacting across the board to it and just trying to save what we could, now we’re really … turning the tide back on it.”
The blaze did grow at a faster daily rate than before, increasing by about 9,000 acres Thursday to 175,893 total acres.
The fire grew by about 4,000 acres from Tuesday to Wednesday.
But fire officials expressed confidence in further protecting homes that were evacuated near the San Joaquin River in both Fresno County and Madera counties.
“Now that we have that anchor point established on either side of the San Joaquin River,” Gould said, “that really is going to serve as the foundation ... to really start getting around on this incident.
“So this is really a big milestone.”
The Creek Fire erupted Friday and had been at 0% containment through Thursday morning when officials said the fire was around 175,000 acres.
Containment is defined as areas where the heat has been removed and there is no longer a fire threat, according to Cal Fire official Mike Wink.
Explosion at China Peak
The Creek Fire damaged parts of China Peak Mountain Resort on Tuesday and caused an explosion Wednesday night, Fresno County Sheriff’s confirmed.
The bunker that exploded was used for storing avalanche equipment, which authorities were aware of, according to Lt. Brandon Purcell.
No one was injured, Purcell added.
Resort owner Tim Cohee on Tuesday said the fire had hit the back of the ski area and burned some employee housing.
Help with livestock evacuation
Madera County was assisting in the evacuation of livestock.
The Producers Livestock facility was accepting large animals affected by the Creek Fire through the Madera County Farm Bureau, according to Commander Bill Ward of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office.
Visibility not good
Because of the tough visibility Thursday, no aircraft flew into the north zone (north and the western region of the San Joaquin River) to douse areas with retardant, Cal Fire official Chris Delaney said.
Nonetheless, Delaney said his north zone team was able to secure several homes, including houses along Road 225 and down to the Mammoth Pool Road near the Mammoth Pool Mobile Home Park.
“Feeling very comfortable we’ve been able to exclude houses from the area of the fire and take the subdivisions out of play,” Delaney said.
Key area to secure
Wink, the Cal Fire official who heads the south zone team, said his unit secured the area by the San Joaquin River drainage and will spend the next couple of days strengthening the line.
“That’s a really key piece for both (teams),” Wink said. “If (the fire) were to continue to the west down the San Joaquin River drainage, there’s a big bend in the river.
“And if the fire was to travel down there, it would jump the river again and create significant more challenges.”
Wink also noted that the Highway 168 corridor by Shaver Lake “continues to look very good.”
In addition, the Tamarack Lodge located just south of Huntington Lake remained “in good condition.”
But Wink said his team wasn’t able to get a good look at the structures toward the back of the property.
Nearby fire breaks out
A new fire called the Bullfrog Fire erupted to the east of the Creek Fire, according to Cal Fire.
The Bullfrog Fire was approximately 750 acres and burning near the Courtright Reservoir, which is about 30 miles east of Shaver Lake.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 11:53 PM.