Evacuation warning for areas near Kern River due to Windy Fire, now at 85,000 acres
The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office issued another evacuation warning on Monday morning for areas under threat from the Windy Fire.
The fire has been burning for more than two weeks southeast of Fresno in the Sequoia National Forrest. It has burned 85,383 acres and has dropped to just 2% containment.
Monday’s warning is in place along both sides of the Kern River from the Gold Ledge Campground south to River Kern in Tulare at its border with Kern County. All private properties, businesses, residences, structures, campsites, campgrounds, Forest Service roads, access roads, attached roads and trails fall under the order.
A temporary evacuation point, for those needing information and assistance, is set up at Porterville College, 100 E. College Ave. Anyone in need assistance can call 2-1-1, or the senior hotline, 800-321-2462, for those more than 60 years old.
All other evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for the Windy Fire.
The fire moved east toward the Kern River on Sunday and south toward Panorama Heights, according to the fire’s incident page.
Additional growth continued into topography adjacent to Baker Peak. To the north of the Tule River Indian Reservation boundary, Camp Nelson remains threatened as fire continues to back along the 2017 Pier Fire scar toward the Middle Fork Tule River.
Containment gained on KNP Fire
There have been no new evacuation warnings or orders coming out of the KNP Complex Fire inside Sequoia National Park, though all previous warnings and orders are still in place and residents in areas under warning are urged to be ready to mobilize and leave.
The fire has grown to 46,976 acres. As of Monday morning, firefighters had gained 8% containment in an area adjacent to Paradise Ridge, the Giant Sequoia Forest and Lodgepole.
Firefighters used ignitions to help move the fire through the Muir Grove along the fire’s northern edge. This was done to minimized the impact on the grove. Firefighters on the north east side of the fire looked to connect existing containment lines as they progressed o the east, where there are established containment lines near and within the Giant Forest.
To the south, crews along Mineral King Road are monitoring the fire and will provide structure protection to the communities Silver City and Mineral King as the fire moves down slope. Firefighters on the western perimeter are engaged in structure protection in the Three Rivers and Ash Mountain.
As per policy, management of the fire is now under Southwest Area Incident Management Team 2. The teams serves assignment for 14 days, when a new team is rotated in.
COMMUNITY MEETING TONIGHT IN THE THREE RIVERS COMMUNITY
A community meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Three Rivers Memorial Building, 43490 Sierra Dr. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and a recording of the meeting will be made available.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 9:09 AM.