Just received this very clever release from the USFS -someone’s getting punchy!
Wildland Fire Update – Friday, July 31, 2009 @ 8 a.m. Knight Wildland Fire – Stanislaus National ForestSouth Central Sierra Interagency Incident Management Team
Incident Commander Allen Johnson 10 % Containment Public Information Officer – Debbie Santiago Started: Sunday, July 26, 2009 @ 3:35 pm Cause: Under Investigation Location: 10 miles North of Twain Harte Acres: 2,374 Estimated Containment: 10% Estimated Control: unknown Estimated Costs: $2,500,000 Injuries: 1 Minor Fuels: Burning in heavy timber/brush Committed Resources: 1,190 personnel Fire Potential: Extreme Personnel: 26 Type I hand crews, 6 Type II hand crews, 15 Helicopters, 46 Engines, 13 Dozers, 19 Water Tenders, 149 Overhead, 6 Air tankers Major issues: Steep, rocky inaccessible terrain, extreme fire behavior, active burning throughout night, hot, dry, low humidity. Significant events: Residents continue to return to the Mt. Knight Subdivision. A special one-way traffic plan has been established as firefighters utilize the same route. The public is being asked to stay out of fire area as safety is a major concern.
Fire crews are engaged in burn-out operations in an effort to keep this fire at bay. Firefighters are working day and night around the clock to knock this Knight off its horse!
Acreage will increase daily as suppression efforts continue moving the fire both east and west along the river. Smoke can be seen from many outlying areas. Over one thousand firefighting personnel have traveled from near and far to assist the Stanislaus National Forest in the fire fight.
A new fire retardant base is being located near Murphys as large helicopters will aid firefighters from the air. Six air tankers and 15 helicopters are assisting in operations.
Forecasted fire weather conditions remain hot and dry with a continued high pressure over the region. Today, thunderstorms are forecasted to stay well east and are not expected to have any significant impacts over the fire area.
Agencies represented on the fire include United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Kern County, CAL FIRE, Tuolumne County Emergency Personnel, Tuolumne County Fire, and Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Services.
