Large Fire in the Eastern Sierra

[Kevin Rooney]

Several people on this board have trips planned/in progress for the PCT or portions thereof such as the John Muir Trail, Mt Whitney, etc so be aware this very large fire may impact on your plans. Here's what's going on at 9:45 PST, 7/8/07:

A series of wildfires were started by a small thunderstorm Friday afternoon in the Owens Valley along US 395 north of Lone Pine, CA (location of Mt Whitney) and have burned approx. 40,000 acres thus far. The Owens Valley is a long valley beginning about 50 miles south of Lone Pine and extending north toward Bishop, Yosemite, etc. It is bordered on the west by the Sierra Mountains and the east by the White Mountains, and located within Inyo County. Inyo is a large county (about the size of NH) but sparely populated - less that 13,000 at the last census. As times US395 has been closed due to the intensity and proximity of the fires, and quoting from an AP story earlier today "... Firefighters were searching for and evacuating hikers and backpackers on and near the popular trail to Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states.

At least 200 people from the small town of Independence were evacuated, officials said, and a section of Highway 395, which runs along the eastern spine of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, was closed. Campgrounds and a lodge had been evacuated." The towns of Big Pine and Independence are threatened, and many structures have burned.

Since the fires are in multiple locations in the Owens Valley, it is being referred to as the 'Inyo Complex'. You can get more info online here and here and a thread on the Whitney Portal BB here.

This is a big, ugly fire, and a long way from containment. I read a report this morning that said the conditions are so dry and the fire so hot that brush is spontaneously igniting up to 1/2 mile away from the fire.

Reports are that both the Whitney Trail and the Mountaineers Route are open, but as noted above, north of this the backcountry area may likely be closed for the next week or two, perhaps longer, due to extreme fire danger risk. If you have a trip planned anywhere from Lone Pine north and past Yosemite, check with the USFS and/or USPS for more info.

Will post more info as it becomes available.

Kevin

 

[Peakbagr]

Nice, informative post, Kevin. Thanks.

 

[Jay H]

Wow, sounds pretty bad. I recognize all the towns mentioned as we drove through by Big Pine, Independence, and of course Lone Pine on our Whitney trip last year. And we drove over to the Whites in Nevada to hike Boundary Peak... Lets hope this dry weather gets a break to help those firefighters out there. It sure is hot enough over there this time of year without a huge fire!

Jay

 

[Tuco]

Kevin-

Thanks for posting. Hope for everybody's sake this ends safely, and soon.

 

[Ed Poyer]

Thanks for the 'heads up'

Thank you for posting, Kevin; I'm heading out there at the end of August. I hope the fire is contained before more injuries & damage.
Ed

 

[ghassert]

Thanks...

Thanks for the post, I am also heading out to Yosemite and Lake Tahoe for the last week of August and first week of September.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

You're welcome -

It looks like the fire crews (800+) may be gaining the upper hand on the Inyo Complex fires - they now estimate 80% containment (8:35 PDT) and some roads/trailheads/campgrounds are beginning to re-open. Here's another link to Calfire for ongoing info. They're estimating containment tomorrow. The weather is cooperating - a big high pressure system is dragging some humid air from the south from the Baja, over CA and on to OR - that keeps the temps down and increases the humidity, which makes it easier to contain wildfires. It also increases the chances of dry lightening storms ...

Kevin