From Town Crier: 8:30 A.M. UPDATE: The Mountain Fire’s growth was very limited last night. The current size is 27,278, a 99-acre change from Friday evening. Today is beginning much like yesterday, cloud cover and higher humidity. Fire officials reported that Friday night was relatively quiet. They continued to use the nightflying helicopter especially on the western perimeter of the Fire. Fire lines were established along Southridge yesterday. Many crews are now being staged in Idyllwild in case of a sudden change. But as work on the Southern edge is progressing, more resources are being assigned to the west and north. Today, two hotshot crews will use the Palm Springs Tramway to enter the backcountry and begin work on the northern tip of the Mountain Fire. These are the first units in the area. They may, if it is safe, establish a “spike camp”, according to Norm Rooker, a team information officer. The southern perimeter is “Looking good, really, really good” according to the team. And there is not much movement on the eastern perimeter. The 30 percent of rainfall creates safety concerns for firefighters for several reasons. A sudden very heavy downpour can create flashflood and possible injuries. The erratic wind behavior might affect the fire’s behavior in unexpected and dangerous ways. And finally, the possibility of lightning strikes, late this afternoon, could move the fire into new locations. But the Incident Management Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley, stressed to unit leaders to “… take care of crews because the cloud cover would make access difficult in case of injury.” To clarify her point, she added be sure of safety because a rainstorm could quickly become ‘Camp Mud’. The number of personnel fighting the Mountain Fire remains at 3,478. The cost of the Fire is now $12.2 million.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:50:55 +0000
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