Press Release: Sequoia National Forest A community meeting will be held on Monday, June 16, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. at Faith Community Church, 20 West Panorama Dr. in Wofford Heights. This meeting will be hosted by the Sequoia National Forest and the Kern County Fire Department. Representatives from both agencies and Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley will speak at the meeting. Current Situation: Yesterday the fire was very active north of Old State Road. The fire breached the containment line in that area. Overnight crews were able to build fireline around the fire that had escaped the containment line. They expect to continue working on that area today. Even though temperatures are expected to decrease slightly today active fire behavior is expected. Higher than normal winds and very dry fuels are contributing to the unseasonal fire behavior noted on the incident. One of the tactics used with success on the incident is a 24 hour air operations cycle. Helicopters have been used during night operations to drop water on the fire, supporting the firefighters on the ground. The fire is threatening 1000 homes, Southern California Edison power lines, communications facilities, and forest timber. Three homes have been destroyed and 1 damaged by the fire. At least two of these structures appeared to be abandoned. Last night an air tanker assigned to the incident experienced a nose gear collapse on landing at Fresno Airport. The tanker, a P2V, was damaged. Neither of the 2 crew members were injured. Evacuations: Mandatory: Pala Ranches, Juniper Highlands, Old State Road and all residences between Old State Rd and Evans Rd on Hwy 155. An evacuation advisory is issued for Alta Sierra. Red Cross Evacuation Center Location: 6405 Lake Isabella Dr. in Lake Isabella. Last night the center housed 5 evacuees. The Red Cross shelter is also able to accept small animals as long as they are accompanied by a human at all times. Anyone with a large animal evacuation need is encouraged to contact Brian Shaw at (760) 223-6736. Evacuation information can be found at kernsheriff under “News”. Open: The majority of the world class recreational opportunities in the Kern River Ranger District and vicinity are unaffected by the fire activity and remain open. Contact the Sequoia National Forest for visitor information and trip planning, 559-784-1500. Motorists are encouraged to exercise extreme caution when driving in the area due to fire firefighters and fire equipment Closures: Portions of the following National Forest roads are closed under Order No. 14-11:Rancheria Rd. (Forest Road No. 25S15) Wagy Flat Rd. (Forest Road No. 25S02), Sawmill Road (Forest Road No. 26S03), Alder Creek Road (Forest Road No. 25S04) Highway 155 is closed at the intersection with Wofford Heights Blvd. Residents, owners, lessees of property are exempt from the closure as long as the closure does not fall within an evacuation area. Complete information on Forest Closure 14-11 can be found on the Shirley Fire site on Inciweb referenced below. Acres: 2200 acres Containment: 10% Total Personnel: 1198 Cost to date: $4,200,000 Cause: Under Investigation Cooperating Agencies: Kern County Sheriff’s Office, CHP, National Guard, Cal Trans, SCE Additional Shirley Fire information can be found at Inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3895/
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:49:13 +0000
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