Fire officials: Have a 'good handle' on Saddle Fire
By 
HAYFORK, Calif. - On Thursday, fire officials said strong winds sped up the spread of the Saddle Fire that has burned 1,000 acres.
The blaze was caused by lightening after thunderstorms hit Trinity County Tuesday night.
Zach Ellinger with the Shasta-Trinity Forest Service said firefighters are battling tough terrain and severe weather, making it difficult to contain the fire.
"There's a thermal inversion, thermal layer sitting over the valley so that's keeping fire activity to a minimum, but it's also making it difficult for our air recon to see what exactly is going on on the ground," Ellinger shared about the layout of the fire.
Ellinger said the size estimate was tough to pinpoint at first. They originally thought the fire was larger, but with heavy smoke it was difficult for air operations to see from above.
"Fortunately we have eyes on the ground and they are communicating with air attack so what air attack can't see our lookouts and crews on the ground can see," Ellinger said.
The Saddle Fire started near Saddle Creek on Wednesday with mandatory evacuations and since spread Southwest because of strong winds.
"We are not concerned about the fire spreading with the higher temperatures. The winds are what we are really keeping our eye on," Ellinger said about the future of the fire.
Resources have been called in from all over California to help suppress the blaze.
"We were stretched pretty thin although we still had things under control. When we tap into the national hot shot crews, that's a whole flood of new personnel and fresh bodies that can help us get a handle on it," Ellinger said.
Firefighters are working to defend structures on the Northwest and West sides of Hyampom.
Hyampom is under an advisory evacuation. There are mandatory evacuations in place along County Road 311 also known as the lower South Fork Road, North of Big Slide Campground to Manzanita Ranch.
There's a Red Cross evacuation center at Hayfork High School.--
Read my blog at http://eclecticarcania.blogspot.com/
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/derkimster
Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kim-noyes/9/3a1/2b8
Follow me on Twitter @CalDisasters
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment