Palmas Fire

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Palmas Fire

PALMAS FIRE
CA-CDD-012308
77.3 acres

The Palmas Fire, a lightning-caused fire on October 15, 2015, burned an area of palms, reeds, arroweed, and salt cedar in the Dos Palmas Preserve in the Palm Springs Field Office.

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North Update 7/18/2015 0930

The North Fire started at approximately 1433 Friday July 17 in the center divider of Interstate 15 north of Highway 138. The fire is approximately 3,500 acres and 5 percent contained. Multiple vehicles were trapped on Interstate 15 when the fire jumped the southbound lanes. 20 vehicles were destroyed and 10 vehicles were damaged, however no injuries were reported. In the community of Baldy Mesa 3 homes, 8 outbuildings, and an additional 44 vehicles were destroyed.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for following areas in Baldy Mesa: east of Sheep Creek Road, north of Highway 138, west of Interstate 15/Highway 395, and south of Phelan Road.
An evacuation center has been established for residents at Serrano High School located at 9292 Sheep Creek Road Phelan, Ca 92371. Large and small animals can be taken to the Victor Valley Fairgrounds, 14800 7th Street in Victorville, CA 92395.

Southbound Interstate 15 has three lanes reopened; all northbound lanes of Interstate 15 have been reopened.

An Unmanned Aircraft System (drone) halted tanker operations for about 25 minutes, but operations soon resumed.

Fire Managers urge individuals and organizations that fly drones to avoid the wildfire areas to ensure the safety of firefighters and the effectiveness of wildfire suppression operations. Unauthorized drone flights over or near the wildfires could cause serious injury or death to aerial firefighters and firefighters on the ground. Unauthorized drones could be involved in midair collisions with air-tankers, helicopters, and other aircraft engaged in fire suppression operations. This could decrease the effectiveness of fire suppression operations, allowing the fire to grow larger and potentially threaten lives, property, and valuable natural and cultural resources.
Firefighting aircraft typically fly at about the same, or lower, altitude than hobbyists or recreationists fly drones, often in smoky, windy, and turbulent conditions. Safety depends on knowing what other aircraft are operating in the airspace and knowing their altitude and direction of travel.

Fire is in unified command with San Bernardino County Fire, CALFIRE, and San Bernardino County Sheriff. A Federal Type 2 Incident Management Team headed by Mike Wakowski has been ordered.

BASIC INFORMATION

Current as of	7/18/2015, 0614
Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Date of Origin	Friday July 17th, 2015 approx. 02:33 PM
Location	Cajon Pass, Baldy Mesa
Incident Commander	Howes
Incident Description	Unified Command With CAL FIRE, San Bernardino County Fire, And San Bernardino County Sheriff.
CURRENT SITUATION
Total personnel	1,000
Size	3,500 acres
Percent contained	5%
Fuels	Chaparral and grass
Significant events	Mandatory evacuation: east of Sheep Creek Rd, north of Highway 138, west of I-15 and Hwy 138, and south of Phelan Rd.
OUTLOOK
Planned actions	Continue direct attack utilizing hoselays and hand line construction. Structure protection. Hold and improve established containment lines.
Planned incident activity	A Type 2 IMT has been ordered to take over the fire.
Remarks	Evacuation center located at Serrano High School 9292 Sheep Creek Road Phelan, Ca 92371
WEATHER FORECAST
Weather concerns	Monsoonal flow brought increased moisture into the area. By mid-afternoon, the threat of lightning and gusty outflows could impact the area.

North

The North Fire started at about 2:33 pm on Friday July 17 near Interstate 15 north of Highway 138. It is approximately 3,500 acres in size. 

While BLM resources are assisting on the fire, the fire is two miles from BLM-managed lands.

A type 2 incident management team has been ordered.

Mandatory evacuations in Baldy Mesa for areas: 
East of Sheep Creek RoadNorth of Hwy 138
West of I-15/Hwy 395
South of Phelan Road

Evacuation Center for residents is at Serrano High School 9292 Sheep Creek Rd, Phelan.

Animals can be taken to the Victor Valley Fairgrounds 14800 7th Street, Victorville.

Southbound Interstate 15 is closed. Northbound I-15 has two lanes open, but traffic is slow. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible. 

There have been no injuries. Multiple vehicles on Interstate 15 caught on fire when the North Fire crossed southbound lanes. 20 vehicles were destroyed, 10 damaged.

4 structures have been destroyed.

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Lake Fire Update July 3, 2015 0800

 

Date Started: 6/1/7/2015 1552	Size: 31,359 acres
Containment: 85 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $39.5 million	Injuries: 5
Total Personnel: 963	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 26 crews, 24 engines, 6 dozers, 5 water tenders, 9 helicopters, 1 air attack

 

Current Fire Situation

Little heat remains in the fire area with no new growth today. Crews continue to mop up to a depth of two hundred feet or more in many areas of the fire. Smokes within the containment line might be visible from roads, trails, or residences as interior fuels burn. Heavy fuels, such as down trees and stumps, could continue to burn, producing smoke for several weeks or months.

 

Crews working in the Onyx Peak area pulled another ten thousand feet of hose off the fireline today. Four chippers and six excavators will be used to reduce the visual and functional effects of suppression activities on the landscape. Helicopters will patrol unstaffed areas of the fire, dropping water and inserting crews as needed to extinguish individual hotspots.  

 

Weather & Fire Behavior

Drier air moving into the area will reduce the threat of rain and thunderstorms. Because of the precipitation and higher relative humidity over the past several days, a new fire start would likely exhibit moderate, not extreme, fire behavior. Adequate resources are available through the holiday weekend to handle the initial attack of a new fire start. Temperatures tomorrow will be in the upper-70s and 80s and the relative humidity around 20 to 25 percent.

Lake Fire Update July 3, 2015 0800

 

Date Started: 6/17/2015 1552	Size: 31,359 acres
Containment: 80 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $37.8 million	Injuries: 5
Total Personnel: 1,203	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 36 crews, 30 engines, 1 dozer, 5 water tenders, 13 helicopters, 1 air attack

 

Current Fire Situation

Little heat remains in the fire area and the fire did not grow yesterday. Crews are mopping up hotspots to a depth of two hundred feet or more in many areas of the fire, which creates a buffer between the interior of the fire and the unburned fuels outside the perimeter. This cold-line buffer is referred to as the containment line. Smokes within the containment line might be visible from roads, trails, or residences as interior fuels burn. Heavy fuels, such as down trees and stumps, could continue to burn, producing smoke for several weeks or months.

 

Crews working in the Onyx Peak area pulled ten thousand to thirteen thousand feet of hose off the fireline yesterday and plan to do the same today. Four chippers and six excavators will be used to reduce the visual and functional effects of suppression activities on the landscape. Crews camping out near the fire line in the San Gorgonio Wilderness will return to base camp tonight after a full shift extinguishing hotspots, cleaning up their campsites to leave no trace. Helicopters will patrol unstaffed areas of the fire, dropping water and inserting crews as needed to extinguish individual hotspots.  

 

Weather & Fire Behavior

Drier air moving into the area will reduce the threat of rain and thunderstorms. Because of the precipitation and higher relative humidity over the past several days, a new fire start would likely exhibit moderate, not extreme, fire behavior. Adequate resources are available through the holiday weekend to handle the initial attack of a new fire start. Temperatures today will be in the mid-70s and 80s and the relative humidity around 25 to 30 percent.

 

Traffic Safety

Fire crews and helicopters will continue to be visible to the public throughout the holiday weekend. Motorists may observe movement of firefighting vehicles along State Route 38. Please be alert while traveling on the highway and yield the right of way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

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Lake Fire Update July 2, 2015 0800

 

Date Started: 6/17/2015 1552	Size: 31,359 acres
Containment: 70 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $35.6 million	Injuries: 5
Total Personnel: 1,464	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 46 crews, 40 engines, 1 dozers, 6 water tenders, 15 helicopters, 1 air attack

Current Fire Situation

Mopping up hotspots in the wilderness remains the priority for fire-containment. Crews continue to work in steep wilderness terrain to connect the containment lines. Additional efforts are focused on areas of the incident to repair suppression activities. Suppression repair crews will be progressing along the fireline from Rainbow Lane to Onyx Peak. Both of these efforts—mop up and repair—are important to complete prior to downsizing the operation and transferring management of the fire back to the local unit.

 

Weather & Fire Behavior

The chance of rain and thunderstorms will begin to diminish as a hotter dryer air mass pushes into the area. Yesterday 0.1 to 0.2 inch of rain fell on the fire. Relative humidity increased due to the rain, and fire behavior will continue to be minimal. The overnight infrared mapping flight detected 30 spots of heat, primarily stump holes, within 300 feet of the southern perimeter in the wilderness. Another flight will happen this morning to further help crews identify hotspots. 

 

Traffic Safety

Fire crews and helicopters will continue to be visible to the public throughout the holiday weekend. Motorists may observe movement of firefighting vehicles along State Route 38. Please be alert while traveling on the highway and yield the right-of-way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

Lake Fire Update July 1, 2015 0800

 

Date Started: 6/17/2015 1552	Size: 31,359 acres
Containment: 65 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $34 million	Injuries: 5
Total Personnel: 1,714	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 50 crews, 64 engines, 2 dozers, 11 water tenders, 19 helicopters, 1 air attack

Current Fire Situation

Wilderness areas of the fire continue to be the priority in containment efforts. Crews will take advantage of the increase in moisture and extinguish interior hotspots 100 to 200 feet from the perimeter. In the secured areas, the suppression repair and rehabilitation crews will continue to repair the damaged infrastructure and repair the containment lines. Crews are using heavy equipment, chippers, and handcrews to accelerate the landscape’s recovery from the suppression activities. Lake Fire resources will be available to assist the Forest with initial attack for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday activities. 

 

Because the fire perimeter in the wilderness continues to hold pockets of heat, one of yesterday’s priorities was to bring crews into the wilderness. Favorable weather provided crews the opportunity to construct fireline directly on the fire’s perimeter in many areas of the fire. Helicopter bucket drops were instrumental in assisting crews on the ground in suppressing pockets of high heat. The suppression repair and rehabilitation crews made excellent progress in the Rainbow Lane area. Crews are continuing to repair roads that were damaged during suppression activities.

 

Weather & Fire Behavior

There is a chance of thunderstorms for the fire area today. Any rain from these storms would assist the firefighting efforts. However, the outflow winds and lightning associated with the thunderstorms continue to pose a safety concern to the firefighters. There will be minimal fire behavior today with the expected weather. Analysts observed only six areas of heat between the control line and 200 feet into the fire perimeter. Last night’s rain had minimal effect on hotspots inside the fire’s perimeter. Smoke from the wilderness areas of the fire will continue to be visible as heavy fuels continue to burn.

 

Traffic Safety

Fire crews and helicopters will continue to be visible to the public throughout the holiday weekend. Motorists may observe movement of firefighting vehicles along State Route 38. Please be alert while traveling on the highway and yield the right-of-way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

In Memory of the Granite Mountain Hot Shots

Today marks two years since the loss of nineteen Granite Mountain Hotshots on the Yarnell Hill Fire. 

The Lake Fire has now burned 31,359 acres. 1,886 acres of which were BLM-managed lands. 237 acres of the BLM land burned was within the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area. 

The BAER team, including Noel, met this morning to begin an assessment of the potential impacts from the fire.

Lake Fire Update June 30, 2015 0800

 

Date Started: 6/17/2015 1552	Size: 31,359 acres
Containment: 60 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $32.5 million	Injuries: 4
Total Personnel: 1,936	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 53 crews, 75 engines, 2 dozers, 16 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 1 air attack

Current Fire Situation

Yesterday crews worked on extinguishing hot spots near the perimeter of the fire where accessible. Crews that camped overnight near the eastern fireline made good progress working north and south of Pipes Canyon Road. Perimeter in the wilderness remained unstaffed due to the potential threat of thunderstorms. Most of the hot spots along State Route (SR) 38 have been extinguished.

 

Today crews will continue to patrol the fireline along the SR 38 corridor and in sections near Heartbreak Ridge.  Additional crews will join the crews currently working the east side of the fire near the Pipes Canyon Road. Firefighters in this area will be extinguishing hot spots from the fire perimeter to an interior depth of at least 100 feet. Crews will be reinserted into the previously unstaffed wilderness areas. Firefighters will remain in the wilderness for three to four days to reduce travel time to and from the fire line. Suppression repair crews working along the SR 38 corridor will progress eastward using chippers, excavators, and other heavy equipment. 

 

The damage assessment team continues to evaluate the fire area for further structure and infrastructure damage. The team has reported the loss of a residence and three outbuildings in the Burns Canyon area. 

Weather & Fire Behavior

The chance of isolated thunderstorms is still a threat over all areas of the fire. The rise in relative humidity helps firefighting efforts; however, thunderstorms can produce strong erratic winds, which could increase fire activity. The fire acreage increased due to the inclusion of unburned islands near the wilderness fire perimeter, but no perimeter growth was reported. Fire behavior analysts predict a potential increase in fire activity on the southern perimeter during the hotter, drier time of day. Temperatures will be slightly warmer than yesterday, ranging from 77 to 87 degrees with relative humidity between 25 and 35 percent. 

                                                                                          

Traffic Safety

Motorists may observe suppression repair crews and movement of heavy equipment along SR 38. Please be alert while traveling on the highway and yield the right-of-way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

1,868 acres of BLM-managed lands have burned.

Lake Fire Update June 29, 2015 0800

Date Started: 6/17/2015 1552	Size: 30,726 acres
Containment: 60 percent	Cause: under investigation
Estimated Cost to Date: $30.2 million	Injuries: 4
Total Personnel: 2,236	Residences Burned: 1
Committed Resources: 65 crews, 94 engines, 7 dozers, 37 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 2 air attacks

Current Fire Situation

Night operations experienced little fire behavior. Firefighters worked in the Onyx Peak area, finding and extinguishing logs and stump holes that were still holding heat. Today firefighters will continue to grid for hot spots along the containment lines. Crews working north of the Three Sisters Peaks will be constructing fire line where it is safe in steep, difficult-to-access terrain. Firefighters will be assessing the possibility of working the fire line south of Three Sisters Peaks and into the South Fork drainage. If weather permits, crews will be flown into the wilderness to construct line along the southwest portion of the fire. Aerial resources continue to assist firefighters in all active fire areas. Crews will be using heavy equipment in areas where there is no longer fire activity to begin suppression repair. The damage assessment team continues to evaluate the fire area for further damage. The team has reported the loss of a residence and three out buildings in the Burns Canyon area.

Weather & Fire Behavior

The monsoonal trend will continue to bring showers and thunderstorms to the fire area for the next few days. Crews can expect localized rainfall and gusty, erratic winds from the storms. Fire behavior has diminished significantly; however, there is still heat along the perimeter in most areas of the fire. Pockets of unburned fuel continue to burn especially in areas that did not burn in the 2006 Sawtooth and Millard fires. Motorists along Interstate 10 near Palm Springs may continue to see smoke from the Ten Thousand Foot Ridge in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

Special Notice

State Route 38 is open to through traffic.  Motorists may observe suppression repair crews and movement of heavy equipment along the highway. Please be alert while traveling on State Route 38 and yield the right-of-way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

Evacuations

As a result of the efforts on the fire, San Bernardino County Sheriff, in conjunction with unified command, has lifted the evacuation order for Burns Canyon residents.

For detailed information, please visit the following websites:

http://cms.sbcounty.gov/sheriff/MediaCenter/SheriffPressReleases.aspx

http://caltrans8.info

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ (Lake Fire)