News release

TABOOSE FIRE

Monday night

The fire weather forecasted for today brought smoke that could be seen from afar. The smoke was the result of fire burning in the Shingle Mill Bench area along with pockets of interior fire in the Red Mountain and Red Lake areas.

The Taboose Fire is now at 9,438 acres and firefighters have 62% of it contained.
Currently, the areas in and around the fire are still under a Red Flag Warning until 9:00 pm tonight. Crews are reporting sustained winds around 25-30 mph in the mountains, with gusts up to 45-55 mph which grounded air operations most of the day.

The incident meteorologist has been following the weather situation, and is
forecasting the winds to continue throughout this evening and decreasing around 8:00 pm. Firefighters will continue to secure perimeter lines, and patrol the area to ensure the fire does not breach containment lines.

Aside from the obvious dangers of a wildfire, some fires cause situations that may negatively impact the environment. The National Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program works with specialists from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, United States Geological Survey, California
Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the National Weather Service, Las Vegas. The BAER team will work on Forest Service lands with the goal of protecting the safety of Forest visitors and employees and protecting Federal property, water quality, and critical natural or cultural resources from further damage after the fire is out.

Firefighters have been working with resource advisors during this incident to minimize impact to resources in the fire area; and the BAER analysis, along with related, post-fire resource protection measures will begin this week as well.

Fire Resources:
13 crews 24 engines 4 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 520 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, Birch Creek Road and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Lake & Taboose Creek Trails.
Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters.

####

Monday morning

Last night the Taboose fire stayed in place and remains at 9,438 acres with 61% containment. It was quiet until 1:30AM last night, when the winds started blowing erratically at 30 to 35 mph. Night crews observed a steady glow in a few spots, but no movement. Fire lines were wind-tested last night and the Taboose Fire did not move.

The Red Flag Warning continues through today to 9PM. According to the National Weather Service, the strongest winds are predicted for today with a High Wind Advisory going into effect from 2PM to 9PM today. Winds will come from the south to southwest over the fire area.

Note that additional crews remain pre-positioned and staffing of firefighters by CAL FIRE, Cal OES, and the National Forest are available through this wind event.

After 9PM this evening, the winds are expected to drop off dramatically. If the fire remains in place through this evening, firefighting resources will ramp down tomorrow.

Residents: please make sure you have opted into the Inyo County Sheriff’s CodeRed
notification system. In the event there is a need for evacuation, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department will make notification with this tool. All residents are encouraged to opt in and register their landline and/or mobile numbers with CodeRed to receive emergency and important notifications. An explanation of the system can be found on the Inyo National Forest, CAL FIRE San Bernardino, and Inyo County Sheriff’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

To everyone in the Owens Valley – residents and visitors alike – this is the day!
Please be mindful of the fire danger.
Fire Resources:
15 crews 31 engines 4 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 575 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, Birch Creek Road and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Lake & Taboose Creek Trails.
Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters

 

 

 

Sunday evening update

The National Weather Service placed the areas in and around the Taboose Fire under a Red Flag Warning today at 3:00 pm through 9:00 pm Monday night. Firefighters and firefighting equipment were kept on scene to continue to extinguish hot spots, patrol the fire area, and repair fire suppression damage. There was minimal fire activity today, and the fire is currently holding at 9,438 acres with 61% containment.

Firefighters reported sustained winds in the fire area at 10-15 mph from the south and southwest. Crews are still monitoring the situation as it is expected to increase overnight and into Monday. Additional crews remain pre-positioned and staffing of firefighters by CAL FIRE, Cal OES, and the National Forest are available should
they be needed.

Residents in and around the fire should be prepared for a change in conditions that may intensify fire behavior.

In the event there is a need for evacuation, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department will make notification through the CodeRed system. All residents are encouraged to opt in and register their landline and/or mobile numbers with CodeRed to receive emergency and important notifications. An explanation of the system can be found on
the Inyo National Forest, CAL FIRE San Bernardino, and Inyo County Sheriff’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

To everyone in the Owens Valley – residents and visitors alike – please be mindful of the fire danger.

Fire Resources:
15 crews 31 engines 4 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 575 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, Birch Creek Road and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Lake & Taboose Creek Trails.
Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters.

###

The Taboose Fire remained at 9,438 acres and 59% containment. The fire stayed in place overnight with minimal fire behavior. Night crews patrolled the area and mopped up only a few spots of burn activity.

[pdf-embedder url=”https://thereal395.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Taboose_CAINF2018_0915day-MAP.pdf” title=”Taboose_CAINF2018_0915day MAP”]

Although there was no visible fire, the night IR flight showed some heat in the Tinemaha, Red Mountain, Taboose drainages and in Shingle Mill bench.
The big push for firefighters – and we hope residents in the area surrounding the fire – is to be ready for the RED FLAG WARNING for winds going into effect at 3PM TODAY.

Winds are expected to come from the west/southwest with the strongest winds predicted between 2PM and 9PM on Monday. The Red Flag warning is in effect through 9PM Monday, so be prepared for a 30 hour event.

The Taboose Fire day shift crews are prepared, CAL OES has prepositioned additional resources in the area, CAL FIRE and Inyo National Forest will extend firefighter staffing as needed. Should the fire escape the containment lines during this wind
event, there are many firefighting resources in the area prepared for a full suppression response.

That being said, residents in communities near the Taboose fire need to be prepared for this wind event. Make sure your cell phone is registered with the Inyo County Sheriff’s CodeRED notification system (register at Public.Coderedweb.com). Residents with landlines will be notified through reverse-911 as well.

While a tremendous amount of good work has gone into putting this fire to bed – and we hope nothing happens other than wind today and tomorrow – we ask that residents be prepared and stay alert.

To everyone in the Owens Valley – residents and visitors alike – please be mindful of the fire danger.

Fire Resources:
17 crews 31 engines 4 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 636 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, Birch Creek Road and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds:
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Lake & Taboose Creek Trails.
Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters

####

Previously

The Taboose Fire is 9,427 acres with 56% containment. There was minimal fire growth last night; the small amount of fire was observed from the air was interior to the fire perimeter. Crews worked on mopping up the fire and continuing suppression repair for future recovery of the fire area. This will be the hottest day with low relative humidity but winds are expected to be calm – for today.

The National Weather Service has placed the areas in and around the fire under a Fire Weather Watch which may soon be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning. Firefighters and firefighting resources will remain on scene in anticipation of the upcoming wind event from Sunday through Monday in the event the Taboose Fire breaches containment lines.

We ask that everyone in the surrounding areas stay alert to changes in the weather as conditions can intensify quickly.

One critical aspect of firefighting strategy is knowing what the predicted weather is. How do firefighters find this out? The National Weather Service (NWS) will prepare a “spot” forecast for localized areas, such as the Taboose Fire area, for emergency personnel. Firefighters submit a request for a specific geographic area for weather conditions for wildfires or prescribed burns.

When a Fire Management Team is managing the fire, an Incident Meteorologist is often onsite for immediate weather information. For the Taboose Fire, we have
Jimmy Taeger here with us from the San Diego NWS office. He is tracking the forecasted wind event expected on Sunday.

Fire Resources:
17 crews 31 engines 4 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 670 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds:
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Creek & Taboose Creek Trails.
Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters.

###

Despite the increased temperature today, firefighters took advantage of calm wind conditions and continued to extinguish hot spots and perform mop-up within the fire’s perimeter.

The crews strengthened the fire line, patrolled the area for any flare-ups, and repaired the damage from firefighting efforts. Firefighters also focused fire suppression activity on the Shingle Mill Bench where they saw a small amount of fire activity today.

The fire is currently at 9,427 acres with 56% containment.

The National Weather Service has placed the areas in and around the fire under a Fire Weather Watch which may be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning at a later time. Firefighters and firefighting resources will remain on scene in anticipation of the upcoming wind event from Sunday through Monday in the event the Taboose Fire
breaches containment lines. We ask that everyone in the area pay close attention to changes in the weather as conditions can intensify quickly.

Fire Resources:

17 crews 31 engines 7 helicopters 1 dozers 5 water tenders 670 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds:
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Creek & Taboose Creek Trails. NOTE: Hikers on the John Muir Trail are safe, but resupply out of Taboose Pass will need to be arranged at another pass.

Please respect these closures and avoid the nearby fire area for your own safety and that of the firefighters.

Friday morning

It was a quiet night on the Taboose Fire. There was no significant growth and the fire remains at 9,422 acres with 54% containment. Firefighters continued to monitor fire activity and look for and put out hot spots on the northern, eastern and southern fire perimeter.

The typical wind pattern of down slope winds in the morning with upslope winds in the afternoon is expected today. Firefighters will continue the work of controlling the fire.

The northern/eastern/southern fire areas have very little heat or fire activity. Firefighters are checking these areas for control. The fire is burning in Red Mountain Creek and Taboose Creek drainages near 9,000 feet along the Sierra. The fuels are
discontinuous and the fire will burn itself out on the western side. The steep terrain makes access difficult and unsafe for crews to work in this area.

All efforts are focusing on controlling the fire before the wind event expected on Sunday – Monday.

Much of the buildup of firefighting resources committed to controlling the Taboose Fire will remain in place in case the fire escapes containment lines on Monday. Residents in the surrounding area should remain vigilant and be prepared in case conditions change quickly.

National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for Sunday 1PM thru Tuesday 5AM
Public.Coderedweb.com www.ReadyForWildfire.org
Fire Resources:
25 crews 33 engines 7 helicopters 1 dozer 5 water tenders 755 personnel
Closures:
Evacuation Orders
Baxter Ranch
Evacuation Advisories
Community of Aberdeen and Community of Birch Creek
Road Closures
Tinemaha Road, Taboose Creek Road at Aberdeen, and McMurry Meadows Road
Campgrounds:
Tinemaha and Goodale Creek
Trail Closures
Red Lake, Birch Creek & Taboose Creek Trails. NOTE: Hikers on the John Muir Trail are safe, but resupply
out of Taboose Pass will need to be arranged at another pass.