UPDATE 7:40AM 2/17/22

UPDATE: 8:40PM CALFIRE  1800 acres 0% Containment No change to evacuation orders or road closures.

UPDATE: CalFire: 1500 acres. 0% Containment No change to evacuation orders or road closures. @InyoSheriff assist: Bishop FPD, Independence FPD, Lone Pine FPD. @Inyo NF, LADWP

UPDATE from Inyo County Sheriff Dept. (2/26/22, 4:30pm). MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER FOR EAST SIDE OF BIG PINE due to large wildfire. Evacuation center is at the Bishop Senior Center 506 Park Ave, Bishop.

A fast-moving brush fire broke out a bit after 12:30 on Wednesday afternoon, February 16th, near the Owens River off Line Street, east of Bishop near the Bishop Airport.  Multiple agencies have responded.  According to the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, as of 1:30 pm, East Line Street, Airport Road, Poleta Road, Warms Springs Road, and Collins Road are all closed due to the fire.  The UC White Mountain Research Center and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory were asked to evacuate.  The general public is asked to please avoid the area.  So far, no injuries have been reported and no structures have been reported damaged.  A 30 – 40 MPH wind is blowing massive plumes of smoke south, down the Owens Valley as the fire continues to spread southward.  Updates will follow as they become available.