Weather helps calm fire activity

Cool wet weather is helping to calm the region’s largest remaining wildfires.

Tie Canyon fire
Sunday night rains were not enough to extinguish the Tie Canyon fire, but were enough to help firefighters gain an upper hand.

The fire is still estimated at 1,031 acres and is now 94 percent contained. 200 personnel are still working the fire.

Firefighters have removed all but 2.5 miles of hose. Two hand crews and two engines will be working in Tie Creek today to turn and scrape logs and expose the remaining hot spots to cold, damp air. Crews will also be patrolling the north, east, west and most of the southern flanks of the fire over the next few days to ensure the fire’s perimeter is out.

In Victor, the incident command post is being disassembled. It will not be open to the public as heavy equipment and camp crews are taking down yurts, moving supplies and restoring the park to its original condition.

Berry Fire
The lightning caused Berry fire is now estimated at 14,551 acres. 225 firefighters are assigned to the fire including 3 helicopters, 8 engines, and 3 handcrews.

The fire has been managed for ecological benefits. A Type 2 Great Basin Incident Management Team took command of the fire on August 24. To date, the Berry Fire has burning 13,028 acres on National Park Service lands and 1,513 of National Forest System lands.

The Grassy Lakes Road is closed just past Flagg Ranch. The Headwaters Lodge convenience store and gas station at Flagg Ranch are both open for business, however, there will be no overnight guests until the evacuation advisory is lifted.

Since fire activity has greatly reduced, the fire is being turned over to a Type 3 team. That team will have fewer personnel.

Temperatures were expected to stay in the 60’s Monday and relative humidity is dropping. Fire behavior was expected to be minimal Monday, but has the potential to increase later in the week.