CA-YNP-Cascade, Yosemite WUI Fire 518 acres, 50% active

Friday, August 10, 2012

CA-YNP-Cascade, Yosemite WUI Fire 518 acres, 50% active

Yosemite Cascade Fire Progression Map

Cascade Wildfire Perimeter Map

Yosemite Fire - Update #4 – August 10, 2012

Cascade: (37 46.173 x 119 40.519; 7800’el. Mariposa Co., Lightning caused 6.15.12) The Cascade Fire is now at 518 acres. Fifty percent of the fire perimeter is active, primarily in the northwest portion of the fire, through broken terrain of granite. Of the 518 acres, a good portion is rock and decomposed granite, wet meadows, and ponds.

It is burning in a short needle red fir forest between two upper forks of the Cascade Creek. It continues to creep and smolder, through fingers and layers of surface fuels and brush. The fire moves stick to stick and log to log, with low intensity, 6 to 12 inch flame lengths, and smolders through ground fuels of duff and forest litter. It occasionally creates enough heat to ignite brush. Isolated single tree torching was observed by Yosemite fire monitors. As the fire has moved the area it leaves standing live trees with pockets and mosaics of unburned forest. The growth rate and fire behavior is not expected to change as the fire moves to the north. Firefighters continue to monitor and scout the fire weekly.

This lightning caused fire has been slowly burning since June 16, in Yosemite’s high elevation Wilderness. It started during an afternoon thunderstorm on June 15th. The wilderness fire poses no threat to trails, park service buildings, infrastructure or roads, cultural or natural resources. Fire Managers and the park Superintendent evaluate daily the spread, growth and impacts of the fire. The Cascade Fire meets the park fire management objectives of minimal risk to firefighter and public safety, federal and public property, air quality and Wilderness character.

The fire could potentially grow to 1000 acres. Although the immediate fire area has a history of lightning, there is no recorded recent large fire history. The nearest historic fire to the Cascade Fire suggests that fires at this elevation, in this forest type, creep and smolder for weeks and only make runs during dry windy conditions. Fire in red fir forests occur about once in every 30 years.

Light smoke has been visible in the morning hours near Cascade Falls and the community of Foresta. Smoke has become more visible at higher elevations within the park and along the Tioga Rd near Yosemite Creek and Glacier Point Rd. Fire managers are working closely with state and local air pollution regulators concerning potential adverse air quality impacts to nearby smoke sensitive areas. Yosemite’s Division of Resources Management and Sciences personnel have installed air quality monitoring equipment within the communities of Lee Vining, Yosemite West, El Portal, Foresta and Yosemite Valley. Tuolumne County APCD has installed a smoke monitor at Pine Mountain Lake Airport. The park’s webcam located at Crane Flat Helibase will capture fire images, which can be viewed at: http://ssgic.cr.usgs.gov/dashboards/WebCam.htm?

For additional Information:

Fire Information Officer Gary Wuchner at: gary_wuchner@nps.gov (209) 372-0480 or 375-9574.

Yosemite National Park Web page: http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/current_fire.htm.

Yosemite Air Quality Web page: http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/aqmonitoring.htm

Inciweb: http://inciweb.org/incident/3069/

Yosemite Fire Twitter: http://twitter.com#!/YosemiteFire

Yosemite Fire Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Wildland-Fire/124632964255395

California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

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Friday, August 10, 2012