Star Fire


	Star Fire
09/18/02 11:51 AM Start date: Saturday Aug. 25 06:41 am Initial location: Near Red Star Point in Duncan Canyon in the Eldorado National Forest, 15 miles northeast of Georgetown. T14N R13E Sec 21/22, SE side of River. The fire is now mostly burning in the Tahoe National Forest. Containment: 100% NEW Red Star Restoration Project Files Public Meeting Thursday March 14, 2002, 6:00-9:00 pm at the Foresthill Library on Main Street in Foresthill. Open House to meet with the restoration team and discuss the initial proposal. Latest update: The Star fire is fully contained. The current Type II Team will transition to a Type II organization on Tuesday, September 18th, at 6 pm. Infrared flights are pinpointing areas of heat and firefighters will be mopping up those areas. Hazard trees along forest roads are being felled. Suppression rehabilitation work to repair fire lines and stabilize soil conditions continues. Additional wood chippers are being used to clear brush and improve roads. Ditching work along forest roads continues to prevent the affects of erosion. Demobilization of fire personnel continues. All roads into the French Meadows Recreation Complex and the Big Meadows/Hell Hole Recreation Complexes are closed. Mosquito Ridge Road (96) is open to the Oxbow River Access. A campfire ban is in place on the Tahoe National Forest. The Forest has issued an advisory not to enter the area south of Interstate 80 and west of the Pacific Crest Trail. Fire restrictions are still in place on the Eldorado National Forest, with campfires only allowed in designated campgrounds. Road 96 remains very hazardous to firefighters due to congestion of fire equipment, falling snags and rolling boulders. A Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) team of specialists is assessing potential damage to soil and water caused by the fire. Sixty personnel with equipment have begun rehabilitation work south of French Meadows Reservoir. Read the press release about the RAWS weather stations! Panoramic view out of the Duncan lookout Read the TNF News Release about the ongoing burnout operation. Factoids: 1 million gallons of retardant were dropped on the Star Fire 5 million gallons of water were droppped on the Star Fire At the height of the Star fire there were each day: 700 dozen eggs cooked 600 pounds of bacon cooked 4,000 styrofoam cups used 1200 gallons of coffee consumed Full details about the burnout operation Weather conditions: A slight warming trend over the incident for the next few days. Maximum temperatures on the fire today will be mid 70's degrees with relative humidity expected to be 24-33% on the ridges by mid-afternoon. No thunderstorms are predicted. Briefing map (day shift 09/10) Incident Map (updated) 3D Maps (updated) Photogallery (updated) Satellite picture Ongoing rehabilitation by the BAER Team PLEASE NOTE: At the beginning of this fire, several media sources reported that there was a "let burn" strategy for this fire. This has never been the case. From initial attack to present, all personnel assigned to this fire have made maximum effort to put the fire out. Resources threatened: Spotted Owl habitat, goshawk habitat, Placer County redwood grove, Middle Fork American River Watershed, Red Star mine structures, 60KV PG&E power lines, hydroelectric facilities, water and recreation areas, Western States Trail. Evacuations: Hell Hole campground and reservoir (Big Meadow) French Meadows reservoir. Campgrounds have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. North Fork American River on the north the Cedar and Granite Chief Wilderness on the east, the Forest boundary on the south (TNF) Black Canyon and the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River on the west. Road closures: See the road and area closure map also All roads into the French Meadows Recreation Complex and the Big Meadows Recreations complex are closed. Read the Tahoe National Forest News Release! Recreationists Advised not to Enter TNF Lands South of Interstate-80 Injuries to firefighters: 11 Cost to date: $24,000,000 Resources on site: approximately 1,080 people on site Over 50 hand crews from all across the US are working with other resources to combat the blaze. Crews hail from 29 states of the US! Link to the National Forest Incident page about the Star Fire Thank you to the Tahoe National Forest Service Fire Information for their updates. A special thank you to Lynn and Kathy for both alerting us to this incident.

		This site ©1999-2007 YubaNet™ Terms of use and service phone (530) 478-9600 e-mail webmaster@yubanet.com