[pct-l] Mountain Fire Update

[Stephen Clark]

*The Riverside County Sheriff in cooperation with Idyllwild Fire Protection
District has issued an evacuation notice for the Idyllwild and Fern Valley
area. This does not include Pine Cove, Mountain Center, and Poppet Flats.*

*This Evacuation notice also includes the San Jacinto State Park
Wilderness, Forest Service Wilderness and Forest Service Campgrounds.*

*Please read evacuation notice under the "Closures" tab.*

*Immediate Update - The Trails End Community at the very top of Morris
Ranch Road is under an immediate Evacuation Notice!*

*General Fire Info: *

The Mountain Fire started at 1:43 PM on July 15, 2013 near the junction of
Highway 243 and Highway 74. It is currently burning east of the Mountain
Center and Apple Canyon Areas. It is burning in very steep and rugged
terrain in the southern portion of the San Jacinto Wilderness along the
Desert Divide and in the Apple Canyon and Bonita Vista Areas.

Last night the fire settled down enough to allow fire crews to attack the
south flank of the fire directly. On the north flank, crews made
extraordinary effort building line in steep terrain toward South Peak. The
night shift did a great job last night.

The weather today remains hot and dry and the high level winds are coming
out of the east. This change in wind direction aloft will be demonstrated
by the top of smoke columns bending to the west. The most active parts of
the fire are near Red Tahquitz Peak above the community of Idyllwild and
near the community of Trails End to the south. These two areas will be the
focus of today's firefighting activities as both air and ground crews work
to slow the rate of spread of the fire. Structure protection contingency
plans are being updated in all evacuated communities. On the east side of
the fire, the fire continues to slowly back down the mountain as fuels
become more sparse at lower elevations.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Mount San Jacinto State Park are
currently closed because of unhealthy air quality due to smoke.

*Damage Assessment Update:*

**A damage assessment has been completed for the Bonita Vista, Pine Springs
and Zen Mountain Center Area.

Bonita Vista - 3 mobile homes and 3 residences were destroyed, 1 residence
sustained damage.

Pine Springs - 1 commercial building, a workshop, garage, and cabin were
destroyed.

Zen Mountain Center - No damages.

In addition to the above residences, there were a total of 11 outbuildings
and 4-6 vehicles destroyed.

It is important to note that while homes and buildings were destroyed or
damaged, firefighters were able to defend and save a larger number of homes.

*Campground and Trail Closures:*

**The Pacific Crest Trail is closed from Highway 74 north to Saddle
Junction. All of the trails connection to the Pacific Crest Trail are
closed as well, including South Ridge Trail, Carumba Trail, Spitler Peak
Trail, Fobes Trail, and Cedar Springs.

All Forest Service Campgrounds located along Highway 243 are closed, The
San Jacinto State Park is closed, and the San Jacinto Wilderness is closed.

Hurkey Creek County Camground, and all of the hiking and mountain biking
trails out of Hurkey creek and May Valley are closed.

*Road Closures and Evacuations:*

Highway 243 is under a soft closure from Banning South to Mountain Center;
Highway 74 is under a soft closure from the Cranston Fire Station near
Valle Vista east to the junction with Highway 371. A soft closure is in
place to allow residents access to gather items from their homes or
properties.

Idyllwild and Fern Valley is under an evacuation order.  Click link for
more information: http://inciweb.org/incident/article/3516/19215/

Mandatory evacuation orders are still in effect, for Bonita Vista, Pine
Springs, and the Zen Mountain Center off of Apple Canyon Road, and Trails
End at the North end of Morris Ranch Road.

Camp Ronald McDonald and Camp Joe Sherman have been voluntarily evacuated
due to health concerns related to air quality.

*Equipment on-Scene:*

2985 firefighters, including 228 engines, 17 helicopters, 10 fixed wing
aircraft, including a DC-10, 51 hand-crews, 21 water-tenders, and 15 dozers.


Incident TypeWildfireCauseUnder InvestigationDate of OriginMonday July
15th, 2013 approx. 01:43 PMLocationMountain CenterIncident
CommanderPincha-tulley
Type 1 ImtCurrent SituationTotal Personnel2,985Size22,800 acresPercent
Contained15%Fuels Involved

Chaparral and Timber
Fire Behavior

Rapid fire spread through timber and chaparral.
Significant Events

Evacuations in effect for Idyllwild and Fern Valley, Bonita Vista, Trails
End, and the Apple Canyon Area
OutlookPlanned Actions

Continued direct attack where feasible, utilize air resources
Growth Potential

Extreme
Terrain Difficulty

High
Remarks

Fire is in Unified Command with CAL FIRE Riverside
Current WeatherWind Conditions2-5 G8 mph WTemperature99 degreesHumidity5 -
10%