California Interagency Incident Management Team 14 is currently managing four wildfires – Acorn, Packsaddle, Trout, and Long.
"Each fire presents its own hazards to the firefighters working in the forest’s harsh terrain," forest service officials stated in a daily fire update. To help ensure crews are safe, four medical teams have been deployed to the fireline and a "rescue-capable" aircraft is on standby, forest service officials said.
An evacuation warning has been issued by Tulare County Sheriff’s Department for the area north of the Long Fire and south of Kennedy Meadows. Sequoia National Forest lands, roads, trails, and recreation sites around the Trout, Long, and Packsaddle fires are temporarily closed and fire restrictions are in effect.
Trout Fire
The Trout Fire is northeast of Isabella Lake in the Dome Land Wilderness south of Sherman Pass Road and southwest of Bald Mountain in Tulare County.
As of July 19, the fire has burned 10,489 acres and has 0% containment.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that recent weather conditions have worked against firefighting efforts. Thunderstorms brought strong outflow winds and lightning to the Trout Fire, but little rain.
Long Fire
The Long Fire is northeast of Isabella Lake in the Dome Land Wilderness southwest of the Long Valley Campground in Tulare County.
As of July 19, the fire has burned 8,661 acres and has 0% containment.
The Long Fire continued burning in light vegetation and spread rapidly on July 18. The area continued to experience hot and dry weather unlike the Trout Fire to the north, forest service officials said.
Aircraft dropped retardant to slow the fire’s spread to the north while helicopters supported the firefighters along the southern portion of fire perimeter with water drops, according to U.S. Forest Service.
Packsaddle and Acorn fires
The Packsaddle Fire is burning north of Isabella Lake, roughly four miles east of Fairview Campground and the Upper Kern River in Tulare County. It burned 47 acres and has 95% containment.
The Acorn Fire is southwest of Isabella Lake near Breckenridge Campground in Kern County. It burned five acres and also has 95% containment.
Both of these fires remain in a patrol status with crews monitoring the fire perimeter to ensure there is no threat of flare-up or escape, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Weather and air quality
The Trout and Long fires could increase in size as the atmosphere becomes increasingly unstable, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Neither the Trout Fire nor Long Fire are expected to see thunderstorms on July 19 but winds remain in the forecast. Winds are predicted to affect the Long Fire in the afternoon with gusts up to 20 miles per hour possible. The warming, drying trend, along with critically low relative humidity levels, is likely to continue through the weekend.
Both fires continue to be active, with the Trout Fire being the larger smoke producer of the two.
Smoke is expected to increase in Porterville and Springville on July 20, according to the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program. The smoke along the front range of the Sierra Nevada will likely increase starting late July 19 and be slow to leave the following morning.
By the morning of July 21, smoke will lessen in the foothill communities but increase in the Owens Valley and northward along Highway 395.
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