Coffee Pot Fire: Blaze near Sequoia National Park grows to 4,552 acres, evacuations ordered

The Coffee Pot Fire continues to grow in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, resulting in the first evacuation orders.

The fire, which was caused by a lightning strike on Aug. 3, is in an area six miles southeast of Three Rivers. As of Wednesday, Aug. 28, the fire had burned 4,552 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Coffee Pot Fire: Evacuation warnings/orders, road closures

The fire is had been burning at the rate of about a quarter of a mile a day in all directions, before expanding by 874 acres on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

As a result of the current fire situation, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux issued an evacuation order for the area north of South Fork Drive, east of Skyline Drive (Salt Creek, fire control road), south of Skyline Drive (south of Case Mountain and Homers Nose), and west of the National Park Boundary.

This order is a mandatory evacuation requiring all residents and visitors to leave before the fire reaches the area.

If you are unable to evacuate and need help, call 911. If you have sheltering needs or questions, call the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767. For additional information, call the Incident Public Information Office at (559) 492-9988.

There are currently no direct containment lines around the fire, but that doesn’t fairly describe the current firefighting efforts.

“We’re making some really good progress in our indirect containment lines,” said Mike Lindbery, public information officer for the Coffee Pot Fire, about the lines being constructed at a distance from the fire. “Due to the nature of this fire backing down in very steep territory, we’re really unable to put a direct line on the fire’s edge.”

Coffee Pot Fire: Three Rivers, Mineral King, South Fork focus of fight

He explained that doing so would risk firefighter safety, and “materials on the hill are going to continue to burn, and then they’re just going to roll down below the line and continue to spread this fire.”

At one point, there was a direct containment line around the Coffee Pot Fire, according to Lindbery.

“Then a large log that had burned down rolled out past the containment line after several days of containment,” he said.

“The strategy that we have taken on is to build indirect lines between the fire and our values at risk, which at this point are the communities in the vicinity of the fire – Three Rivers, Mineral King, the South Fork area,” he said.

Indirect containment lines are constructed where they are easier to later defend. Eventually, they become direct containment lines when the fire reaches them.

“As of Aug. 28, our operations section chief tells us we have about 65% of that line constructed,” Lindbery said, adding that the line includes a dozer line, hand line, roads, and rivers.

Indirect containment lines are in place along most of the north, the south, and the west sides of the fire, he said, adding that firefighters are currently scouting the east side of the fire.

The fire, which was initially eight miles from Three Rivers, is now two miles closer.

A public meeting was held on Aug. 26 at the Three Rivers Memorial Building in Three Rivers to provide an overview of the fire situation and explain firefighting operations.

A public information officer has been assigned to the Three Rivers Village Market from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily to provide fire information and answer questions.

There are currently 1,312 personnel fighting the fire.

Firefighters from agencies from throughout California have been battling the fire. Lindbery said he has also seen engines and crews from as far away as Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. He added that individuals from “all over the country” are also joining the firefighting effort.

Air and road status

Increased smoke is expected in the area this week with the highest concentration in the Mineral King area, where air quality levels will be unhealthy to very unhealthy in the afternoon and evening.

The Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks are open, except for the very southern section, where the Ladybug and Garfield Grove trails are closed. The fire is not causing any delays to and from the parks. The only fire-related road delay is a 30-minute delay for visitors on Mineral King Road, according to Lindbery.

“Now, there may be a delay due to tourism traffic coming in this Labor Day weekend,” Lindbery said.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Coffee Pot Fire: Blaze near Sequoia National Park grows to 4,552 acres, evacuations ordered