Despite 1,000 firefighters, containment still at 0% for Coffee Pot Fire

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Evacuation warnings are still in place for some areas of Tulare County as the Coffee Pot Fire continues to burn.

Officials report the fire has currently burned 3,519 acres and is still 0% contained.

At a community meeting in Three Rivers on Monday evening, fire and national park officials gave an update on the firefight.

“I’m sure a lot of people in this room are staring up at the hill from their front yard or their backyard and seeing a fire up on the hillside, so my goal right now is to paint a picture, I’m sure you’re wondering what people are doing up there to put that fire out,” Operations Section Chief Mike Wintch, said.

The fire started on Aug. 3 by a lightning strike. Since then, it has continued to burn in a rugged and remote part of Tulare County, inside the Sequoia National Park.

With over 1,000 firefighters assigned to the fire, officials said the problem with getting the fire contained- lies with where the fire is and not because of a lack of equipment or crews.

“It’s in a place where we cannot put in effective fire lines, it is sheer granite cliffs and boulders the size of a two-story house,” Assistant Chief for Cal Fire Tulare unit Andy Turner said.

National Park officials also added they have much more of the fire put out than what the containment reflects.

“Not consider a fire contained unless there is black, right up to the line, and the line has shown itself not likely to get lost,” Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Superintendent Clay Jordan said.

They also say the weather this weekend helped the firefight.

“That was beneficial, that helped slow the fire down, providing more moisture, for the fuel,” Incident Meteorologist Eric Kurth said. “Now temperatures are starting to edge up, and humidity is starting to go down which is actually in this case favorable because they’re going to be putting some fire on the line.”

As the fire burns, residents can still expect to see some smoke in parts of the park. To check conditions, visit this webpage.

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