Office of Emergency Services (OES)

Weather: Weather today will be similar as yesterday with seasonably warm temperatures ranging from the upper 70’s to lower 90’s over the entire fire area. Humidity levels, especially on the west side of the fire, are beginning to rise and will range from 15 to 35 percent across the fire.  Winds are expected to be mild from the north-northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Please join both zones for a virtual community meeting tonight at 7PM, streaming live on @ShastaTrintyNF and @SixRiversNF Facebook pages.

Northwest Zone – Yesterday on the west side of the fire, there was an increase in humidity resulting in decreased fire activity. In the Bradburn creek area, crews were able to improve containment lines while firing operations took place near Coffee Pot to strengthen lines. All other areas of the fire are contained and are being patrolled and mopped up by fire resources.

Today, firefighters will continue to secure the uncontained fire perimeters northwest of Kettenpom and in the West Fork Van Duzen (Coffee Pot) area. Hazardous trees and debris will continue to be removed from the 502 and 511 roads. Crews around Ruth Lake will continue mopping up around homes and performing suppression repair activities.

As suppression activities diminish, firefighters have been pulling hoses and hauling them back to fire camp. Once at the Meadows fire camp, the California Conservation Crew (CCC) examines the hoses for damage, cleans and then rolls them for reuse on other fires. Yesterday, California Conservation Crew members estimated they organized over 20 miles of hose.

Northeast Zone – Record heat remained over the fire area yesterday contributing to increased smoke production as interior islands of unburned fuel continued to burnout, especially near Progeny and the 2017 Buck Fire area. These areas of active fire are well interior to the existing fire perimeter and pose no threat to containment lines. Additional firelines were contained in Beegum Creek, north of Forest Glen along the 14 Road and in the East Fork South Fork Trinity River. Backhaul of excess equipment, pumps and fire hose continued across all divisions. 

Today the Mad River Hotshots will mop up and secure fireline in the South Fork Trinity River north of Hwy 36. In other areas, firefighters will patrol contained firelines, backhaul equipment and continue suppression repair work as appropriate. Great Basin Team 2 is preparing to transition the Northeast Zone of the fire to Great Basin Team 1, which is currently managing the Northwest Zone. Suppression resources will be rightsized on the zone and excess resources and aircraft will be made available to other emerging large fires across the west. The fire remains in its current footprint and no growth is expected. 

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ .

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: HumboldtCoSheriff .

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here:

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices

Wallow drainage along FS Road 1S14H, and further east along Hwy 36 near Post Mountain.  Smoke remained thick in these areas yesterday and did not allow air resources to assist firefighters with suppression efforts. 

Yesterday fire activity in the Beegum Creek area moderated and handcrews continued building and reinforcing containment lines directly along the fire edge. The U.S. Marines Corps Engineer Support Battalion from Camp Pendleton, which includes 250 Marines, are now assigned to the Northeast Zone of the fire and worked along hotshots and handcrews in Beegam Creek to build fire line and mop up hotspots. Heavy helicopters were utilized in this area to drop retardant on ridges and reinforce existing lines. Structure protection actions south of Hwy 36 near Harrison Gulch were completed yesterday and assessments and preparations will continue.

Crews will continue building contingency lines in the South Fork Trinity River drainage near Bear Wallow Creek, with assistance from dozers, chippers and masticators. These efforts will require additional days to complete due to the very steep and rugged terrain in the drainage.  Along the Hwy 36 corridor southeast of Post Mountain, crews will continue their efforts. In the Beegam Creek drainage crews will continue line construction and mopup along the fire edge. Smoke is likely to clear today and allow helicopters to drop water on hot spots and assist firefighters. Also, along the Hwy 36 corridor PG&E personnel will be conducting powerline inspections and repairs in order to restore power and communications in the next few days.

For Trinity County Evacuation Information, please contact: 530-623-2611 or visit: https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/

For Humboldt County Evacuation, please contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: humboldtsheriff.org

Road Closures: 

For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/. 

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here:

·       Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders

·       Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices

·       Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices