Published 2/17/2022, Thursday, 1400 PT
INCIDENT SUMMARY
A wildfire is burning on Airport Road and East Line Street, east of Bishop (Inyo County), California,
This is in the Warm Springs area.
The fire ignited from an unknown cause on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.
FIRE BEHAVIOR
Fire behavior continued to remain active overnight and burning to the south.
Credit: CAL FIRE SB/Inyo/Mono Unit
CURRENT FIRE STATUS
As of 0738 hours PT on Thursday morning, the fire had scorched 2,800 acres of land.
A newly updated figure has been released by the Mammoth Lakes FD via the CAL FIRE team with an extreme fire behavior showing in several fire images they have taken over the course of the fire incident.
As of 1000 hours PT today, the fire has grown to 3,900 acres and still has a 0% containment status.
Fire behavior appears to be very extreme with wind-driven runs and spotting.
Fire Officials with the CAL FIRE agency expect containment to be around February 24, 2022.
FIRE MONITORING
Caltech was closely monitoring the incident and remains in close contact with the personnel on-site.
“As of 1100 hours PT, personnel was reporting a perimeter had been established around buildings and the main threat to these structures had passed. Assessments of instrumentation and antennas in the field surrounding the main facility structures are ongoing.” – Caltech
According to Caltech’s website, The Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) is one of the largest university-operated radio observatories in the world. It is dedicated to research in radio astronomy and astrophysics, the training of the next generation of radio astronomers, the development of cutting-edge radio instrumentation. It is operated by the Astronomy Department at Caltech. They call it “Big Ears”, the observatory located in Bishop, about 250 miles north of Los Angels on the east side of the Sierra Nevada.
EVACUATIONS
Big Pine east of Hwy 395, White Mountain Research Center, and Owens Valley (Caltech) Radio Observatory.
RESOURCES
CAL FIRE BDU: 432 personnel along with 66 engines, seven water tenders, one helicopter, 16 hand crews, seven dozers, 36 overhead personnel, six fixed-wing tankers, and one air attack.
MAMMOTH LAKES FD
USFS – INYO NATIONAL FOREST
LA COUNTY FD: One Camp Crew Strike Team. They specialize in fireline construction using hand tools. They are saying this can be easily a potential two-week deployment.
RED CROSS CALIFORNIA: Bishop Senior Center. 506 Park Avenue, Bishop, CA.
INCIDENT COMMAND
Unified Command with CAL FIRE BDU and the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office.
INCIDENT COOPERATORS
Incident Cooperators include Bishop FPD, Independence FPD, Lone Pine FPD, Cal Trans District 9, Big Pine FD, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), Inyo National Forest Service, Inyo County Emergency Response, and Administrators, BLM, Mono County FD, Mammoth Lakes Fire, CDD and CHP.
Credit: CAL FIRE SB/Inyo/Mono Unit
CLOSURES
Road Closures:
- Warm Springs Rd east of Hwy 395
- Hwy 168 east of Hwy 395.
- 168/Death Valley Road.
- Stewart at the canal
- Barrel at the canal
WRAP UP
- Has been designated as one of the State’s largest wildfire of the year, so far
ABOUT INYO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Inyo County has a 10,227 square mile area with about 19,016 residents, which is located in the eastern central part of California. It is also located between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the state of Nevada.
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