Update  

July 4, 2015, 8:00 A.M.

 

Fire Information: (909) 383-5688, 8:00 AM to 6:00 P.M. http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

Date Started: June 17, 2015      

Time: 3:52 P.M.

        Size: 31,359 acres

Containment: 90 percent

        Cause: under investigation

Estimated Cost to Date:

             $39.5 million

        

         Injuries: 5

Total Personnel: 963

         Residences Burned: 1

Committed Resources: 26 crews, 24 engines, 1 dozer, 5 water tenders, 9 helicopters, 1 air attack

Current Fire Situation

As the fire is increasingly contained, many nonessential personnel and equipment will be demobilized from the incident. A core group of firefighters and support personnel will remain to mop-up and patrol, and complete fire-suppression repair. Unstaffed areas of the fire will continue to be monitored by air.

California Interagency Incident Management Team 5, under the command of Mike Minton, would like to thank cooperators and community members for their support throughout the suppression efforts. Tomorrow morning at 6:00, the team will transfer command of the Lake Fire to a local Type 3 organization. The incident command post (ICP) at Big Bear High School will be dismantled tomorrow, and a much smaller ICP will be established for the Type 3 team at Blue Sky Meadows.

A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has been working in the fire area this week. The BAER team’s primary function is to evaluate the burn area for short-term emergency rehabilitation needs. The team focuses on areas that pose an imminent threat to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on the National Forest. Based on the burned area report, the BAER team will take immediate action to implement emergency stabilization measures before the first major storm.  

Evidence of a resilient forest at Jenks Lake area. By Cody Skinner

 

These efforts include building water bars, chipping large concentrations of slash from dozer line construction, pulling berms, and obscuring turnouts that were created by heavy equipment.

The BAER team will host a media event Sunday, July 5 at 9:00 A.M. at the Barton Flats visitor center. The team’s scientists will explain how the soils were affected by the Lake Fire.

Weather & Fire Behavior

The weather is trending hotter and drier this weekend with temperatures expected to be in the mid-70s and 80s and the relative humidity around 25 percent. Adequate resources are available through the holiday weekend to handle any initial attack of a new fire start.

Traffic Safety

Fire crews and helicopters will continue to be visible to the public throughout the holiday weekend. Motorists may observe movement of firefighting vehicles along State Route 38. Please be alert while traveling on the highway and yield the right-of-way to emergency personnel and vehicles.

Closures

The public should call California Land Management’s Serrano Campground office (909-866-8550) with questions regarding campground closures.