Fueled by high winds, Washington Fire south of Markleeville grows overnight
GARDNERVILLE, Nev. — Monday, June 22: The lightning-caused Washington Fire in Alpine County south of Markleeville grew to more than 8,000 acres as it moved through to the north side of Highway 89 and into Bagley Valley Sunday.
Crews managed to contain an estimated 10 percent of the perimeter of the fire by Monday morning.
The extreme fire activity being witnessed with the Washington Fire is primarily due to strong erratic winds and severe drought conditions. These two variables also played a role in firefighting efforts for both air and ground support yesterday.
According to Bureau of Land Management officials, the forecast for gusty winds, combined with a low relative humidity of 4 to 5 percent will continue. They report the fire is approaching an increasing number of structures and impacting travel corridors.
The fire transitioned to a Type II incident management team Monday morning and the focus will be on air attack early in the day while conditions are optimal.
Air quality in the southern portions of Douglas County dipped into the unhealthy range early Monday morning, according to the State of Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. As of 8:45 a.m., the AQI index at the sensor located at Ranchos Aspen Park was logging air quality as “moderate.”
As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday evening, the fire was moving north/northeast in the direction of the Highway 395 corridor, approximately 13 miles southwest of the Double Spring subdivision.
Highway 89 and Highway 4 are both closed until further notice.
All visitors/campers from Wolf Creek to the top of Ebbetts Pass were evacuated Sunday.
Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch public information officer Elizabeth Kenna reported the fire is burning in steep, rocky and hazardous terrain with a lack of vehicle access and numerous downfalls, which is hampering the firefighting efforts. A rapid rate of spread has been observed with crowning and spotting and wind-driven fire running through critically dry fuels.
The fire was first reported at 7:04 p.m., Friday evening at about 1.5 acres in size. A large column of smoke kicked up by the fire became visible in Carson Valley Saturday afternoon as the fire grew to 75 acres, and later 350 acres.
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