Tamarack Fire update Sunday: 82 percent contained, rain helps with grass fuels
Continued firefighting efforts led to significant progress this weekend on the Tamarack Fire south of Gardnerville in Alpine and Douglas County. As of Sunday morning the fire is 82 percent contained and holding at 68,696 acres, officials said.
According to Incident Command, storms brought rain and hail to the southern portion of the fire area, with fine fuels, like grasses, are recovering moisture overnight. Heavy fuels, like logs, will continue to burn, despite the rain. The outlook for Sunday is more storms and rain. Monday and the rest of the week are forecast to return to dry and windy conditions. Go here for a video from hand crews on a dozer line.
The following is from the Sunday morning update:
Fire crews continue to patrol and respond to calls of smoke. For extra assurance that containment line will hold, firefighters suppress smoking areas when they’re near the fire perimeter. Some fuels will continue to burn and smoke inside the fire perimeter and do not pose a threat to the containment line. Smokes inside the lines may continue until a “season-ending” weather event brings substantial rain or snow to the fire area.
Aircraft equipped with infrared (IR) sensing technology supports firefighters on the ground. IR is a heat detection system used for mapping and hotspot identification. Maps and heat detection guide incident personnel on where to concentrate resources while crews work to hold and improve the containment lines.
Branch I: Divisions K and O – The north and east edges of the fire are contained and in patrol status. Crews addressed hot spots on the east side of Division K.
Branch II: Division Q and T – With containment complete in Division Q, crews will patrol today. In the southwest part of Division T, firefighters fully contained the line between Indian Creek Road and the east fork of Indian Creek.
Division A – Two wildland fire modules remain in this steep, rocky terrain. Yesterday, they put out one hot spot near the fire perimeter. Due to extremely rugged terrain and minimal fire activity, use of natural barriers and limited fuels will serve to prevent fire spread and potential. This will maximize firefighter safety.
Closures, and Fire Restrictions:
For closures and fire restrictions on National Forest lands, go here.
Grover Hot Springs State Park and Indian Creek Reservoir Campground remain closed to the public.