Park Fire update — Monday, Sept. 2

According to a statement from the Southwest Complex Incident Management Team 2, the Park Fire has blackened 429,603 acres and is 97 percent contained.

Resources include 887 personnel, one helicopter, 18 crews, 24 engines, 25 dozers, 55 water tenders, nine masticators, 23 excavators, two feller bunches and two skidsteers.

Forest closure
Lassen National Forest lands, roads, and trails near the fire are temporarily closed. Closed roads are not currently staffed, and the absence of a road-closed sign does not necessarily mean the road is open. Individuals are responsible for knowing where they are in relation to the closure area. If you are recreating on your public lands this Labor Day, observe the closure, allowing firefighters to focus on their already hazardous work and not be further endangered by public vehicle traffic. View Forest Order No. 06-24-07 and map here: fs.usda.gov/alerts/lassen/alerts-notices.

Current situation
On Sunday, the roads and hazard-tree groups finished work on Hogback and Plum Roads. Both groups will be working on Ponderosa Way for the next several days. Suppression repair work continues at multiple locations. West of Highway 89 near the McGowan cross-country ski area, for example, crews are repairing a wide dozer-constructed fire line. Initially, heavy-equipment operators spread the bulldozed vegetation back over the fire line. Now hand crews are putting the finishing touches on the project by evenly distributing slash and cutting hung-up vegetation that is suspended above the ground. Getting the vegetation down on the ground is important to reduce soil erosion and speed up decomposition. The firefighters are also using hand tools to knock down berms created by the equipment. This is happening on numerous hand- and dozer-constructed fire lines on the northeast corner of the fire.

Weather and fire safety
Hot, dry conditions will persist through the week with no precipitation anticipated. This year’s grass crop in the fire’s vicinity is extremely abundant, dry and receptive to burning. New fires could spread quickly and be challenging for firefighters to initially contain. Be particularly cautious while recreating outside this Labor Day; know what fire restrictions are in effect for the areas in which you are recreating. With today’s gusty winds, ash could be swirling around in the burned areas, creating an illusion of wildfire smoke; however, very little actual smoke is being generated and that is from isolated stumps and snags far away from the fire’s perimeter.

Fire restrictions
Know before you go. Fire restrictions are in effect within the Lassen National Forest. Some examples of prohibited activities include having a campfire or stove fire (except in in developed recreation sites listed in the order); smoking outside a vehicle or building; using an internal or external combustion engine—for example, chainsaws, generators, OHVs — without a spark-arresting device. Forest Order No. 06-24-04 can be viewed here:fs.usda.gov/alerts/lassen/alerts-notices. Find links to other land management agencies’ fire restrictions in the Park Fire Information Linktree.

Park Fire Information (Southwest CIMT 2): (530) 414-9298  and 2024.park@firenet.gov

Park Fire Information (CalFire): (530) 529-9233

Park Fire Linktree (fire information website links): linktr.ee/park_fire

According to a report from CalFire at 7:27 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, the Park Fire is being managed under the CalFire Butte Unit, the CalFire Tehama-Glenn Unit, USFS Southwest Incident Management Team 2 and the Lassen National Forest.

State Responsibility Areas of the incident is being managed by the local CalFire units. USFS Southwest Incident Management Team 2 and Lassen National Forest are in command of the Federal Responsibility Areas within the incident.

Observed fire behavior consisted of smoldering pockets of heat within dozer berms and dozer piles which were created during active fire suppression. As cleanup, line rehabilitation, and line strengthening occurs, these pockets are discovered and mitigated. Additional heat sources are likely within the interior of the burned area but do not have sufficient continuous fuels adjacent to pose a substantial risk to containment.