[UPDATE 8:14 a.m.: 400 Acre ‘Slopover’] South Fork Complex Fueled by Northern Winds, Edges Closer to Vital Hwy 36 Corridor

UPDATE 8:14 a.m.: According to the press release from fire command sent out this morning at 7:59 a.m.,

Driven by strong north winds yesterday, the South Fork Complex which is burning in Humboldt County but has been of most concern to residents of Trinity County near Hyampom, grew south and eastward. Unfortunately, it’s path is pushing towards the vital Hwy 36 corridor that connects communities along Hwy 101 with those in Trinity County and even takes travelers to the I-5. With their eye on the concerning conditions, Humboldt County authorities put in place evacuation warnings near the Henry Ridge area along the Trinity County border.

Just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, the South Fork Complex–Trinity County Facebook page which is kept updated by an interagency management team in charge of the Complex posted, “Wind driven fire made a major run to the southeast. Fire continues burning towards the highway 36 corridor.”

https://www.facebook.com/SouthForkComplex2023/videos/1851138825283325/

The Hwy 36 road is about five miles south of the complex. The influence of northwest winds, accompanied by gusts reaching 30 mph, triggered spot fires mostly along the southern perimeter of the 3-9 fire area. These embers caught the wind’s momentum and carried the flames in a southward direction. the South Fork Complex–Trinity County Facebook page warned, “Fire behavior is showing a rapid rate of spread to the south, close to Henry Ridge.”

ALERTCalifornia cameras yesterday captured the fire’s response to the prevailing northwesterly winds, with large plumes seen throughout the day.

Earlier this week most fires on the Complex had been brought under control and focus shifted to the two remaining uncontained fires—the Pilot Fire and the 3-9 Fire. The Pilot Fire had solid containment progress–an encouraging 86%. Meanwhile, the 3-9 Fire, had 22% containment.

But yesterday changed that.  In the span of half a day, the fire consumed approximately 323 acres, expanding from the morning’s estimate of 2952 acres to an evening measurement of 3275 acres, according to information provided by the Northern California Geographic Coordination Center. The containment percentage, which had stood at 45% earlier in the day, receded to 41% by Tuesday evening.

The following figures encapsulate the evolving situation on the 3-9 Fire:

• 3-9 Fire as of approximately 7 p.m. on Tuesday was 2,186 acres and 19% containment but just about 12 hours earlier, it was 1,863 acres with 22% containment.
• Pilot Fire was 1,055 acres and 86% containment on Tuesday evening and 12 hours earlier it was exactly the same.

All the growth and loss of containment is from what occurred on the 3-9 Fire Tuesday.

Now the midday hours of Wednesday, today, are anticipated to bring even stronger winds. Keep a close eye on what’s happened throughout the day. But, later this week…there may be showers.

Below are details and links that might be helpful to those concerned about the South Fork Complex.

The Roads:

There are no closed major roads.

The Map:

• Operations Map –to see details either zoom or click on the map and download a pdf. This one was made available about 11 a.m. on Tuesday. The new maps haven’t been completed at the time of this posting. We’ll update with them later.

Evacuation and Meeting Information:

• There are evacuation warnings in the Hyampom area.  For the most up-to-date information on evacuations in Humboldt County use the evacuation map at https://protect.genasys.com/search. For the most up-to-date information on evacuations in Trinity County go to https://tinyurl.com/29f8uwmk

Other Important Information:

There is a forest closure order. Hunters and other folks who want to visit the area be aware. See here for the closure order. See Map of area here.

• Important links to also watch:
  • Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department
  • Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services
  • Trinity County Sheriff Department 
  • Trinity County Office of Emergency Services
  • Six Rivers National Forest Service
  • Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service
  • South Fork Complex–Trinity County Facebook page
  • InciWeb

Earlier:

• Red Flag Warning Issued as Lightning Strikes Pepper the Emerald Triangle
• Powerful Lightning Storm Leaves Multiple Fires to Combat in Northwestern California
• Lightning-Sparked Wildfires Stretch Resources in Northwestern California; Head Fire in Siskiyou County Estimated Over 3000 Acres
• Wildfires Unleashed on Northwestern California: Thousands of Acres Covered by Flames, Evacuations Ordered Following Lightning Storms
• Red Flag Warning Over the South Fork Complex Mostly Burning in Humboldt County But Threatening Hyampom in Trinity County
• The South Fork Complex, Burning Mainly in Humboldt County but Perched Near Hyampom in Trinity County, Grows
• Progress Being Made on the South Fork Complex Fires
• The South Fork Complex in Eastern Humboldt Near Hyampom Is Now 2,338 acres and Has 20% Containment
• Firefighters Worried About Wind and Rising Temperatures on the South Fork Complex
• Red Flag Warning Conditions Over the South Fork Complex Worry Firefighters
• South Fork Complex Cooler Today
• South Fork Complex Continues to Grow Though Slowly in Eastern Humboldt CO. on the Doorstep of the Hyampom Community in Western Trinity CO.
• Firefighters Use Cooler Temperatures to Build Containment Lines on the South Fork Complex Near Hyampom
• New Evacuation Warnings Issued for Areas of Humboldt County as South Fork Complex Increases Activity