Heavy Winds Caused Spotting on the Hill Fire Yesterday

Wednesday, 24 July 2024, 8:50 am Kym Kemp 4 comments

Hill Fire [Image from Incident Command’s Facebook page]

The Hill Fire, which ignited during a lightning storm on July 15, has now been burning for over a week. Recent better mapping efforts have revised the fire’s acreage to 6623 acres this morning. Containment grew to 10%.

Yesterday, the Incident Command reported in their evening update: “Due to heavy winds, the fire located at the southern end of Mosquito Creek has spotted over 06N06 Road near Sugarloaf Mountain. Ground and aerial crews are actively working to contain the fire in this area.”

Incident Command said in a statement today, “Crews are working the spot fire from the north and south, with the support of aircraft, and actively engaging the fire directly to achieve containment.”

Hotter and drier weather conditions exacerbated the fire’s behavior yesterday, creating challenges for the firefighting efforts. Despite these difficulties, the fire’s perimeter did not change significantly

According to Incident Command,

Yesterday, as local temperatures increased, firefighters worked tirelessly on the Hill Fire. On the southern perimeter, constructed lines held, and additional depth was achieved by focusing on areas of unburned fuel.

Along the western and northern edges, crews diligently monitored previously contained areas and conducted mop-up operations to address hotspots. Crews connected handlines surrounding pockets of heat north of the fire, with ongoing efforts to extinguish these areas in the coming days fully.

Meanwhile, on the west side, crews are engaged in mop-up operations and patrolling the area to ensure containment.

Overall, the firefighters on the #HillFire withstood the high temperatures and lower humidity fairly well. Today, the temperature should ease a little and the humidity rise. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms.

Below, we’ve gathered information about the fire and organized it:

Stats:

Today’s Resources:

Total Resources:
2174 personnel,
61 Crews,
157 Engines,
37 Heavy Equipment,
12 Helicopters

Yesterdays Resources:

2,156 Personnel

64 Crews

152 Engines
12 Helicopters

35 Dozers
35 Water Tenders

The Plan:

Zeke Lunder, a wildfire technology specialist that we follow, does a great job explaining the fire situation overall in his video below. He looks at the Hill Fire about minute 32. We’ve set the video to run at that time.

The Weather:

The heat will ease today and humidity will rise. But according to today’s IAP, “That said, it will also enhance mixing. Expect smoke to lift more than previous days with inconsistent smoke transport out of the area. Winds will battle from southeast in the morning to west in the afternoon, with infrequent and inconsistent gusts up to 20 mph. Winds will be heavily terrain influenced. A slight chance of thunderstorms (15%) will continue through the early afternoon with any storms most likely to be dry, isolated, and fast moving.”

The Roads, etc:

Redwood Acres is closed to accommodate firefighters. [Photo from Redwood Acres Raceway]

Redwood Acres is closed to the public as it is now a Cal Fire Camp for the Hill Fire. “All upcoming fairgrounds events have been canceled for at least the next two weeks,” Redwood Acres wrote. “Please drive cautiously in the area as increased traffic is expected.”

Humboldt County says,

Humboldt County Public Works has closed the following roads:

- - Harris Street at Hubbard Lane
  - Hall Avenue at Myrtle Avenue

due to the activation of the CAL FIRE Incident Management Base Camp at Redwood Acres.

These closures will be in effect for at least the next two weeks. UPDATE: Extended until further notice.

Please use alternate routes.

The Maps:

Operations Map –to see details either zoom or click on the map and download a pdf.
KMZ Map–Zoom for detail or for 3D imagery, click on the map and download a file that connects with your Google Earth program.