Crews Packing Up Hose as Hill Fire’s Containment Grows

Unmanned aircraft fixed with infrared cameras helped to detect heat throughout the fire area. [Image from 2024 Hill Fire by Six Rivers National Forest on Facebook]

Press release from Hill Fire Incident Command:

CURRENT SITUATION:
Crews focused on patrolling the containment lines and mopping up hotspots yesterday, specifically at Mosquito Creek, Buck Creek, and Spike Buck Mountain, where stubborn fuels continued to smolder. Unmanned aircraft fixed with infrared cameras helped to detect heat throughout the fire area. Firefighters on foot used a tactic called “gridding,” where they patrol individual zones seeking out and extinguishing hotspots. Gridding allows crews to efficiently search large plots of land and ensure that all pockets of heat are eliminated.

While firefighters work to ensure no fire remains, other crews have begun the process of equipment and trash removal and suppression repair. All used equipment will be packed up and hauled back out. Yesterday, crews backhauled around 100,000 feet of hose from the containment zones. That’s almost 19 miles of hose! Suppression repair has also been completed from the South Fork of the Trinity River to Route 1.
WEATHER:
A lifting marine layer will envelop the fire over the next couple days, bringing unusually moderate relative humidity and cool temperatures. Winds will remain gentle to calm with afternoon sea breeze from the northwest being the strongest wind. The marine inversion may still bring some poor humidity recovery overnight, especially peaks above 4000 feet, but dry period overight will be particularly isolated and short lived. Despite and increased mixing height, generally low instability will inhibit smoke and mixing.

CLOSURES:
Forest Closure Order currently in effect for the area impacted by the Hill Fire. It is temporarily prohibited to be on any national forest system land, trail, or road within the closure area. To view the closure order and map of closure area visit the following link www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1191963.pdf.

Road closures are currently in place on Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest Service Route 6N06, Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest Route 5N01 and Friday Fridge Rd. at Forest Route 5N04. For updated road closure information, visit protect.genasys.com or humboldtsheriff.org/emergency.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS:
Forest fire restrictions also went into effect on July 12th. Campfires and stove fires are restricted to those developed areas listed in the forest order located at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1188610.pdf. Smoking, welding, and operating an internal combustion engine also have restrictions in place.

EVACUATIONS:
Humboldt County: Evacuation order and warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, visit https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtSheriff and https://humboldtgov.org/2383/Current-Emergencies.

Conditions are subject to change at any time, visit https://protect.genasys.com/search for a full zone description. Sign up for Humboldt Alert emergency notifications at https://humboldtgov.org/2014/Emergency-Notifications Trinity County: Evacuation warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064589806351 and https://www.trinitycounty.org/OES

Evacuation Center:
For information on assistance available to those displaced by the Hill Fire, please call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800- 733-2767.)
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services in coordination with the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services and the American Red Cross-Gold Country Region established an Evacuation Center for those impacted by the Hill Fire to receive fire information. The Evacuation Center is located at Trinity Valley Elementary School, 730 CA-96 in Willow Creek. The center is not open to the public, however information on how to request assistance is posted at this location.

Earlier:

• Lightning Activity Starts Fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
• At Least 50 Lightning Strikes in the Six Rivers National Forest Cause Multiple Fires
• Evacuations as the Hill Fire South of Willow Creek Grows
• Hill Fire in Humboldt County Jumps to 3,437 Acres, 0% Containment
• Extreme Fire Behavior Possible on the Hill Fire Today Due to Weather Conditions
• Hill Fire Grows to about 4600 Acres, Still 0% Containment
• Pyrocumulus Cloud Forming Over the Hill Fire Early Today
• Firefighters Still Have 0% Containment on the Hill Fire Burning South of Willow Creek
• New Evacuations in Place as Hill Fire Continues to Grow
• Brand New Evacuation Orders and Warnings Issued This Afternoon on the Hill Fire
• Hill Fire Grows to 5,563 Acres with 4% Containment
• Hill Fire Barely Grew Yesterday as Firefighters Slowly Corral It
• Hill Fire: Hotter, Drier Weather Could Be Problematic Today
• Heavy Winds Caused Spotting on the Hill Fire Yesterday
• Containment on the Hill Fire Burning South of Willow Creek Continues to Grow
• Containment on the Hill Fire in Humboldt County Continues to Grow
• Hill Fire Now 53% Contained