NEWS RELEASES

South Central Sierra Interagency Management Team Type 2 will take command of the Rim Fire at 0700 on September 18, 2013  _____________________________ September 17, 2013 Smoldering trees from hwy 120 near Hardin Flat Lake near camp Mather still surrounded by green forest Area burned in Tuolumne river drainage below camp Mather Stump hole burning along Evergreen Rd Road Hetch Hetchy German visitors touring the Incident Command Post ____________________________________________ September 16, 2013 Smoke visible from fire north of Cherry Lake Many visitors out visiting  the Park Today, as crews continue chipping and clearing _______________________________________________ First vehicle in at 12:00 Tioga Rd For Immediate Release STATE ROUTE 120 (Tioga) Reopens Tioga Road opens to through traffic at Noon on Saturday, September 14 SR-120 (Tioga Road) which had been closed from Crane Flat to White Wolf, within Yosemite National Park, will reopen to all vehicular traffic at noon, Saturday, September 14, 2013. Visitors will have access to Yosemite Valley from Highway 395 via SR-120. However, due to continued fire activity in the area, stopping along the roadway is strictly prohibited.  The public is advised to use extreme caution as firefighting activities continue in the area and visibility may be reduced due to smoke.  For current road conditions in the park visit:  http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/traffic.htm. Current road conditions can also be found at Caltrans’ website: www.dot.ca.gov/ or by calling Caltrans District 10 Public Affairs Office at (209) 948-7977. The area burned by the Rim Fire within Yosemite National Park remains closed due to hazardous conditions. Rim Fire Stanislaus National Forest closures remain in effect.  For forest closure information visit www.fs.usda.gov/stanislaus ______________________________________________________ Photos taken by Jerry Snyder yesterday, 9/13/13, on the Stanislaus National Forest. The 1973 Granite Fire scorched ground near Cherry Lake on private and public land. The Stanislaus National Forest used a popular program to generate public support for reforestation efforts. The Penny Pines program allows the public to donate funds to plant new trees in burned areas. Generally through local gardening clubs, the donated funds are used along with Forest Service appropriated funds to expand the acres that can be replanted after severe fires. Looking at the Granite Penny Pines sign you will see to the right that fire gently move through that area sparing many of the trees that were planted. In the second photo you are looking across Cherry Lake Rd. west towards Joe Walt Run. This area was hit hard with high fire severity. Note that the fire consumed all needles on some conifers where others were wind swept by the hot burning fire causing the branches and now dead needles to freeze in the direction the fire was moving. Efforts will begin shortly to see how much timber can be salvaged and sent to local mills for processing. The Forest Service will look at the possibility of reforesting areas best suited for such work. Rim Fire Impacts Deer Hunting in Stanislaus National Forest SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 BY JANICEMACKEY Media Contacts:  Janice Mackey, CDFW Communications, (916) 322-8911 Greg Gerstenberg, CDFW Central Region, (209) 769-1196 Mary Sommer, Acting Deer Program Coordinator, (916) 445-3549 With the historic Rim fire in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties still burning, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is reminding hunters about limited access and road closures in the Stanislaus National Forest. The still burning wildfire is the third largest ever recorded in California. CDFW implores that all outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen to be good stewards of the state’s wildland resources and obey all laws and restrictions regarding uses of valuable public land forests and ranges. Deer hunters deal with wildfires and their impacts on hunting access nearly every year. Fish and Game Commission (FGC) regulations prohibit CDFW from allowing a hunter to exchange a deer tag after the earliest season (archery or rifle) has opened or if the tag quota for the zone has filled; and prohibits CDFW from issuing a refund to hunters after a season has started...  Full article click here  _______________________________________________________ Cattle drive going on now! September 13, 2013 @ 10:50 AM _____________________________________________________ Media Advisory Wednesday, September 11, 2013  Media Tour: The California Incident Management Team 1 will  be canceling  daily scheduled media tours. Any media wanting a tour needs to call and make a reservation. The destination will be determined to identify the best photo/video opportunities.   There will be a limit of 3 vehicles per tour.  Carpooling will be required.  Public Information Officers will be on site to answer questions and facilitate the tour.   All members of the media must arrive ready to leave at the scheduled time, and must arrive in full personal protective gear, including: hardhats, Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, and boots. Nomex and hardhats can be provided if needed. For additional information please contact: Public Information  Rim Fire  California Incident Management Team 1  (805) 878-6947 RimFireInfo@gmail.com _______________________________________________ The Crane Flat helibase webcam is operational again and pointing NE at some of the remaining active portions of the Rim fire. http://tinyurl.com/nc2fhjx ___________________________________ New Stanislaus National Forest Closure and Map Click here for a full size PDF _____________________________________________ Stanislaus National Forest Rim Fire Information For Immediate Release  Community Meeting Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Time: 6:00 pm Location: Tenaya Elementary School 19177 Hwy 120 Groveland, CA California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 is holding a community meeting to provide the public with current information on Rim Fire suppression efforts.  Contact the Rim Fire Information Center if you have any questions at (805)727-4775. ________________________________ Rim Fire Containment Remains at 80 Percent Firefighters have made good progress at constructing fireline around most of the Rim fire perimeter. Due to the extremely hot and dry weather over the fire area, there are still hot spots along some of the fire perimeter that pose a threat to spot outside the firelines. Fire Officials are waiting for the risk of future spot fires to be reduced in these areas before they increase the percentage of the fire that is contained. _____________________________                                                   Evergreen road to open today at noon to Evergreen Lodge. Road remains closed beyond Evergreen Lodge. _________________________________ Media Advisory Monday, September 9, 2013  Media Tour: The California Incident Management Team 1 will host a daily media tour on Tuesday, September 10,  2013. The destination will be determined to identify the best photo/video opportunities.  Potential tour locations include: Highway 120, Crane Flat Lookout, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  The tour time will be first come first serve to reserve a tour.  The tour will leave from the Drew Meadow Spike Camp, and will begin promptly at either: 10:00AM  1:00PM There will be a limit of 3 vehicles per tour.  Carpooling will be required.  Public Information Officers will be on site to answer questions and facilitate the tour.   No additional tours will be arranged outside of this time. All members of the media must arrive ready to leave at the scheduled time, and must arrive in full personal protective gear, including: hardhats, Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, and boots. Nomex and hardhats can be provided if needed. For additional information please contact: Public Information  Rim Fire  California Incident Management Team 1  (805) 727-4775  RimFireInfo@gmail.com _______________________________________________ Fighting Fire with Fire Burns out tactics have been used on the Rim Fire in the last few days to strengthen containment lines and decrease fire intensity on the northern and eastern flanks of the fire.  Crews have been working round-the-clock to close the gap between the uncontrolled fire edge and constructed containment lines and natural barriers.  The risk of spot fires over the line is lessened when unburned fuels adjacent to containment lines can be removed from the equation. When indirect containment lines are built, firefighters need to reduce the fuel near the line to moderate the fire activity.  Indirect containment lines are built some distance away from the active fire edge to take advantage of existing barriers and to provide for firefighter safety. If unburned fuel remains between the containment line and the fire, the line could be breached. If a fire reaches the line on its own, with too much intensity, the line may not be able to hold the fire and spot fires across the line can occur.  A burnout operation is done to remove the unburned fuel between the containment line and the fire edge to reduce this potential. Burning out allows better control over the intensity of the fire against the containment line. A risk analysis and planning process is conducted and approved by the incident commander prior to undertaking a burn out. Firefighters have several methods to apply fire on the ground for burn outs.  One of these methods is using aircraft equipped with a Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) machine.  The PSD was developed to provide a method of igniting ground fuels, in a short time, on large acreage without causing undue damage to the tree canopy. With aerial ignition, firefighters on the ground are not required to perform the ignition hence it is safer. The spheres, which look like pingpong balls, are made of high impact polystyrene containing approximately 3.0 grams of potassium permanganate. The PSD injects ethylene-glycol (antifreeze) into the plastic sphere, initiating an exothermic reaction, and then expels the primed sphere from the aircraft. Other methods include hand ignition using drip torches or fusees.  A drip torch is a hand-held device that consists of a fuel fount, burner arm, and igniter, for igniting fires by dripping flaming liquid fuel on the materials to be burned. Fuel used is generally a mixture of diesel and gasoline. A fusee is a colored flare designed as a railway warning device, widely used to ignite backfires and other prescribed fires. Stanislaus Hotshot crews hand-fired containment lines on the ground near Brushy and Two-Mile Creeks close to Forest Road 3N83 on September 7 when the fire was making high intensity runs out of Clavey Creek that were threatening the containment line. A helicopter equipped with a PSD machine also aided in the operation to slow the movement of the main fire by igniting ground fuels ahead of the blaze.  “By lighting at the tops of the ridges, we can create a nice backing fire that removes ground fuels, while keeping the canopy intact.” said Helicopter Superintendent, Dave Phillips. Photo Captions: a) Smoke column coming out of the Hull Creek Drainange on Sep 7th.  The Rim Fire was in alignment with the slope, aspect and drainage and was making a run at containment lines. b) Crews hand fired containment lines that were threatened by the Rim Fire’s runs. c) Aerial view of a burned area, where the Rim fire burned with great intensity. d) Aerial view of the PSD burnout operation, done to slow fire movement coming out of Clavey Creek, note that the canopy is still intact. _______________________ New Rim Fire Information line added at 209-928-1059 ______________________________ We are currently experiencing phone problems we are working to remedy the problem ______________________________ Media Advisory Sunday, September 8, 2013  Media Tour: The California Incident Management Team 1 will host a daily media tour on Monday, September 9, 2013. The destination will be determined to identify the best photo/video opportunities.  Potential tour locations include: Highway 120, Crane Flat Lookout, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  The tour time will be first come first serve to reserve a tour.  The tour will leave from the Rim Fire Incident Command Center, and will begin promptly at either: 10:00AM  1:00PM There will be a limit of 3 vehicles per tour.  Carpooling will be required.  Public Information Officers will be on site to answer questions and facilitate the tour.   No additional tours will be arranged outside of this time. All members of the media must arrive ready to leave at the scheduled time, and must arrive in full personal protective gear, including: hardhats, Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, and boots. Nomex and hardhats can be provided if needed. For additional information please contact: Public Information  Rim Fire  California Incident Management Team 1  (805) 727-4775  RimFireInfo@gmail.com _____________________________________ Media Advisory Saturday, September 7, 2013  8:30 p.m. Media Tour: The California Incident Management Team 1 will host one daily media tour on Sunday, September 8, 2013. The destination will be determined to identify the best photo/video opportunities.  Potential tour locations include: Highway 120, Crane Flat Lookout, and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  The tour time will be first come first serve to reserve a tour.  The tour will leave from the Rim Fire Incident Command Center, and will begin promptly at 10:00AM  There will be a limit of 3 vehicles per tour.  Carpooling will be required.  Public Information Officers will be on site to answer questions and facilitate the tour.   No additional tours will be arranged outside of this time. All members of the media must arrive ready to leave at the scheduled time, and must arrive in full personal protective gear, including: hardhats, Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, and boots. Nomex and hardhats can be provided if needed. For additional information please contact: Public Information  Rim Fire  California Incident Management Team 1  (805) 727-4775  RimFireInfo@gmail.com ______________________________________________ Rim Fire Geographic Information Systems Specialist are using geolocatable maps. Using geospatial PDF maps on the Rim Fire allows field going personnel the ability to download electronic maps that have increased functionality such as finding coordinates recording tacks, and measuring distances. This can increase situational awareness, reduce paper waste and give field going resources another way to navigate. ______________________________________________________ Stanislaus National Forest Rim Fire Information For Immediate Release Twain Harte Community Meeting Date: Sunday, September 8, 2013 Time: 6:00 pm Location: Twain Harte Park Amphitheater Twain Harte, CA California Interagency Incident Management Team 1 is holding a community meeting to provide the public with current information on Rim Fire suppression efforts.  Contact the Rim Fire Information Center if you have any questions at (805)727-4775/4746. ______________________________________________________ Thoughts from the Rim of the World Vista Today  Locals from Groveland as a smoke stack burns in the background. "We never though it would get this big" Miles from London says "unbelievably huge. All credit to team fighting fire" Visitors from France discovering the Rim Fire Maryvonne from Quebec is brought to tears with the thank you firefighters signs in Groveland Family from Sunnyvale getting information before heading into Yosemite "Its horrible" ____________________________________________________________ Last night crews used Ping pong balls to burn out the Northwest area of the Fire.  September 7, 2013 Why burn out When indirect fireline is built, firefighters need to reduce the fuel near the line to moderate the fire activity. If unburned fuel remains between the fireline and the fire, the fireline could be breached. If left to reach the fireline on its own, the fire may reach the line with too much intensity and the line may not be able to contain it. A burnout operation is done to remove the unburned fuel between the containment line and the fire edge to reduce this potential. Burning out allows better control over the intensity of the fire against the fireline. A risk analysis and planning process is conducted and approved by the incident commander prior to undertaking a burn out. Plastic Sphere Dispenser The Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) machine was developed to provide a method of igniting ground fuels, in a short time, on large acreage without causing undue damage to the tree canopy. With aerial ignition, firefighters on the ground are not required to perform the ignition hence it is safer. Description The spheres, which look like pingpong balls, are made of high impact polystyrene containing approximately 3.0 grams of potassium permanganate. The PSD injects ethylene-glycol (antifreeze) into the plastic sphere, initiating an exothermic reaction, and then expels the primed sphere from the aircraft. Example of a PSD Machine on a helicopter The PSD can be regulated to control the number of spheres being dispensed, establishing ignition patterns on the ground. It provides a reliable ignition and a time delay of at least 20 seconds. The rate of the chemical reaction is dependent on the particle size and concentration of the chemicals involved. More information is available at Interagency Aerial Ignition Guide published by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group http://www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/pms501.pdf ___________________________________________________ September 6, 2013 Visitors from England on the way to Yosemite Visitors getting information on the re-opening on Highway 120 at Rim of the World Vista Vegetation already coming back on the Rim Fire ___________________________ For Immediate Release STATE ROUTE 120 FROM GROVELAND TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK WILL REOPEN Road opens at Noon on Friday, September 6 State Route 120 (SR-120) from Groveland, CA into Yosemite National Park will reopen to all vehicular traffic at noon, Friday, September 6, 2013. Visitors will have access to Yosemite Valley via SR-120. However, due to continued fire activity in the area stopping along the roadway is strictly prohibited.  The public is advised to use extreme caution as firefighting activities continue in this area.  Cherry Lake Road, Evergreen Road, Old Yosemite Road, Harden Flat and all other secondary roads and trailheads off of SR-120 remain closed.   SR-120 (Tioga Road) remains closed from Crane Flat to White Wolf within Yosemite National Park.  Park visitors can access the Tuolumne Meadows area from SR-395 via the parks east entrance at Tioga Pass. For updated road conditions and information visit Caltrans’ website: www.dot.ca.gov/ or call Caltrans District 10 Public Affairs Office at (209) 948-7977. Forest closures remain in effect for the Stanislaus National Forest within the Rim Fire incident perimeter. For closure information visit www.fs.usda.gov/stanislaus ___________________________________________________________ Media Advisory Thursday , September 5 , 2013 10:00 p.m. Media Tour: The California Incident Management Team 1 will host one daily media tour beginning on Friday, September 6, 2013. The destination will be determined to identify the best photo/video opportunities. The tour time will be first come first serve to reserve a tour. The tour will leave from the Rim Fire Incident Command Center, and will begin promptly at: 10:00AM There will be only one tour, and a limit of 3 vehicles. Carpooling will be required. Public Information Officers will be on site to answer questions and facilitate the tour. No additional tours will be arranged outside of this time. All members of the media must arrive ready to leave at the scheduled time, and must arrive in full personal protective gear, including: hardhats, Nomex pants, Nomex shirt, and boots. Nomex and hardhats can be provided if needed. For additional information please contact: Public Information Rim Fire California Incident Managment Team 1 (805) 727-4775 RimFireInfo@gmail.com __________________________________________________ Rim Fire hosts global emergency management group The Rim Fire hosted participants from The International Seminar on Disaster Management. The seminar used case studies from major disaster responses to understand and discuss disaster management systems and support facilities. Participants explored innovative approaches in disaster management. The program looked at disaster management systems at all levels of government, from the policy to the tactical level, and included a visit to to the Rim Fire to facilitate interactive learning. Participants were from countries all over the world including Honduras, Kenya, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Oman, Turkey, Uganda, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen, Brazil, and Georgia. All the participants currently work in disaster services and were recommended by their embassies. The overall goals of the seminar are to: Develop an in-depth understanding of State and Federal systems involved in disaster management. Explore innovative approaches to improve disaster management, including those involving alliances and partnerships between local and federal government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. Build networks with disaster management colleagues from around the world. Develop strategies and action plans to take home that utilize ideas, lessons, and approaches generated through seminar sessions, site visits and discussions with colleagues. _________________________________________________ NEWS RELEASE U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region Contacts: Stanton Florea, Pacific Southwest Region, Public Affairs (707) 562-9014 Ray Mooney, Pacific Southwest Region, Public Affairs (707) 562-8995          http://www.fs.usda.gov/r5

Investigators discover cause of Rim Fire VALLEJO, Calif., Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations and Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office have determined the Rim Fire began when a hunter allowed an illegal fire to escape.  There is no indication the hunter was involved with illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands and no marijuana cultivation sites were located near the origin of the fire. No arrests have been made at this time and the hunter's name is being withheld pending further investigation. The Rim Fire began Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, on the Stanislaus National Forest near the area known as Jawbone Ridge.  The fire has burned 237,341 acres and is 80 percent contained.