Incident Update 2024 SQF Lightning Complex

Total acres burned: 63,844

• Trout Fire: 22,660 acres - 25% containment
• Long Fire: 9,204 acres - 35% containment
• Borel Fire: 31,980 acres - 0% containment

Total Personnel: 1,059

Current Situation: Under red flag weather conditions, the Borel Fire has now burned more than 31,000 acres in less than three days. Hundreds of firefighters are fighting the fire and law enforcement officers are conducting evacuations. Our priority remains the lives and property of all affected. Evacuation warnings and orders don’t just increase the safety of residents, they allow emergency personnel to focus their efforts on stopping the fire. Know the status of your zone by viewing genasys Protect's interactive map (tinyurl.com/jcdv55f9). On Saturday morning, management of the fire changed to unified command between California Interagency Incident Management Team (CIIMT) 14 and Kern County Fire Department. Another federal incident management team—CIIMT 11—is gathering information from and transitioning with CIIMT 14 on Saturday and will be joining unified command of the fire Sunday morning.

Trout Fire: Fire growth was minimal on Friday despite persistent warm, dry, and windy conditions, allowing crews to make significant progress in suppressing hotspots along the fire’s edge. On the southern perimeter, crews that are staying near the fireline overnight in the Domeland Wilderness are extinguishing lingering areas of heat and constructing fireline with hand tools from Sirretta Pass toward Smith Meadow. An infrared flight detected mostly areas of scattered head with pockets of intense heat limited to the fire’s southwestern and northwestern sides.

Long Fire: Fire activity remains moderate, consisting primarily of creeping and smoldering flames. Some unburned vegetation in the fire’s interior may continue to produce smoke, but crews report no heat sources threatening existing containment lines. Today, members of the California National Guard arrived to support ongoing efforts with the Long Fire. Firefighters continue to make progress constructing handlines southwestward from the fire’s northeast side near the Pacific Crest Trail toward Palome Creek.

Borel Fire: The Borel Fire has grown at a pace similar to what one would expect during a severe Santa Anna wind event. After spreading more than five miles Thursday night, it advanced another six miles on Friday. With firefighters deployed around homes and dozers working to construct control lines, the fire swept through the community of Havilah and Piute Meadow Ranches. The northernmost edge of fire remains south of the Cleer Creek subdivision. The fire is spreading southward toward Walker Basin and southeastward toward Thompson Canyon. Today, the fire behavior is expected to be, once again, very extreme under long-term red-flag-warning weather conditions.

Weather & Air Quality: A Red Flag Warning is in effect through 11 p.m. Saturday for low relative humidity and elevated winds. Fire behavior on new and existing fires is expected to be extreme. Hot, dry conditions are expected today with wind gusts up to 35 mph possible. Westerly winds will remain elevated on ridgetops throughout Saturday night. A daily smoke outlook is produced for communities affected by wildfire smoke: tinyurl.com/452x2uzr.

Sequoia National Forest & BLM Closures & Restrictions: Sequoia National Forest lands, roads, trails, and recreation sites around the Trout and Long Fires are temporarily closed under Forest Order No. 0513-24-12.  Lands, roads, trails, and recreation sites around the Borel Fire are closed under Forest Order No. 0513-24-14. Fire restrictions are in effect under Forest Order No. 0513-24-10. All orders, maps, and accompanying appendices can be found on the Forest’s website: tinyurl.com/2en2d36k. The Bureau of Land Management’s Bakersfield Field Office has temporarily closed Long Valley Campground, Chimney Creek Campground, and portions of the Pacific Crest Trail. View the emergency closure order here: tinyurl.com/4mprcb9b. The PCT is closed between Hwy 178 at Walker Pass (mile 653) and the South Fork of the Kern River bridge (mile 717.7).