Wildfire on Hoopa Valley Reservation Grows to 100 Acres, Less Than 45 Percent Contained
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Press release from the Hoopa Valley Tribe:
The Milepost 21 Fire is estimated at 100 acres, reduced from the previous estimate due to updated mapping
and ground-truthing. The fire is within the Hoopa Valley Reservation. Containment is at 43% with minimal,
creeping and smoldering fire behavior reported overnight.
An image of the fire as it looked on Thursday. | Twitter
The main resource concerns are high value timberland,
cultural resources, and the Trinity River and Bull Creek watersheds. The fire is remaining in place on the steep
slopes east of the Trinity River and north of Bull Creek. Please factor in extra drive time in if you are traveling on
Hwy 96 north of the town of Hoopa due fire personnel and equipment in the area.
Containment lines are in place along the southern and eastern fire perimeter and dozer-built contingency lines
have been improved on the northern boundary on Deer Springs Ridge. There is smoldering in the interior of
the fire perimeter; smoke is coming from these areas. There is an additional fire perimeter to the east from a
spot fire on Tuesday evening that is now completely surrounded by hand-line. Current hazards to firefighters
include burning stump holes and falling snags rolling downhill.
Crews are mopping up the fire-line and chipping the cut brush on the dozer line along the ridge. There is a
small warming and drying trend for the next 2-3 days with good relative humidity recovery overnight; weather
conditions are expected to remain stable for crews to make good progress in putting this fire out. Expect
helicopter activity over the fire area and watch out for firefighters working in the area.
Wildland Firefighting in the time of Covid-19: To minimize contact between Hoopa Tribal members and the
firefighters assigned to the fire, fire camp has been located off of the Hoopa Reservation. After the inbriefing
for the incident management team at the tribal fire department, firefighting personnel minimized entry into the
building. Masks and social distancing have been in effect at the start. Firefighters travel from base camp to
the fireline without stopping anywhere else on the Hoopa Reservation.
Firefighters remain sequestered within their modules in fire camp. Masks, frequent hand-washing and social
distancing are mandatory. Food is served in “take out” containers and consumed away from the dining area.
Representatives are sent to briefings in lieu of everyone attending. Firefighters are separated from the public
as much as possible to maintain the health of all.
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