Forest officials have extended the closure of Sequoia National Forest managed land near the Castle Fire through December 31, 2020.  Despite cooler temperatures, hot spots continue to smolder and burn through dry vegetation. This creates hazardous conditions for anyone walking through the burned area such as smoldering stump holes and fire weakened trees.  Highway 190, the Western Divide Highway and Mtn. road 50 over Parker Pass remain open to through travel.  Trail of 100 Giants is open for day use until winter weather makes it necessary for Tulare County to close the Western Divide Highway and Mtn. Road 50 over Parker Pass.

PORTERVILLE LOCAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (LAC) CLOSED THROUGH THE WEEKEND DUE TO POSITIVE COVID-19 CASE VISALIA, CA –  PORTERVILLE LOCAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (LAC) CLOSED THROUGH THE WEEKEND DUE TO POSITIVE COVID-19 CASE

VISALIA, CA – The County confirms that one individual has tested positive for COVID-19 at the Local Assistance Center (LAC) in Porterville at 1055 W. Henderson, and the LAC has been closed through the weekend for cleaning. The FEMA Mobile Registration Intake Center (MRIC) is also being closed through the weekend.

The County and FEMA plan to re-open the LAC and MRIC on Monday, November 16, at 8:00 a.m.

During the closure, victims of the SQF Complex fire who need a hard copy of the Right of Entry application can obtain them in the hallway at the 1055 W. Henderson location in Porterville, or at the Resource Management Permit Center at 5961 S. Mooney Blvd. in Visalia. The ROE application is also available on our recovery website at www.tularecounty.ca.gov/recovers. SQF Victims can also call the SQF Hotline at (559) 802-9790, or visit the recovery website at www.tularecounty.ca.gov/recovers.

The County is notifying all members of its workforce with whom the infected individual may have had potential contact, and has health protocols in place such as asking employees to report any symptoms that develop during office hours, maintaining social distancing, asking employees to work from home when possible, and consistently using excellent hygiene and cleaning practices.

Tulare County is diligent about the protection of patient privacy, in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and for this reason we cannot release any other information about the affected employee. The information released about the positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County is carefully curated to provide useful information to our community members, while also excluding information that would lead to the identification of affected persons. This is a protection, provided by law, that is extended to everyone. 

For more information about COVID-19, visit www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov.

Virtual Community Meeting, tonight at 7 p.m.  This meeting will be live-streamed on the Sequoia National Forest Facebook page. The video will also be available for viewing after the meeting on this page. Please send questions in advance to 2020.castle@firenet.gov.

 SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A FEMA Mobile Registration Intake Center serving wildfire survivors in Tulare County will change its operating hours starting Monday, Nov. 9.

The new schedule is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center will have its last day of Saturday operations on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It will be closed Sunday, Nov. 8, and again Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day.

The center is located in a parking lot on the east side of Tulare County Government Plaza, 1055 W. Henderson Ave., Porterville CA 93257.

It assists survivors of the SQF Complex Fire, which includes the Castle Fire and Shotgun Fire, with disaster information as part of the ongoing wildfire response and recovery mission for FEMA and the state of California.

Survivors can register with FEMA for federal aid in one of three ways:

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov;
• By downloading the FEMA app to a smartphone or tablet; or
• By calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) between 7 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. PST. If you use a relay service such as a videophone, Innocaption or CapTel, provide FEMA the specific number assigned to that service when you register.
• The helpline staff can also answer questions about applications already submitted.

Financial awards from FEMA for eligible survivors may include rent, home repair, home replacement and other disaster-related needs such as childcare, personal property replacement and medical or dental expenses.

Survivors are reminded to keep FEMA informed if they change their mailing addresses or phone numbers so that their aid will not be delayed. To update personal information, survivors may call the FEMA Helpline or use their personal FEMA accounts they set up when registering for assistance with the FEMA mobile app or at DisasterAssistance.gov.

For the latest information on wildfire recovery, visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4558 and follow the FEMA Region 9 Twitter account at https://twitter.com/femaregion9.

FOREST ORDER No. 0513-20-38 USDA FOREST SERVICE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION Sequoia National Forest

Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. §551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), and to protect natural resources and provide for public safety, the following acts are prohibited within the Sequoia National Forest. This Order is effective from November 7, 2020, through November 30, 2020.

1. Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(a).

2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(d).

3. Operating an internal combustion engine off paved, gravel or dirt National Forest System roads and trails, except boats on a water surface. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(h).

4. Welding, or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(i).

Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 216.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:

1. Any Federal, State or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or fire fighting force in the performance of an official duty.

2. Persons with a valid California Campfire Permit are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above. However, persons with a valid California Campfire Permit may use a portable campfire pit, stove or lantern that uses gas, kerosene, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel, with a shut-off valve, in an area at least three feet from any flammable materials.

3. Persons with a valid 2020 Forest Products Removal Permit (fuelwood permit) or a free “Fuelwood Cutting and Gathering Permission” document from the United States Forest Service are not exempt from the prohibitions listed above, but may operate an internal combustion engine off National Forest System roads and trails only to the extent necessary to cut fuelwood, provided the cutting of fuelwood is done in compliance with the terms of the permission document.

4. Persons with a Forest Service non-special use written authorization to conduct nonrecreational activities, such as harvesting timber or forest products, or grazing livestock, are exempt from Prohibition Nos. 3 and 4, to the extent allowed by the written authorization. FOREST ORDER No. 0513-20-38 USDA FOREST SERVICE PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION Sequoia National Forest

These prohibitions are in addition to the general prohibitions contained in 36 C.F.R. Part § 261, Subpart A. A violation of these prohibitions is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. 16 U.S.C. § 551 and 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559, 3571, and 3581.

Executed in Porterville, California, this 5th day of November 2020.

______________________________ TERESA BENSON Forest Supervisor Sequoia National Forest

This Order supersedes Order No. 0513-20-15, signed on May 28, 2020. 

For Immediate Release

VISALIA, CA – The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is working with the County Resource Management Agency, the Environmental Health Division, and other County officials to begin phase one of the cleanup process on November 3 for residences damaged or destroyed by the SQF Complex, at no cost to property owners.

USDA Forest Service Region 5 Fire Restrictions extended through October 30, 2020. Regional Order No. 20-23, which prohibits building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, or stove fire, and smoking on National Forest System lands under R5 jurisdiction. This Order contains an exemption for portable lanterns or stoves using gas, jellied petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel within a Developed Recreation Site. This Order will protect natural resources and provide for the safety of forest visitors by mitigating wildfire ignition potential during these extreme fire conditions. It will be in effect through October 30, 2020.

Incident Information:

Incident Information:

Start / Report Date: 8/19/20 

Cause: Lightning

Resources:

Hand Crews: 13

Dozers: 3

Size: 168,595 acres        

Location: 25 miles N of Kernville, CA

Helicopters: 12

  Water Tenders: 14                           

Containment: 73 % 

Injuries: 17

Structures Destroyed: 228

Engines: 23

Total Personnel: 741

Current Situation:

Today’s Operations video can be found at https://www.facebook.com/SequoiaNF/

Crews and air operations continue to work in the Homers Nose, Cahoon and Hockett areas. Great progress has been made to date. 90% of the dozer work is complete in the Black Rock area and 14 miles of handline remain to be completed. The spike camp crews continue to be supported by air operations for necessary food and air support allowing the teams to have additional time to do fire work rather than travel back and forth to camp.  The Black Rock spike team has been moved to the Whitsett Spike camp. Just a few more days of work remain on the Mineral King Road.

All equipment in the field no longer in use must be ‘backhauled’ to camp. Firefighters will pinpoint a GPS location, note the type and amount of equipment, and arrange for ‘backhaul’ either by truck or helicopter, depending on the location. There is a lot of land to cover. Workers will clean and refurbish these assets and send them to the South Zone Fire Cache located in Ontario, CA for use on the next incident.  This job is taken very seriously in order to reduce costs on wildfire incidents.

Over the course of the SQF Complex Fire, four separate Incident Management Teams (IMT) will have worked with the USDA Forest Service and Cal Fire in a unified command. The California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 will transfer command to the Eastern Area Gold Team tomorrow. Michael Wakoski, Incident Commander of California Interagency Incident Management Team 13 would like to "thank all the local communities for their patience and understanding over the past few weeks as we managed the SQF Complex Fire. It has been an honor and privilege to help bring this fire closer to full containment"

Weather: A cooling trend continues through Friday with a light northwesterly breeze in the afternoon that will help clear the smoke. Humidity will continue to increase. A weather change will arrive by the weekend bringing lower temperatures and increased humidity and potential of wind. The possibility of spot fires remains likely over the next week.

All Evacuation Warnings have been lifted from the following areas; Camp Nelson, Pier Point, Mountain Aire, Coy Flat, Doyle Springs, Rogers Camp, Sequoia Crest, Alpine Village, Redwood Drive Area, Balch Park Road, including Blue Ridge Drive and Bear Creek Road area. All remaining warnings in the Three Rivers area are still in place, open to residents only. Crews continue to work and travel in the fire area as operations continue. The general public is asked to not travel into these communities as extra traffic can impact the ability for crews to quickly get in and out of the fire area. See www.facebook.com/Tulare-County-Recovers-SQF-Complex-Fire-118633719998389/ for more information.  

Tulare County has been officially added to the Federal Major Disaster Declaration for Wildfires in California, providing individual assistance programs and resources to those impacted by the SQF Complex Fire. For more information - https://tularecounty.ca.gov/county/

CLOSURES AND EVACUATIONS:

The Sequoia National Forest - www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd825787.pdf

Forest Service Regional Emergency Fire restrictions -www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd827759.pdf

Inyo National Forest closures - www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd796836.pdf

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park - https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

The Bureau of Land Management Bakersfield Office has issued a temporary emergency closure.  www.blm.gov/press-release/bureau-land-management-temporarily-closes-case-mountain-recreation-area#:~:text=BAKERSFIELD%2C%20Calif.,Complex%20Fire%20(SQF%20Complex).

Southern California Edison (SCE) is working to safely and quickly restore power. Call 1 800 250-7339 or Check www.sce.com/safety/assistance-center.

Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest - https://www.fire.ca.gov/programs/resource-management/resource-protection-improvement/demonstration-state-forests/mountain-home/

Tulare County Castle fire impacted property owner information can be found at tularecounty.ca.gov/Recovers/  or on the Tulare County Recovers – SQF Complex Facebook page.

The Tulare County Local Assistance Center (LAC) Hotline for affected citizens is 559-802-9790.  A satellite LAC is open in Camp Nelson on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Evacuation information can be found at: www.facebook.com/TulareSheriff/photos/pcb.4467454503325547/4467453416658989/

Cooperating and Assisting Organizations: Southern California Edison, Tulare County Fire, Tulare County Sheriff, Tulare County OES, Tulare County Roads, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Conservation Corps, California Office of Emergency Services, AT&T, Verizon, California Department of Transportation, California Air National Guard, and California National Guard. CONAFOR, Mexico.

Smoke: Current air quality may be found at https://fire.airnow.gov/ .

Alert: To receive emergency notifications regarding evacuations and critical events sign up at alerttc.com  

Safety Message: Prepare for the possibility of fire in advance, visit www.ready.gov/wildfires.