Bishop, CA- Over the past several days, firefighters have made great progress in the containment of the Iris Fire. As such, Incident Commanders and cooperating agencies have determined that it is safe enough to re-open portions of the closure area.

Rock Creek Road at Tom’s Place will reopen no later than noon on July 27.  Motorists are advised to drive with caution as fire equipment may be coming in and out of the area and firefighters may occasionally be near the roadway. Please drive slowly for firefighter safety!

There is no parking or stopping between Aspen Group Campground and East Fork Picnic Area. The turnouts in this area will be closed with cones.

Closed Campgrounds:

·         Holiday and Palisade Campgrounds remain closed for Iris Fire personnel and equipment.

·         All group campgrounds remain closed under the existing Inyo National Forest order.

Campgrounds Re-opening July 27:  

·         Mosquito Flat

·         Rock Creek

·         Upper Pine Grove

·         Pine Grove

·         East Fork

·         Big Meadows

·         French Camp
 
          Iris Meadow 

Resorts and Cabins Re-opening July 27:

·         All resorts and cabins.

Wilderness Permit Holders:

Effective Monday, July 27, all wilderness permits for the Rock Creek Canyon trailheads will be honored. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6877/-

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Update: Overnight, fire activity remained minimal. Crews continue to hold and improve containment lines around the fire perimeter. Most of the fire has good containment lines. The focus remains on the 15% of open fire line on northeast corner of the fire, where crews continue to make progress improving containment lines and mopping up in very rugged and steep terrain.

Due to improved on the ground mapping, the acreage has been verified and adjusted to 120 acres.

California Incident Management Team (CIIMT) 13 Mike Wakoski, Incident Commander would like to take the opportunity to thank the public for their continued patience and understanding as firefighters work to complete fire containment efforts. The team and the Inyo National Forest continue evaluate the closure status with the primary concern being for firefighter safety as they continue to work along the road.

Weather: Thunderstorms remain in the forecast as a monsoonal pattern is continuing, with a 10-20% chance of developing which could bring more lightning to the area.

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed at Tom’s Place. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Flat, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, Iris Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins in the closure area have been evacuated.

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon have been cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.

Mono County Sheriff, Inyo County Sheriff, Mono Public Works and California Highway Patrol continue to manage exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.

Resources: There are 223 personnel assigned to the incident, including 6 engines, 6 crews, 3 water tender, and 3 helicopters.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6877/-

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Iris Fire- Daily Update  

Size: 170 acres (estimated) 

Containment: 60% 

Location: east of Rock Creek Road, near Iris Meadows Campground 

Fuels: sagebrush, pinyon/ juniper 

Cause: Lightning 

Update: Last night, fire activity remained minimal. Firefighters observed creeping and smoldering.     

Crews continue to hold and improve containment line around the fire perimeter. Most of the fire has good containment lines. The focus remains on the northeast corner of the fire, where crews continue to make slow but steady progress improving containment lines and mopping up in very rugged and steep terrain. Helicopters will continue support this effort, dropping water on hot spots.    

Containment, normally expressed as a percentage, indicates how much of the fire has been enclosed by a fireline. These lines remove the fuel (brush, trees, etc.) to stop a fire’s spread to a standard to which no future spread is expected under foreseeable conditions .  

California Incident Management Team (IMT) 13 Mike Wakoski, Incident Commander remains in command of the fire and is managing fire suppression and support efforts.  

Due to decreased fire activity, unless there is something significant to report, the team will provide one fire update per day (in the morning).  

Weather: Thunderstorms still remain in the forecast as a monsoonal pattern is continuing. This may influence the Iris Fire’s behavior as well as bring more lightning to the area.  

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed at Tom’s Place. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Flat, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, Iris Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins in the closure area have been evacuated.  

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.  

Mono County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol continue to manage exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.  

Resources: There are 292 personnel assigned to the incident, including 14 engines, 8 crews, 1 water tender, and 2 helicopters.  

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6877/- 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 

Iris Fire- Evening Update

Size: 170 acres (estimated)

Containment: 60%

Location: east of Rock Creek Road, near Iris Meadows Campground

Fuels: sagebrush, pinyon/ juniper

Cause: Lightning

Update: Today, the fire activity remained minimal. Firefighters observed backing and creeping fire behavior. Thunder cells developed in the fire area in the afternoon but did not significantly influence fire behavior.  

Crews continued to construct and reinforce containment line around the fire perimeter. Much of the uphill, eastern flank of the fire has good containment line around it as does the western flank along the roadside. The focus is on the northeast corner of the fire, where crews continue to make slow but steady progress in very rugged and steep terrain. Helicopters continued to support this effort, dropping water on hot spots. 

This evening, crews will continue to improve containment lines and “mopping up.” Mop up is when firefighters extinguish or remove burning material near containment lines. It is the slow and tedious work of looking for smokes or hot spots. Crews drown, stir, drown (just like putting out a camp or warming fire) over many, many acres.

California Incident Management Team (CIIMT) 13 Mike Wakoski, Incident Commander remains in command of the fire and is managing fire suppression and support efforts.

Due to decreased fire activity, unless  there is something significant to report ,the team will provide one fire update per day (in the morning).

Weather: Thunderstorms remain in the forecast as a monsoonal pattern is establishing. This may influence the Iris Fire’s behavior as well as bring more lightning to the area.

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed at Tom’s Place. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins in the closure area have been evacuated.

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.

Mono County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol continue to manage exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.

Resources: There are 215 personnel assigned to the incident, including 10 engines, 7 crews, 2 water tenders, a dozer, and 2 helicopters.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6877/-

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Iris Fire-Morning Update

Size: 170 acres (estimated)

Containment: 60%

Location: east of Rock Creek Road, near Iris Meadows Campground

Fuels: sagebrush, pinyon/ juniper

Cause: Lightning

Update: Last night, fire activity was minimal, Firefighters overnight observed backing and creeping fire behavior. Weather overnight was favorable and winds were calm.

Crews used this opportunity overnight to continue to construct containment line around much of the fire perimeter. The uphill, eastern flank of the fire has good containment line around it as does most of the western flank along the roadside. Crews continue to complete line through a short stretch of difficult terrain for full perimeter containment.

Today, crews will continue to improve containment lines and work on cooling, or “mopping up” hot spots along the fire’s edge.

Today, California Incident Management Team (IMT)13, Mike Wakoski Incident Commander assumed command of the fire at 6:00 am.

Weather: Thunderstorms are expected again today in the forecast as the monsoonal pattern continues although, not as strong and widespread as earlier in the week. This may influence Iris Fire’s behavior as well as bring more lightning to the region.

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed at Tom’s Place. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins in the closure area have been evacuated.

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.

Mono County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol continue to manage exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.

Resources: There are 215 personnel assigned to the incident, including 10 engines, 7 crews, 2 water tenders, a dozer, 5 helicopters, and 1 air attack.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6877/-

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Road and Camping Closures: Rock Creek Road is closed at Tom’s Place. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon remain closed, including Mosquito Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins in the closure area have been evacuated.

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.
 
Campers and hikers who are looking for alternative places to recreate on the Inyo National Forest can find other opportunities at recreation.gov.

 Library Archive File

Iris Fire Update
7/23/20, evening update 

 Iris Fire Update:

Size: 170 acres (estimated)

Containment: 20%

Location: east of Rock Creek Road, near Iris Meadows Campground

Fuels: sagebrush, pinyon/ juniper

Cause: Lightning

Update: Last night, fire activity diminished in the evening with cooler temperatures and as the winds died down. Fire crews took advantage of this period to re-establish containment lines. The primary focus was along the road corridor to protect the developed areas of the canyon.

Today, fire crews will continue to construct and improve containment lines, supported by air tankers and helicopters who will provide retardant and water drops to cool the fire’s edge.

Today, a Type 2 Incident Management Team (IMT) will travel to the incident and receive a briefing from the Inyo National Forest (IMT) and determine when the Type 2 IMT will assume command of the fire.

Weather: Wind and the potential for thunderstorms are concern for fire behavior.

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins have also been evacuated. 

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.

Mono County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol are managing exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.

Resources: There are 209 personnel assigned to the incident, including 15 engines, five crews, two water tenders, a dozer, three helicopters, and four air tankers.

Closures: The Rock Creek Road is closed. All campgrounds in the Rock Creek Canyon have been evacuated. This includes Mosquito Creek, Rock Creek, Upper Pine Grove, Pine Grove, East Fork, Big Meadows, French Camp, and Holiday campgrounds. All resorts and cabins have also been evacuated.

All wilderness permit holders for trailheads starting in the Rock Creek Canyon are being cancelled through Sunday July 26th. This includes the Little Lakes (including the Mono Pass Trail that starts here) and Hilton Lakes Trailhead. Exiting hikers are being escorted out.

Mono County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol are managing exiting traffic along Rock Creek Road and at Hwy 395. Please avoid the area for firefighter and public safety.