Tamarack Fire update Tuesday: 54 percent containment reached, rain helps moderate fire

Incident command reports Tuesday that firefighting efforts have resulted in 54 percent containment of the 68,103-acre Tamarack Fire burning south of Gardnerville in Alpine and Douglas County. Rain overnight helped moderate fire behavior.

"Fifty-four percent containment is great news. What we are looking at is the entire north side of the fire is all black (contained) which is excellent news for those communities," said Tracy LeClair, spokeswoman for the Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Management Team. "Primary efforts today will be on the south side of the fire with hand crews going direct in the area from Leviathan Peak and in the area of of Leviathan Mine."

She said wetting rains Monday and overnight helped moderate the fire behavior.

"It was pretty much a light, steady rain all night. On the south side of the fire, it is still showing some heat spots and that's where the crews will focus a lot of their efforts today," she said.

There are 1,505 firefighters on the fire. Incident Management says 15 structures have burned on the Alpine County side and 13 structures on the Douglas County, Nevada side. It has not been made public at this time whether these are primary structures or out buildings.

The following is a Tuesday morning report from Tamarack Fire incident managers.

A change in the weather brought much-needed moisture onto the fire area yesterday. A group of afternoon thundershowers dropped heavy rain onto some sections of the fire. Last night steady rainfall covered the entire fire area.

Firefighters yesterday made more progress securing the fire perimeter. Containment is now at 54%. Evacuations were lifted for the Blue Lakes area, Holbrook Junction/Highlands and Spring Valley. The only remaining evacuations are for people living in the SR 4 corridor from Hwy 89 to Ebbetts and Burnside Lake area.

Road Closures:
Hwy 89 is closed between Hwy 88 and Hwy 395 to all traffic except local residents and incident personnel. Hwy 4 is closed throughout the fire area to all traffic except incident personnel.

Branch I: Division K Firefighters finished mopping up hot spots in Spring Valley yesterday. Mopping up is when firefighters extinguish or remove burning material near control lines and take other actions to make an area safe. Today crews will patrol the edge and be ready to respond if lightning from potential storms ignites any new fires.

Division O After several days of work on the fire’s edge, hand crews were successful in containing the northeast corner of the slopover fire that crossed Hwy 395 last week. Firefighters also secured a section south of Holbrook. The entire east side of the fire is now contained. Today crews will mop up hot spots in the Holbrook area. Structure protection crews will continue to patrol communities along the 395 corridor.

Branch II: Division Q New containment was added yesterday stretching from the southeast corner of the fire west to just below Leviathan Peak. Crews worked from there to establish new line, getting support from helicopters that dropped water to cool the fire’s edge. Today firefighters will continue their direct attack and work the fire towards the Leviathan Mine.

Division T is now fully staffed with crews and heavy equipment, looking to directly engage the fire where possible to safely do so. Yesterday firefighters scouted and began work on new fireline. The effort continues today.

Division A is adding a second wildland module of firefighters today. The fire is burning in steep, rugged, scattered fuels. Supervisors will continue to look for opportunities to engage the fire while limiting risk to firefighters.

Branch III: Division F Firefighters secured two more sections of line yesterday. The western edge of the fire is now contained from Burnside Lake north to Crystal Springs. Today crews will patrol the area looking for any hot spots. They will also help with structure protection in nearby communities.

Weather & Fuel Conditions:
Today will be cooler and windier with higher winds in the afternoon and another chance for thunderstorms. High temperatures will range from 71-83 degrees over the fire area. Fire activity will be moderate in the morning because of yesterday’s rain, but fuels will dry out quickly.

Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR):
TFR violations can disrupt aerial firefighting operations and may force fire managers to ground essential aircraft. Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Evacuations, Closures, and Fire Restrictions:

For evacuation notice specifics in Alpine and Douglas Counties visit go here and here.

For road closure specifics visit https://roads.dot.ca.gov/ and https://nvroads.com/.

For closures and fire restrictions on National Forest lands, visit

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/alerts-1069notices/?cid=fseprd573309

This is a developing story. Check back for updates or see the InciWeb page here.

In the second photo: Tamarack Fire Community of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California say thank you to firefighters and first responders. Dan Dallas, Rocky Mountain IMT Incident Commander and Serrell Smokey, Chairman, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California are holding the banner.