Smoke in the Eastern Sierra likely caused by the Rough Fire

Date:      August 11, 2015
Subject:  Smoke in the Eastern Sierra

There has been a lot of smoke in the Eastern Sierra. The current smoke is likely caused by the Rough Fire. The official press release from the U.S. Forest Service - Sierra National Forest is below. There are NO local fires within the jurisdiction of Mono County. The smoke we are experiencing is from the various fires located around the State and in neighboring jurisdictions. A map of the current California Wildfires is also included in this update. Thank you! - Jennifer M. Hansen, Public Information Officer 

Rough Fire Update August 11, 2015 (from the U.S. Forest Service)

Summary
At this time the fire continues to follow the terrain, creating a mosaic effect between burned and unburned fuels. It continues to grow at a slow to moderate rate of spread in all directions; moving north towards Spanish Mountain; east into the Monarch Wilderness, crossing over Brush Canyon and backing down to Tombstone Creek; west into Rough Creek and south towards Kings River. A rapid rate of spread can be anticipated if the terrain, fuels and weather align together. The southwest portion of the fire can be viewed on Sierra Wildland Fire Reporting System, Buck Rock webcam #3 at: http://bit.ly/1DEcc0D.

Wednesday additional overhead from a National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team will join the Sierra National Forest, Type 3 organization in managing the fire.

Closures
Currently there are no closures on the Sierra or Sequoia National Forests. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks remain fully open with no closures.

Visitors may experience smoke impacts in many popular recreational areas including Wishon Reservoir, Hume Lake and Cedar Grove area. For air quality updates visit http://www.valleyair.org/aqinfo/forecast.htm for more information.

Fire Restrictions
Fire restrictions are in place for the Sierra National Forest. Campfires are only allowed in designated developed recreation sites.

Follow the Sierra National Forest on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SierraNF and Like the Sierra National Forest on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SierraNF. Visit our website at www.fs.usda.gov/sierra

Acres burned: 5,226
Containment: 0
Fire Start: July 31, 2015
Cause: Lightening
Total personnel: 217