Lions Fire burning west of Mammoth Mountain

The Lions Fire actively burning just west of Mammoth Mountain has burned 1,000 acres and is affecting air quality and visibility tonight as smoke settles into valleys.

Started by a lightning strike around noon on June 1 in the Sierra National Forest, the fire is burning near the Lion Point area in the Ansel Adams Wilderness. It crossed onto the Inyo National Forest on June 22 and is now being co-managed by both the Sierra and the Inyo National Forests.

Due to strong winds the evening of June 23 of 20-30 mph, the fire spread to the south and west and is now about 1000 acres, 7 miles southwest of Mammoth Lakes.

The fire is burning at 6000-8000’ elevation in red fir with some growth to the southeast. Large areas of standing dead and down timber are within and surrounding the burning area. There is no present threat to structures or public safety.

The fire will be managed for multiple resource and protection objectives including suppression, air quality, firefighter safety and hazardous vegetation reduction. Because the fire is burning in designated wilderness, fire officials will be using MIST (Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics), such as using natural barriers for containment lines and minimizing mechanical disturbance with chainsaws or aircraft.

To maximize daylight work time, crews are camping near the fire and consist of four Type I hotshot crews and a Wildland Fire Module. 162 personnel are working the fire.

The communities near the fire can expect smoke impacts in varying degrees for the next two- three weeks. Air quality and smoke forecasts will be available as the incident progresses

The latest air quality can be found here: https://www.gbuapcd.org/ . For more information about the fire: https://bit.ly/2IpsflV .