Fork Fire re-mapped at 1,647 acres and continues to be 7% contained

The Fork Fire continues to burn west of Lake Tahoe in the Rubicon drainage area near Loon Lake. The size has been remapped and 1,647 acres have burned and it is seven percent contained.

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has downgraded the mandatory evacuation order to an evacuation warning for the areas of Quintette, Stumpy Meadows and Volcanoville. This does not supersede the temporary closure order that prohibits entering or using National Forest System lands, roads and trails on the Eldorado National Forest.

During a community meeting on Friday, fire officials and law enforcement updated the public on the current situation. A Type 2 Incident Management Team assumed command of the incident at Friday morning.

The Fork Fire started in the Crystal Basin near Gerle Creek under critical fire weather conditions on September 8. Driven by east winds gusting 30-50 miles per hour, the fire grew rapidly to the west.

The Fork Fire continues to burn in steep topography, The eastern part of fire is contained and it is hard to put firefighters into the canyons near the old King Fire. The Rubicon canyon is in an extremely steep and remote area which makes firefighting difficult. This area of the King Fire had burned at high severity with nearly 100 percent tree mortality, leaving large snag patches of fire killed trees. The standing snags are a significant safety hazard, especially in strong winds. There is also a high concentration of dead and down trees creating a heavy fuel load, as well as dense post-fire regrowth of 4-6 foot tall brush.

Incident Management Team credited the Forest Service in keeping the fire small when the high winds from the east came.

Predicted weather for the fire area has reduced the threat to the previously evacuated communities, but residents were told this situation could change.

Weather could change on Sunday when increasing winds from the southwest will hit to the area. Until then, temperatures are in the 80s with humidity about 20 percent during the day with not great recovery during the nighttime hours. No precipitation is expected in the near future.

The management team said there are reduced resources on the fire due to the large fires across the west. They said it many take longer to extinguish the Fork Fire than a fire of this size would normally take.