Low nighttime temperatures aiding suppression of Caples Fire

There was minimal fire activity on the Caples Fire last night due to near freezing nighttime temperatures, high relative humidity, and very light winds. The natural wind patterns from the west/southwest will continue to be good for suppression actions. Temperatures are moderate during the day and the relative humidity is low, and those nighttime conditions help with light winds and high relative humidity recovery.

A remapped fire map now shows 2,100 acres have burned inside the boundaries of an eight-year 8,000 acre prescribed burn plan in the Caples River area north of SR88. Containment on the fire is now at 25 percent. 752 personnel are now on the scene.

Smoke sensitive individuals are encouraged to reduce their exposure by avoiding smoky areas, closing windows, or staying indoors. Due to the wind direction, smoke continues to move into the Lake Tahoe Basin and Carson Valley.

There is an Air Quality Advisory is in effect for Alpine County through Monday, October 14. Periods of smoke may fluctuate on wind patterns and locations.

The prescribed burn project began on September 30 as pile burning under favorable conditions following rain and snowstorms. The prescribed fire was within prescription and achieving the goals of the project of reducing fuels loading and create vegetation conditions that allow fires to burn with lower intensities and create defensible space. Once the red flag warning for the wind event was forecasted fire managers began building fire line and conducting firing operations to secure and strengthen the fire perimeter before the wind arrived. The containment lines held well through the wind event into Thursday morning when the winds changed direction pushing the fire farther to the south and west and increasing the fire activity. This activity increase took the project out of prescription as the project objectives were no longer being met. On October 10, the Caples fire was converted to a wildfire from a prescribed fire allowing managers to obtain additional resources not normally available to us for a prescribed fire, such as; dozers and engines from partners like CALFIRE. The Caples fire is now being managed for full suppression.

The north side is in patrol and mop up status.

The Caples Ecological Restoration Project is restoring fire to the Caples Creek watershed where naturally occurring wildfires started by lighting have been suppressed since 1908. The project is intended to improve forest health, fire resiliency and increase public safety. Prescribed fire treatments reduce fuel loadings, maintain vegetation conditions that allow fires to burn with lower intensities and create defensible space. The goal of this project is to promote a healthy resilient forest by reintroducing fire to the landscape.

The Caples Ecological Restoration Project is a collaborative effort between the Eldorado National Forest, El Dorado Irrigation District and Sierra Nevada Conservancy to restore fire to the Caples Creek watershed where naturally occurring wildfires started by lighting have been suppressed since 1908. The project provides a strategic landscape-wide fuel treatment that will reduce fuel to pre-settlement conditions that will protect the chief water supply to El Dorado County, improve wildlife habitat and create defensible space to nearby communities. The Caples Creek watershed provides a primary water supply for 110,000 people in the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) service area and includes some of the last remaining old growth in the Eldorado National Forest.