Railroad Fire Continues To Grow

Fish Camp, CA — The Railroad Fire burning in the Sierra National Forest has grown to 2,971 acres with zero containment.

There are 437 firefighters assigned to the incident. Resources on scene include nine crews, four helicopters, 30 engines, seven dozers and 12 water tenders. The fire again put off a large vertical plume yesterday, and the extreme temperatures during the day are limiting the overnight recovery period, according to fire officials. Most of the growth is occurring easterly towards Big Sandy and southeast towards Sugar Pine and Speckerman Mountain Peak.

Highway 41 remains closed near the fire, so vehicles can only access Yosemite National Park via Highways 120 and 140. It is unclear how long the highway will remain closed. All earlier evacuation orders and advisories remain in place. The current strategy is to continue to build direct and indirect containment lines to protect Fish Camp, Sugar Pine and the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Specific closures are as follows: Highway 41 and all offshoots between Cedar Valley Road and Summerdale Campground in both Madera and Mariposa counties; Road 630 (Sugar Pine Road) and all cross streets, including Sugar Pine Christian Camp; all residences and businesses in Fish Camp including Tenaya Lodge.

Forest Roads west (north) of Sky Ranch Road are closed as are Nedler Grove, Big Sandy and Summerdale campgrounds. Sky Ranch Road is closed at Buckskin.

A community meeting on the fire, held last night in Oakhurst, drew 300 people.