Early Fire Containment Expected Sunday

Crews are in the final stages of mop up on the Early Fire on the Stanislaus National Forest in the remote Tuolumne River Canyon. The fire area is not expected to exceed current containment lines. Firefighters continue to work and patrol the burn area in steep terrain with hot and dry conditions.

Fire crews and equipment are being released and reassigned to several new fires in California, and transition of the Early Fire´s management back to Stanislaus NF is tentatively scheduled for Sunday morning Aug.15th.

Still no word on what caused this fire that has been burning near the Early Intake hydro-electric power facility since Monday morning

Traffic on Forest Road 1N07 at Cherry Lake Road is still closed and will remain shut down to the public though the weekend.

Forest officials say Cherry Lake is open and can be accessed via Cottonwood Road out of Tuolumne City.

According to the forest service, restricting traffic is important for providing safety to the public and firefighters associated with the management of the Early wildfire.

Seasonal fire danger remains extremely high, local residents and visitors are reminded to be fire safe. The Rios Incident Management Team and all assigned crews on the “Early Fire” wish to convey their heartfelt thanks for the patience and enthusiastic public support which has been extended to us during this emergency.