Information from Inciweb reports that for the first time in 3 days, “the fire was not as aggressive as had been anticipated. Low, sporadic winds with light winds were expected to continue through the night. Smoke became a day-long issue creating low visibility conditions and causing most firefighting flights to be cancelled. Firefighters on the ground made good progress in all areas around the fire, with the focus being on securing lines and reducing fire potential. Additional crew and resources continue to arrive for firefighting efforts.
Severe drought conditions are expected to continue for the near future, continuing to affect vegetation ahead of the fire. The vegetation is so dense that it is only accessible to firefighters on the ground with bulldozers. Contingency lines are in place around the southernmost part of the fire from St. George to Moniac areas south. Contingency lines are roads and newly constructed lines to complete a solid defensible line around portions of the fire that present the greatest threat of aggressive activity. They are often located some distance from the main fire front and are reinforced by clearing brush and ground fuels, and in some cases trees where necessary, to create safer areas for firefighters to attack and stop the fire. Removing fuels from the contingency line toward the fire front is critical to the successful containment and final control of the fire.”
To date 140,409 acres have been burned and the fire is 12% contained. The fire officials still are anticipating a containment date of November 1, 2017 for this blaze. NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite collected this natural-color image using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on May 09, 2017. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS’s thermal bands, are outlined in red. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner
Suomi NPP is managed by NASA and NOAA.