Sonora, CA…In light of the Labor Day Weekend, the Stanislaus National Forest shared an update on the local fire activity. During recent weeks, the forest received several lightning strikes, causing around 10 fires, but as of today all lightning strike fires have been contained or called out, except for the 33-acre Bell Fire, burning in the Emigrant Wilderness. The Bell Fire has only increased by about two acres in the past two weeks and firefighters anticipate it will continue to smolder until the winter rains and snow begin.

While not on the Stanislaus National Forest, the Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest, our sister forest to the east, has an actively growing large fire called the Slink Fire. Their Inciweb page reports that the fire has grown to 16,200 acres, with 10 percent containment.

It is possible that the large smoke plumes from the Slink Fire will be visible from many of our higher elevation vista areas and possibly cause smoky conditions in the back country. The forest is cooperating with all local firefighting agencies to suppress this fire, share information, and be proactive as the Slink Fire continues to spread. For more information about the Slink fire, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7105/.

Air quality is directly related to the amount of smoke in the air and prevailing winds. The Stanislaus National Forest and surrounding communities are experiencing periods of unhealthy air quality. Before traveling to the forest, visitors are encouraged to check on any active fires in the area at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov for federal fire incidents, or https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/ for any CalFire incidents. In addition, due to the many active fires you may find very smoky conditions across the forest, so we recommend you check the local air quality at www.airnow.gov.

We encourage all visitors to be aware of their surroundings and be prepared in the event of a fire emergency. Know what to do if you are contacted by fire personnel and be able to recognize for yourself the signs of increasing fire danger and have an escape plan in mind.

For additional information, visit the forest web page at https://www.fs.usda.gov/stanislaus. Be safe, stay socially distanced from others not in your bubble and enjoy your holiday visit to the Stanislaus National Forest.

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