Pinecrest, CA…The Donnell Fire started on August 1 near the east side of Donnell Lake. The fire is burning primarily along the north bank of the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River in steep and rough terrain with heavy standing dead and down timber. The fire has been managed as full suppression incident from the start. Due to the other large fires in the region and state, firefighters are extremely scarce. Handcrews and engines have been ordered and are pending. Other local incident management teams are sharing aircraft and personnel as needed. There will be a community meeting Monday August 6th at the Pinecrest Ampitheatre at 5 pm. Fire managers will be present to talk about the current fire conditions and answer questions from the public.

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Today, crews provided structure protection along Highway 108. Aircraft dropped retardant around the repeater site near Double Dome. The fire spread to the south and crossed Highway 108 near the Brightman Tract. It expanded on the north side into the Arnot Creek and Disaster Creek. The fire had minimal growth on the west side near Donnell Lake. A mandatory evacuation was issued on Eagle Meadow Road (5NO1) due to the fire spotting and threatening structures.

The fire is burning in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and across the Clark Fork Road towards Bald Peak. Firefighters are using MIST (Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics) where appropriate. The fire continues to burn into the 2017 McCormick Fire, slowing its growth on the northeast flank.

A mandatory evacuation continues between Eagle Meadow Road and Kennedy Meadows, including all campgrounds and residences.

As of 6 am today, the Central Coast Interagency Incident Management Team (Lee Rickard, IC) assumed management of the fire.

Visitors and residents are advised that smoke to the west of Pinecrest is likely coming from the Ferguson Fire.

Currently, the Pacific Crest Trail at Sonora Pass is open, but hikers are advised that a closure is likely due to public safety as the fire spreads toward Sonora Summit.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS: Mandatory evacuation from Highway 108 at Eagle Meadow Road to Kennedy Meadows was implemented at 9 am today. Eagle Meadow Road (5NO1) was closed and evacuated today.

For more information about the Stanislaus National Forest, visit us at www.fs.usda.gov/stanislaus, “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StanislausNF, or “follow” us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/StanislausNF.

For more information please go to http://www.inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/ or contact us by email at donnellfirestf1918@gmail.com.