Markleeville, CA…Special Notes: The Rocky Mountain Area Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire at 6:00 a.m. this morning. Team members are mainly from Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Dan Dallas is Incident Commander. Please note that the Tamarack Fire phone numbers and social media links have changed. Please use the numbers and links in this update. A virtual fire information meeting will be held tonight at 6:00 p.m. Details on how to access the meeting are still developing, so please check our Facebook or InciWeb pages or call our information phone for instructions prior to the meeting.

Current Situation:

Tamarack Fire is approximately 39,045 acres and is 0% contained. Nearly 1,100 personnel are working on the fire and more resources are on order. The objective for managing the fire is full suppression, and all efforts will be directed towards meeting that objective with public and firefighter safety foremost in mind.

As a fire gets larger and additional resources are brought in, the fire is broken into geographic areas called Branches and Divisions to help focus suppression efforts and to help with supervisory span of control. We will use these terms in our updates to provide specific information about each part of the fire perimeter. Branches and Divisions are shown on the fire maps.

Branch I: Today in Division K, firefighters will focus on improving the existing dozer and hand firelines on the north side of the fire and extending them further to the east. In Division O, where the fire was very active yesterday, the focus will be on looking for options for direct and indirect fireline construction that will prevent further movement to the east. This is the highest priority for today. Along Hwy 395, a structure protection group will be conducting structure assessments and doing structure preparation where needed in the event the fire makes another push to the east and impacts the area.

Branch II: Fire personnel in Divisions T and Z on the south end of the fire will be scouting the area looking for options for fireline construction. There has been little recent fire movement in this area, so it is lower priority than other areas of the fire. Once additional resources arrive, fireline construction in the area will begin.

Branch III: On the west side of the fire in Division F, the fire was active into the night, burning west of CA-89 and south of CA-88. This is another high priority area of the fire. The structure protection group will be providing point protection as needed in Sierra Pines, Woodford, and around other structures in the division. Firefighters will be scouting for potential direct fireline options. Division A will be monitored today pending arrival of additional resources that have been ordered.

Weather & Fuel Conditions: About 0.05” of rain fell on the fire yesterday, and a few isolated lightning strikes occurred on the fire’s north side. The next several days will bring a warming and drying trend with light upslope winds changing to the SW at 10-15 mph in the afternoons, gusting to 25 on ridgetops. Fuels remain very dry and fire behavior will continue to be aggressive, with potential for high rates of fire spread.

Evacuations, Closures, and Fire Restrictions: For the latest information about pre-evacuation or evacuation notices, visit https://www.alpinecountyca.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=TAMARACK-FIRE-Evac-Center-at-Douglas-Cou-43. For the latest on area, road, and trail closures and fire restrictions on National Forest lands, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/alerts-1069notices/?cid=fseprd573309 .

Temporary Flight Restriction (TRF): A TFR is in place over the Tamarack Fire. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can’t. Whenever a drone is spotted near the fire all aircraft are grounded until we can be sure the drone is clear of the area. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Tamarack Fire Daily Update, Tuesday, July 20
Tamarack Fire Wildfire

Tamarack Fire Update

Tuesday July 20, 2021 – 9:00 a.m.

Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Management Team

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander

Information Phones: 775-434-8629 (public), 775-434-8110 (media only)

Email: 2021.tamarack@firenet.gov

Information Staffing Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tamarack Fire Statistics:

Size: 39,045 acres

Containment: 0%

Total Personnel: 1,069

Location: Markleeville, CA

Reported: July 4, 2021

Cause: Lightning

For More Information:

Public Information Phone: 775-434-8629

Public email: 2021.tamarack@firenet.gov

Media Phone: 775-434-8110

Media email: mediatamarack@gmail.com

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7674/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tamarackfireinfo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamarack_fire

Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCllqup_9I-v-O6woWUCATfA/videos