Markleeville, CA….Special notes: A recording of the public fire information briefing held last night can be viewed on Facebook under video at www.facebook.com/tamarackfireinfo or on YouTube at https://bit.ly/TamarackVideo. People are getting back into their homes and back on the roads. Please limit travel to essential travel on the roads near and through the fire area. There is still heavy firefighter traffic in the area and firefighters working along the roadways. Help us keep our firefighters safe.

Current Situation: Firefighters made more progress yesterday securing the fire perimeter. Containment is now at 59%. Caltrans lifted the remaining highway closures along State Routes 4 and 89 this morning. Forest closure orders remain in place and many roads connected to the highways are also closed. Alpine County ended evacuations for residents living in the SR 4 corridor. Burnside Lake area remains under evacuation.

As containment continues to increase and fire activity on certain portions of the fire diminishes, Branches and Divisions will be combined, and Division breaks moved. The Structure Group is now combined into one group and will continue to patrol in communities throughout the fire area. As residents return home, they may still see hose and other firefighting equipment around their homes.

Branch I: Division F has been combined with Division K.

Division K – Hand crews worked the one remaining uncontained area along the northwest edge near Charity Valley Creek. There is steep, inaccessible terrain in this area and firefighters are assessing options. Crews patrolled the northern edge of the fire, making sure there isn’t any heat that was missed. The patrols will continue along the line today.

Division O – The entire east side of the fire is contained and in patrol status.

Branch II: Division Q – Four hotshot crews are working to create fireline along the southern edge of the fire. With the help of water drops from helicopters, firefighters are using direct attack where possible. Yesterday they used firing operations to bring the fire out of timber stringers and into sagebrush where crews can more easily engage the edge. This effort is expected to last several days.

Division T – Firefighters secured two miles of new containment line yesterday stretching from Hwy 89 to Pool Boy Creek. Further west, in an area where the fire is burning along a steep ridgeline, air tankers dropped retardant along open grass and sagebrush. Firefighters then hiked up and put in handline. That was followed by a firing operation removing fuels on the other side of the ridge. A helicopter dropped delayed aerial ignition devices to start the burnout. Today crews continue working to the south.

Division A – Two wildland firefighter modules are assessing suppression options and scouting for opportunities to engage the fire safely. Drones are supporting assessment. The fire hasn’t moved in this Division in two weeks.

Weather & Fuel Conditions:

There is little change in temperatures or humidity from yesterday. High temperatures today will range from the 70s-80s over the fire area. Winds will be light and terrain-driven until the afternoon when thunderstorms are forecast. The storms will bring heavy rain in some areas and gusty outflow winds up to 40 mph. There is potential for lightning, hail, slides, and flash flooding.

Evacuations, Recovery, Closures, and Fire Restrictions:

For evacuation and recovery specifics in Alpine and Douglas Counties visit: https://www.alpinecountyca.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=EVACUATION-INFORMATION-53 and

https://www.douglascountynv.gov/government/departments/emergency_management/current_emergencies/tamarack_fire__markleeville__c_a

For closures and fire restrictions on National Forest lands, visit

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/alerts-1069notices/?cid=fseprd573309

Grover Hot Springs State Park remains closed to the public.

Temporary Flight Restriction (TRF):

A temporary flight restriction (TFR) remains in place. TFR violations can disrupt aerial firefighting operations and may force fire managers to ground essential aircraft. Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Tamarack Fire Statistics:

Size: 68,393 acres

Containment: 59%

Total Personnel: 1,321

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: https://bit.ly/TamarackVideo

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Incident Information