By Scott Mobley
The Record Searchlight
REDDING, Calif. — The Moon and Motion fires may be all but extinguished save for a few hot spots. But other blazes still chewing through the mountains west and southwest of Redding continued pouring acrid smoke into the far northern Sacramento Valley on Thursday.
A monitor in Anderson measured smoke particle concentrations at a very unhealthy 226 points on the Air Quality Index through Thursday afternoon. That reading may be the worst ever recorded in Shasta County, said Ross Bell, Air Quality District manager. Smoke particle concentrations over 150 on the Air Quality Index are considered unhealthy for everyone.
Air quality hit hazardous levels in Hayfork and Hyampom in Trinity County, meaning smoke concentrations soared above 301 points on the index.
Firefighters in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest are nearing the end of their fifth week battling flames sparked by surprise thunderstorms June 21. Thursday’s thick smoke grounded firefighting aircraft — including the Martin Mars water bomber — for a fourth straight day. But the relatively stable weather pattern trapping the smoke in canyons and the valley also dampened the flames.
“The smoke is not a pleasant thing to endure,” said Tom McCampbell, a U.S. Forest Service information officer working at the Iron Complex command post in Junction City."But with temperatures remaining relatively low and a bit more moisture and light winds, it has really helped us out.”
Ground crews continued making some progress against the 21,502-acre Eagle Fire, prompting Trinity County authorities to lift evacuation orders from long-besieged Junction City at noon Thursday.
Evacuation orders remained Thursday for Big Bar, Corral Bottom/Haglund Ranch and the Hidden Valley area off Highway 36. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Department kept Hyampom Road closed.
Crews struggled to keep the 19,420-acre Miners Fire from threatening Hayfork, holding a bulldozer line on the Lucky Peak Trail, said Dick Birger, a U.S. Forest Service information officer at the Lime Complex command post in Hayfork.
In Siskiyou County, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection crews contained the 31-acre Sand Flat Fire near the town of Pondosa east of McCloud. A new round of isolated thunderstorms rolling through far northeastern California late Monday touched off that fire and about a dozen other small blazes.
Cal Fire crews in Shasta County continued mopping up the Moon Fire on the ridge above Ono. It is fully contained at 29,031 acres. Crews also worked on fire lines at the south end of the Motion Fire, which held at 28,336 acres Thursday and was 95 percent contained. Cal Fire — which expects full Motion Fire containment today — has disbanded its fire information center in Redding, replacing the live hot line with a recorded message.
Lime Complex:
The Lime Complex in southeastern Trinity County was listed at 116,488 acres Thursday evening and was still 65 percent contained. The acreage dropped from 130,936 acres because fire officials subtracted burned areas under the responsibility of Cal Fire and the Bureau of Land Management.
Individual fires still burning in the Lime are the Miners Fire, at 19,420 acres and 55 percent containment; the Lime Fire, at 18,412 acres and 50 percent containment; the Vinegar Fire, at 34,112 acres and 30 percent containment, and the uncontained Yellow Fire, which has burned 23,368 acres in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness.
Iron Complex:
Burnouts along the Highway 299 corridor and on the south side of the Eagle Fire were completed Thursday.
The Iron Complex was at 69,992 acres and 62 percent contained Thursday night.
The Eagle Fire was at 21,502 acres and 65 percent contained. The Buckhorn Fire remained at 10,205 acres, but with 21 percent containment. The Carey Fire stayed at 1,586 acres and 55 percent containment.
The Cedar Fire grew to 20,158 acres with 55 percent containment. Fire crews plan burnouts on the Cedar Fire — in order to reduce the threat to Big Bar — along the east flank, from the south to north in the Big Bar area.
Hells Half Complex:
The Hells Half Complex grew slightly to 15,146 acres, but jumped from 85 percent to 96 percent containment. Burnout operations were mostly complete and crews will continue to monitor fire activity west of the south fork of the Trinity River.
Another team is assuming fire-management duties and in the transition, the expected containment date was moved from Thursday to Monday.
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