Six homes burned in Railroad Fire near Fish Camp

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There's still no containment this midday for the Railroad Fire burning south of Yosemite. Since sparking on Tuesday, the flames have scorched nearly 3-thousand acres, forcing hundreds from their homes.

Crews now seem more optimistic about the direction of the fire. They say the head of the fire is moving east, away from the communities of Sugar Pine and Fish Camp. Firefighters have been working tirelessly trying to protect the historic sugar pine railroad and nearby homes.

But it wasn't just the winds and steep terrain that caused problems. This time, they also had to overcome low staffing.

"A lot our firefighters are fighting fires in other states. They are at the hurricane, they are at other fires within the state. It's all about prioritization," said Daniel Tune, Sierra National Forest.

So far, seven structures have been burned. Six of those are homes. Firefighters say they were all damaged on the first day of the fire near its origin.

Highway 41 remains closed at this hour just below Fish Camp for the firefight. The closure is also causing the closure of the highway 41 entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Railroad Fire Incident Overview

Size: 5,414

Containment: 10%

Location: Between communities of Sugar Pine and Fish Camp along State Route 41

Closures

Highway 41 is closed in both directions from south of Wawona to Cedar Valley Drive. Yosemite visitors should use Highway 49 to Highway 140 or 120 for entrance to the National Park. The Summerdale, Big Sandy, and Nedler Grove Campgrounds on the Sierra National Forest are closed. Roads west of Sky Ranch Road on the National Forest are closed.

Communities in the Sky Ranch Road area are under an advisory evacuation. This is an increased level of awareness for the area. If residents are not comfortable staying in their homes, they are advised to leave.

Planned Actions

Construct direct and indirect line. Provide point structure protection and implement firing operations

Projected Incident Activity

Fire will continue to spread east toward Big Sandy and southeast toward Sugar Pine and Speckerman Mountain Peak.

Weather Concerns

Yesterday's unstable atmosphere will continue to contribute to vertical plume development which continues to affect fire behavior. Temperatures will remain above normal and overnight recovery continue to be poor for several more days.

The fire was active yesterday and grew primarily on the east side toward Big Sandy. The fire continues to burn in high tree mortality areas of Ponderosa Pine and Incense Cedar. Firefighters continue to build direct and indirect lines to protect the communities of Fish Camp, Sugar Pine, and the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias.

Yesterday's unstable atmosphere continued to contribute to large vertical plume development in the afternoon. Temperatures will continue to be above normal with low relative humidity levels dominating the area. Extreme heat is expected to stay in the area through the weekend.

A community meeting was held last night in Oakhurst and was attended by about 300 people.