Shifting winds challenge crews battling Rock Fire in Inyo County

INYO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A wildfire burning near Highway 395 south of Bishop prompted a full highway closure and left drivers stranded overnight as the fire rapidly expanded amid shifting winds.

The Rock Fire started in the Aberdeen area before 5 p.m. Monday. According to the Inyo Office of Emergency Management, the fire was initially estimated at about 10 acres but has since grown into the thousands of acres.

The closure of Highway 395 created a massive traffic backup as flames burned dangerously close to the roadway.

ABC30 Insider Ryan Lang was among the motorists caught in the closure. Lang said he was stopped Monday night and remained on the highway until 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. He was among the first vehicles stopped at the closure and documented the backup, which stretched for hundreds of vehicles.

Fire officials said erratic weather conditions have complicated firefighting efforts.

"What are the biggest challenges that firefighters are having both yesterday and continuing today are the erratic and shifting winds that they're having," said Sarah Gracey, with the U.S. Forest Service.

Officials said the fire's behavior changed from a moderate rate of spread to a rapid rate of spread as shifting winds pushed the flames in different directions.

Air resources have been deployed to support crews on the ground. The Fresno Air Attack Base is serving as a reload zone for air tankers making repeated trips to the fire area.

"It's very busy at the airport right now. Please, the air tech is going in and out, right?," said Fresno County CAL FIRE spokesman Gary Couch, "...you will see them landing and taking off and heading back over to the east over the mountain."

As of Tuesday, the fire had spread onto Inyo National Forest land and impacted four trailheads. The incident is being managed under a unified command that includes the U.S. Forest Service, Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office.

"The fire is currently burning in grass and brush, and it has not reached timber yet, but firefighters are working to keep the fire north of Division Creek Road," Gracey said.

Aircraft continued to attack the fire from multiple directions while assisting crews working in difficult terrain.

"The tankers and helicopters make all the difference; they help slow the fires down where we can get in there," Couch said.

Officials said the fire is not expected to cross into Kings Canyon National Park and there are currently no threats to the giant sequoias.

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