Silver fire in Inyo and Mono counties scorches 1,250 acres and is still 0% contained
The Silver fire in Inyo and Mono counties continued to burn Monday morning, scorching 1,250 acres and spurring evacuations.
The vegetation-fueled blaze was first reported at 2:11 p.m. Sunday at Highway 6 and Silver Canyon Road north of Bishop, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire then jumped the highway and was threatening 'multiple structures,' Cal Fire BDU said in a post on X. Highway 6 northbound and southbound is closed from Five Bridges Road to State Route 120 East in Benton.
Evacuation orders are in effect for the communities of Laws in Inyo County, Chalfant in Mono County and the White Mountain Estates neighborhood, according to Cal Fire. The fire was still 0% contained as of Monday morning.
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home to the oldest trees in the world, is located in the White Mountains, east of the blaze, but a Cal Fire representative could not immediately be reached to comment about the potential threat to the pines.
The fire intensified overnight because of the terrain and strong winds, Cal Fire said. Winds are gusting up to 35 mph at the Bishop Airport. The National Weather Service has issued a high-wind warning through 9 p.m. Monday. Southwest winds are expected to range between 25 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 65 mph expected.
Officials established an evacuation center at the Benton Community Center, 58869 Highway 120 in Benton, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Strawberry Festival prepares for thousands of visitors with rain in the forecast
It will be a busy weekend for the Troy Strawberry Festival with organizers expecting at least 150,000 visitors. They say they are prepared, and have a plan in case of inclement weather. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Malik Patterson speaks with the event organizers about the Strawberry Festival and their plans if weather isn't favorable LIVE on News Center 7 at 11. People in the area stopped by early to check out vendors before tomorrow's official start, including Jeremy Ovenshire. TRENDING STORIES: Heroic local pharmacist saves 2 lives in one shift 'Grateful that I'm here;' woman recounts chaotic wrong-way chase on I-75 that ended in crash Man hides from police in retention pond after he 'went to get a soda' 'You see a lot more locals come out on Friday night, especially ones who are already downtown,' Ovenshire said. Ovenshire grew up in Troy and remembers the past Strawberry Festivals. 'As a little kid, we were on the levee, you know, and there was hardly anything up here, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger,' Ovenshire said. The city started prepping for the festival Thursday morning by putting up barriers. 'You don't want to have that always on the back of your mind,' Ovenshire said. 'Like, man, what if this isn't as safe as it used to be?' Jessica Silver is the head chair of the Strawberry Festival. Silver says they have shaded areas for festival goers. 'Festival location that our volunteers can come in and like, take rests and have some water,' Silver said. 'We also have EMS present on both locations and we have Kettering Health here.' Ovenshire recommends checking the weather before heading out to the festival. 'You know the forecast, it's not that bad,' Ovenshire said. 'And people still come out no matter what.' Storm Center 7 will be tracking this weekend's conditions. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Wildfire ignites Friday in Santa Cruz Mountains
(KRON) — Cal Fire is responding to a wildfire west of Scotts Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains Friday afternoon. The wildfire, named the Hermon Fire, grew to 2 acres by 12:38 p.m. and is 50 percent contained, Cal Fire said. The fire has a slow rate of spread, according to Cal Fire. No structures are currently threatened. A Cal Fire air support helicopter is on scene, and one firefighting hand crew has been dispatched, fire officials said. Mt Hermon Road is closed between Conference Drive and Lockwood Lane due to the fire, according to the California Highway Patrol. People are advised to avoid the area if possible. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
New California fire maps show which areas in the Sacramento region are most at risk. See where your home stands
A recent CBS News study revealed that more homes in the Sacramento area are at risk of wildfire. The findings show that more than 90% of homes are in the Wildland Urban Interface, or areas where urban communities and houses meet forested or natural landscaped areas. "Well, it's very surprising," said Jenny Ferreira, who lives in Elk Grove. The findings come as a surprise to some residents like Ferreira. CBS News collected data that shows the number of homes in the WUIs has exploded in Elk Grove, specifically in the southern area near the Sky River Casino. According to the data, 85 homes were in the WUI in 1990 compared to close to 10,000 homes in 2020, and the area just keeps growing. Cal Fire recently released fire hazard severity maps, but on the maps, one part of Elk Grove is not highlighted as a severity zone. CBS News Sacramento got answers directly from the state fire marshal on why. "Hazard is really the likelihood of a fire and risk is really looking at the damage the wildfire is going to do," said California State Fire Marshal Chief Daniel Berlant. Berlant said the Cal Fire maps only look at hazards, which are based on long-term factors like topography, weather, fire history and vegetation type that cannot change, whereas fire risk can change. "What was the home built out of? Does that home have defensible space? Is there water supply? Is there a fuel break? Is there fire protection?" Berlant said. CBS News Sacramento asked him if it is safe to build communities in the WUIs. Chief Berlant responded, yes, as long as you follow Cal Fire's building codes, home harden and have five feet of defensible space. "The challenge is 90% of homes in wildfire-prone areas were built before this current code went into effect in 2008," Berlant said. "Our challenge is how can we help homeowners retrofit their home." Consumnes Fire defines most areas around Elk Grove as grassland. Cal Fire said if a fire were to ignite here, it would not burn as severely as in a mountain community that is surrounded by forest. Although that does not mean the homes are completely out of the woods. According to CBS News' data collected from the First Street Foundation, 35% of homes in the Sacramento region could be at "major risk" of wildfire in the next 30 years and 19% of homes at "severe risk." "I might look into converting my grass into rocks," said Vonn Lam, who lives in Elk Grove. Lam has lived in the area since 2005 and never felt threatened by fire, but it is on her radar now. "I do need to be mindful of all the vegetation near me," Lam said. "I am very worried about the insurance going up and a lot of insurance is not covering California because of the fires." Berlant said the issue is that there is no consistency with risk models, which are typically what insurance companies use to determine who to insure. "While we are mapping hazards, insurance companies are mapping risk," Berlant said. Cal Fire is researching how fire spreads from one home to another to better understand risk. "Regardless, if you live near an area that is near a field, a grassland, a forested area, you should be prepared," Berlant said. We cannot change the terrain, but we can change how we live in the terrain - working together to prevent another devastating wildfire.
