July 31--Firefighters made a small gain in containment of the Aspen fire as more personnel arrived to fight the fire that has now cost more than $10 million, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The fire started last week by lightning is now 30% contained and the burnt acreage was 14,147 acres as of 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The cost of the fire increased to $10.6 million from $7.8 million as the number of personnel fighting the fire increased to 1,792 from 1,600.
Smoke inversions kept aircraft from attacking the fire until Monday morning, but the Forest Service said planes have been able to drop retardant for longer periods since the sky cleared. The air resources have helped support an indirect attack strategy firefighters have had to use because of the steep terrain.
While air resources worked overhead, firefighters worked to cut a perimeter around the blaze that has reached the dam at Mammoth Pool Reservoir and was headed northeast. It is following the same footprint as a 39,000-acre fire that burned in 1939, said Bill White, public information officer with the Central Sierra Interagency Incident Management Team.
There have been no new closures of roads or campgrounds, but certain roads remain open only to residents with identification. Recreation and businesses remain open in the Shaver Lake, Huntington Lake, Lake Thomas Edison, Florence Lake and the Mono Hot Springs areas.
The reporter can be reached at (559) 441-6279 or [email protected].
Copyright 2013 - The Fresno Bee
