CONTACTS
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 Doug
Wood, SCFC PIO Kayli Yardley, USFS PIO
(803)
968-1576 (435)
864-8676
Crews working on
break in northern fireline, fighting further spread
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Two CL-415
amphibious water scooping aircraft have joined the air operations on the
Pinnacle Mountain Fire. They began scooping water from Lake Jocassee around
3:30 p.m. today and will continue dropping on the northern breakout of the
fire until nightfall.
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PICKENS—The
fire that breached a northern portion of the fireline yesterday along the
Saluda River has run all the way to the top of Rocky Mountain and is still
uncontained.
A
20-person hand crew was dispatched to the lower eastern flank of that breakout this
morning to begin digging hand lines around this new section of fire. They have
made their way around three-quarters of the proposed line around the northern
break, and the line is holding so far.
The
Forestry Commission has also called in two CL-415 amphibious water scooping
aircraft, which arrived in the area around 3:30 p.m. They are scooping water
from Lake Jocassee to the west of the fire and are capable of dropping 1,600 gallons
of water at a time.
A
Black Hawk and Chinook helicopter have been making water drops on the fire’s
spreading front all day, and a Forestry Commission airplane continues to do
reconnaissance, providing ground crews with aerial observations.The lines along the entire eastern perimeter of the containment area are holding well, according to SCFC officials. Even though the fire is still largely contained, fire continues to burn in a mosaic fashion inside the roughly 5,100-acre perimeter. A Type 3 incident management team (IMT) from Utah has joined the incident command staff for the fire to provide planning, logistics, operational and information support.
Evacuation update
Pickens County emergency
management officials said, as things stand now, they plan to lift the
evacuation for residents east of the fire at noon Monday, Nov. 21 because of
the good containment on that side of the perimeter.
# # #
The Pinnacle Mountain Fire
began Wednesday, Nov. 9 and was caused by an escaped campfire. Efforts to
control this fire have involved numerous local, state and federal agencies,
with hundreds of personnel assigned to the incident so far. This mission is
being coordinated under a unified command between the SC Forestry Commission
and the Pumpkintown Fire Department (previously Holly Springs Fire Department).
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