WawonaNews.com - November 2015
Yosemite National Park Lifts Fire Restrictions
Recent Rain and Cooler Temperatures Have Reduced Fire Danger
Yosemite National Park has lifted the fire restrictions in the park. The onset of cooler temperatures and the recent rainfall have reduced fire danger. Campfires are once again permitted in the Yosemite Wilderness below 6,000 feet in elevation. The fire restrictions were implemented in July after continued hot and dry weather conditions resulted in very high fire danger.
Although fire restrictions have been lifted in Yosemite National Park, it remains imperative to exercise caution and diligent fire safety by following the below listed guidelines.
Park regulations permit wood and charcoal fires in designated campgrounds including Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Camp 4, Wawona, Bridalveil Creek, Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, Porcupine Flat, and Tuolumne Meadows. Cooking fires may be used in designated picnic areas including Lembert Dome, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite Creek, Wawona, Glacier Point, Cascade, El Capitan, Cathedral Beach and Sentinel Beach.
Yosemite National Park has lifted the fire restrictions in the park. The onset of cooler temperatures and the recent rainfall have reduced fire danger. Campfires are once again permitted in the Yosemite Wilderness below 6,000 feet in elevation. The fire restrictions were implemented in July after continued hot and dry weather conditions resulted in very high fire danger.
Although fire restrictions have been lifted in Yosemite National Park, it remains imperative to exercise caution and diligent fire safety by following the below listed guidelines.
- Keep campfires small, in a safe area, and away from overhanging limbs.
- Use existing campfire rings - do not build new rings in the wilderness.
- Extinguish fires at least ½ hour before leaving camp; add water and stir the ashes
- If you are backpacking, you are responsible for knowing the fire regulations where you travel.
Park regulations permit wood and charcoal fires in designated campgrounds including Upper Pines, Lower Pines, North Pines, Camp 4, Wawona, Bridalveil Creek, Hodgdon Meadow, Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, White Wolf, Yosemite Creek, Porcupine Flat, and Tuolumne Meadows. Cooking fires may be used in designated picnic areas including Lembert Dome, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite Creek, Wawona, Glacier Point, Cascade, El Capitan, Cathedral Beach and Sentinel Beach.
Prescribed Fire Planned in Yosemite National
Park Fire Scheduled To Occur On or Before October 28, 2015
Yosemite National Park Fire Managers are planning a prescribed fire in Yosemite National Park on or before Wednesday, October 28, 2015, weather and conditions permitting. There are two locations being considered for this prescribed burn and the final decision will be based on weather and air quality conditions. The prescribed burn will either occur in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias or an area along the Wawona Road near the South Entrance of the park.
The Mariposa Grove project is the park’s highest priority and will begin at the top of the Grove near Wawona Point and continue South. The Mariposa Grove is currently closed for a major restoration project and fire managers are aiming to complete this prescribed burn during the closure to prevent further interruption to park visitors. Fire produces the optimum conditions for Giant Sequoia reproduction and propagation by removing the accumulated layers of dead, woody debris and exposing nutrient rich mineral soil. Fire also dries the cones allowing the seeds to shed, creates holes in the forest canopy, and eliminates shade tolerant competition.
The Soupbowl project aims to reduce hazardous fuels adjacent to the community of Wawona, park infrastructure at the south entrance station, and the Mariposa Grove of sequoias. This project will create a continuous area of reduced fuel by linking together previous prescribed fire areas.
Both of these projects will also achieve important ecosystem restoration objectives. Applying fire under prescribed conditions mimics the frequent, low intensity, lightning caused fires that naturally occur in the Sierra Nevada. Historically, natural fire burned an average of 16,000 acres annually in Yosemite and played an integral role in shaping Yosemite’s ecosystems. In the absence of frequent fire, unnatural levels of forest biomass accumulate and pose a risk to neighboring communities and Yosemite’s natural and cultural resources.
Smoke from the fire may be visible within the Wawona area and south entrance. Smoke and its potential to affect health is always a consideration in the decision to schedule prescribed fires. A smoke management plan has been submitted to the Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District, and a burn permit will be issued prior to ignition. A smoke monitor will be placed in nearby communities to monitor smoke.
For more information on this specific prescribed burn, or Yosemite’s fire program, please visit: http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm
-NPS-
Quilt Artist displays in the Wawona Bassett Memorial Library
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Quilt Artist: Sinta Borland
Following obtaining her degree in Interior Design in Southern California, she made a quick trip to Yosemite on her way home to Oregon. She loved Yosemite so much that she stayed and worked there for ten years. Her children started school right here in Wawona. She now resides in the Bass Lake area where the natural beauty provides constant inspiration for her quilting.
Since early childhood, Sinta has been intrigued with quilting. As a child, she slept with a handmade quilt given to her by her aunt. She would lie in bed and marvel at the patterns, fabrics, and the texture of the quilt. She has that quilt to this day. Her fascination with patterns and design as a child also lead to a game she played with her grandmother’s potholders, Sinta would lay the potholders out and arrange them into varying patterns.
When she began quilting, she found that she could apply the same principles that apply to any good design (e.g., use of negative and positive space, light and dark, color, patterns, flow, movement, etc.). Quilting became her new medium, another way to express her creativity.
Sinta’s quilts are pieced by machine and quilted by machine as well. Being a busy, working mother, she appreciates the time-efficient methods that exist now in the quilting industry. Sometimes her own quilts take a second priority to quilting she does for a variety of designers. The designers send her their patterns and fabrics. She then has two to four weeks, depending on deadlines, to get the quilt put together and back to the designer. Aside from making the sample quilts she frequently is asked to proof and test quilting patterns.
Sinta has been the Featured Quilter for her quilt guild, has won several Best of Show ribbons for her quilts and her quilts have been published in several quilting magazines including QuiltMania in France where her quilt traveled with the publisher for a year. She maintains a blog: pinkpincushion.blogspot.com and teaches quilting locally. She also holds a quilting retreat for quilters annually at Bass Lake, CA.
Her philanthropic work includes giving quilts to women and children who have suffered loss and also bringing quilts to paralyzed Veterans who are returning home from active duty.
Sinta believes that, “Even if you don’t know anything about quilting, it’s like going to a foreign country… you don’t have to understand the language to appreciate the experience”.
If anyone is interested in purchasing a quilt they may contact me via cell phone
559.287.2397
Following obtaining her degree in Interior Design in Southern California, she made a quick trip to Yosemite on her way home to Oregon. She loved Yosemite so much that she stayed and worked there for ten years. Her children started school right here in Wawona. She now resides in the Bass Lake area where the natural beauty provides constant inspiration for her quilting.
Since early childhood, Sinta has been intrigued with quilting. As a child, she slept with a handmade quilt given to her by her aunt. She would lie in bed and marvel at the patterns, fabrics, and the texture of the quilt. She has that quilt to this day. Her fascination with patterns and design as a child also lead to a game she played with her grandmother’s potholders, Sinta would lay the potholders out and arrange them into varying patterns.
When she began quilting, she found that she could apply the same principles that apply to any good design (e.g., use of negative and positive space, light and dark, color, patterns, flow, movement, etc.). Quilting became her new medium, another way to express her creativity.
Sinta’s quilts are pieced by machine and quilted by machine as well. Being a busy, working mother, she appreciates the time-efficient methods that exist now in the quilting industry. Sometimes her own quilts take a second priority to quilting she does for a variety of designers. The designers send her their patterns and fabrics. She then has two to four weeks, depending on deadlines, to get the quilt put together and back to the designer. Aside from making the sample quilts she frequently is asked to proof and test quilting patterns.
Sinta has been the Featured Quilter for her quilt guild, has won several Best of Show ribbons for her quilts and her quilts have been published in several quilting magazines including QuiltMania in France where her quilt traveled with the publisher for a year. She maintains a blog: pinkpincushion.blogspot.com and teaches quilting locally. She also holds a quilting retreat for quilters annually at Bass Lake, CA.
Her philanthropic work includes giving quilts to women and children who have suffered loss and also bringing quilts to paralyzed Veterans who are returning home from active duty.
Sinta believes that, “Even if you don’t know anything about quilting, it’s like going to a foreign country… you don’t have to understand the language to appreciate the experience”.
If anyone is interested in purchasing a quilt they may contact me via cell phone
559.287.2397
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Taft Toe Prescribed Fire
Ignitions Completed - October 15, 2015
The 111 acre Taft Toe prescribed fire project began on Thursday morning at approximately 9 AM October 15, and ignitions was successfully completed at 6:15 PM. There will be an additional 3 to 5 days for logs and other vegetation to completely burn out. Some large logs may smolder until rain occurs.
Weather conditions were optimal to complete burn project ahead of the estimated one and half days of ignitions. Air Quality is predicted to improve each day. Yosemite fire crews were assisted by 1 engine from the Stanislaus National Forest and 2 CAL FIRE Mt Bullion hand crews.
The Taft Toe prescribed fire project was a narrow forested area. The project was approximately 3 miles in length along South Side Drive of the Valley, and just east of Bridalveil Straight and Sentinel Beach picnic area. Parts of the unit were burned in 1993, 1995 and 1997; some segments had no recorded fire history.
A common objective for all the prescribed burns conducted in Yosemite Valley, since the practice was introduced in the 1970’s, is to use fire as an ecosystem restoration and management tool. In the absence of fire, the density of shade tolerant species such as white fir and incense cedar, along with forest litter and duff accumulations are now at unnatural and unacceptable levels. The purposes of the treatments called for in this burn plan are to reduce the density of small diameter (<6”) mixed conifer species, the accumulations of dead and down woody debris, and to restore and maintain the open forests and meadows. The restoration and maintenance of the Valley’s plant communities will be accomplished primarily through the application of fire and selective mechanical thinning. Moderate over-story mortality is acceptable. Properly timed and scheduled treatments, will create more open forest stands, halt or mitigate the encroachment of trees into the meadows, and over time, open past vistas lost due to overstocked forested areas and shrinking meadows. The success of the Taft Toe and fire effects will be assessed in the coming weeks.
A burn permit was issued to the park by Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District (MCAPCD). Fire managers will continue to work with the MCAPCD by continuing to monitor air quality in smoke sensitive communities. Air quality information will be available through notifications and interactions with park employees, visitors and adjacent communities.
The project is identified in the Yosemite Fire Management and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Plan of March 2004.
For additional Information
- Fire Information and Education: [email protected]; (209) 372-0480
- Yosemite Fire Management Website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm
- Air Quality: http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/aqmonitoring.htm
- Park WEBCAMS: Park http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Wildland-Fire/124632964255395
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/YosemiteFireTaft Toe Prescribed Fire
Ignitions Completed - October 15, 2015
The 111 acre Taft Toe prescribed fire project began on Thursday morning at approximately 9 AM October 15, and ignitions was successfully completed at 6:15 PM. There will be an additional 3 to 5 days for logs and other vegetation to completely burn out. Some large logs may smolder until rain occurs.
Weather conditions were optimal to complete burn project ahead of the estimated one and half days of ignitions. Air Quality is predicted to improve each day. Yosemite fire crews were assisted by 1 engine from the Stanislaus National Forest and 2 CAL FIRE Mt Bullion hand crews.
The Taft Toe prescribed fire project was a narrow forested area. The project was approximately 3 miles in length along South Side Drive of the Valley, and just east of Bridalveil Straight and Sentinel Beach picnic area. Parts of the unit were burned in 1993, 1995 and 1997; some segments had no recorded fire history.
A common objective for all the prescribed burns conducted in Yosemite Valley, since the practice was introduced in the 1970’s, is to use fire as an ecosystem restoration and management tool. In the absence of fire, the density of shade tolerant species such as white fir and incense cedar, along with forest litter and duff accumulations are now at unnatural and unacceptable levels. The purposes of the treatments called for in this burn plan are to reduce the density of small diameter (<6”) mixed conifer species, the accumulations of dead and down woody debris, and to restore and maintain the open forests and meadows. The restoration and maintenance of the Valley’s plant communities will be accomplished primarily through the application of fire and selective mechanical thinning. Moderate over-story mortality is acceptable. Properly timed and scheduled treatments, will create more open forest stands, halt or mitigate the encroachment of trees into the meadows, and over time, open past vistas lost due to overstocked forested areas and shrinking meadows. The success of the Taft Toe and fire effects will be assessed in the coming weeks.
A burn permit was issued to the park by Mariposa County Air Pollution Control District (MCAPCD). Fire managers will continue to work with the MCAPCD by continuing to monitor air quality in smoke sensitive communities. Air quality information will be available through notifications and interactions with park employees, visitors and adjacent communities.
The project is identified in the Yosemite Fire Management and Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement Plan of March 2004.
For additional Information - Fire Information and Education: [email protected]; (209) 372-0480
- Yosemite Fire Management Website: http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm
- Air Quality: http://www.nps.gov/yose/naturescience/aqmonitoring.htm
- Park WEBCAMS: Park http://www.nps.gov/yose/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Wildland-Fire/124632964255395
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/YosemiteFire
Yosemite Fire Update #24, October 13, 2015
Yosemite Fire Update #24, October 13, 2015
Suppression Fire:
Bridalveil (37 42.412 x 119 38.389 – Mariposa Co., 6300’El., 10/5). The Bridalveil Fire became more active and visible due to higher temperatures and lower humidities over the weekend. The cause of the fire remains unknown. The fire is estimated to be at 30 to 40 acres. The fire is running into rocks, gravel and sparse fuels.
It is estimated fire operations to suppress this fire may take a 5 days to a week. Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics are being employed as much as possible by fire crews by finding natural barriers to inhibit the spread of the fire. Helicopters are securing the heel and flanks of the fire with water bucket drops preventing the fire from crossing the Bridalveil Creek.
Yosemite pack strings are supporting camped out fire crews with supplies.
Air quality has improved as smoke production has diminished. Most of the smoke accumulation occurred in the west Valley and down the Merced River Canyon.
The Pohono Trail between the junction of the Taft Point and McGurk Meadows trail to Dewey Point is closed.
Resources on the fire are Groveland IHC, Sierra IHC, E-32, Todd Ruffner as IC. Stanislaus Engine 46 is staffed in Wawona.
Other Wilderness Fires:
Middle (37 51.538 x 119 41.194 - Tuolumne Co., 8043’El., 7/27). It is west of White Wolf and south of the Middle Tuolumne River. It is 260 acres. The fire is monitored by Yosemite fire crews. Smoke may be visible.
Cathedral (37 51.078 x 119 25.120 – Tuolumne Co., 9400’El., 8/2). This is near the John Muir Trail to Cathedral Lakes. The perimeter may continue to smolder and creep through lodgepole pine needles and logs. The fire is 42 acres. Light smoke may continue to be seen.
White Cascade (37 54.926 x 119 23.780 - Tuolumne C., 9000’ el., 7/3). This remote fire is within Tuolumne Meadows and is approximately 76 acres, and backing into Conness Creek and to the south.
Fires in Patrol Status: The Wegner, Dark, and Tenaya.
All hikers are advised to hike through these areas quickly and stay on the trail through the immediate fire areas.
As with all fires, staff and visitor safety is of paramount importance. Each fire, regardless of size, is assessed for the appropriate course of action.
Please remember – Yosemite and California continue to experience very dry conditions. Although it is fall and days are cooler, all visitors are urged to be diligent in any use of fire, including smoking. And be sure all fires are out!
For additional fire Information
Suppression Fire:
Bridalveil (37 42.412 x 119 38.389 – Mariposa Co., 6300’El., 10/5). The Bridalveil Fire became more active and visible due to higher temperatures and lower humidities over the weekend. The cause of the fire remains unknown. The fire is estimated to be at 30 to 40 acres. The fire is running into rocks, gravel and sparse fuels.
It is estimated fire operations to suppress this fire may take a 5 days to a week. Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics are being employed as much as possible by fire crews by finding natural barriers to inhibit the spread of the fire. Helicopters are securing the heel and flanks of the fire with water bucket drops preventing the fire from crossing the Bridalveil Creek.
Yosemite pack strings are supporting camped out fire crews with supplies.
Air quality has improved as smoke production has diminished. Most of the smoke accumulation occurred in the west Valley and down the Merced River Canyon.
The Pohono Trail between the junction of the Taft Point and McGurk Meadows trail to Dewey Point is closed.
Resources on the fire are Groveland IHC, Sierra IHC, E-32, Todd Ruffner as IC. Stanislaus Engine 46 is staffed in Wawona.
Other Wilderness Fires:
Middle (37 51.538 x 119 41.194 - Tuolumne Co., 8043’El., 7/27). It is west of White Wolf and south of the Middle Tuolumne River. It is 260 acres. The fire is monitored by Yosemite fire crews. Smoke may be visible.
Cathedral (37 51.078 x 119 25.120 – Tuolumne Co., 9400’El., 8/2). This is near the John Muir Trail to Cathedral Lakes. The perimeter may continue to smolder and creep through lodgepole pine needles and logs. The fire is 42 acres. Light smoke may continue to be seen.
White Cascade (37 54.926 x 119 23.780 - Tuolumne C., 9000’ el., 7/3). This remote fire is within Tuolumne Meadows and is approximately 76 acres, and backing into Conness Creek and to the south.
Fires in Patrol Status: The Wegner, Dark, and Tenaya.
All hikers are advised to hike through these areas quickly and stay on the trail through the immediate fire areas.
As with all fires, staff and visitor safety is of paramount importance. Each fire, regardless of size, is assessed for the appropriate course of action.
Please remember – Yosemite and California continue to experience very dry conditions. Although it is fall and days are cooler, all visitors are urged to be diligent in any use of fire, including smoking. And be sure all fires are out!
For additional fire Information
- Fire information: [email protected], (209) 372-0480
- Yosemite Web: http://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/fireinfo.htm.
- Yosemite Wildland Fire Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yosemite-Fire-and-Aviation/124632964255395
- Twitter: @yosemitefire
Bridalveil Fire
Photo of Bridalveil Fire
ORPHANED FISHER KITS MOVE INTO YOSEMITE
BY ALIYAH KOVNER
Fishers cats aren't members of the cat family, nor do they catch aquatic prey. They are, however, squeal-inducingly cute and a good reason to visit the Sierras this fall. The National Park Service announced this month that they released four orphaned, adolescent fishers into Yosemite National Park.
These relatives of the weasel are common in the boreal forests of Canada, and were once widespread in the northern American states. Their soft fur has made them popular targets for hunters, and despite restrictions, their numbers have yet to recover completely in their historic U.S. ranges.
The two sets of siblings were rescued south of the park on National Forest land when researchers discovered that the mothers—both radio collared—had been killed by predators. The monitoring is part of a four-year project by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to reintroduce fishers back into northern Yosemite. Found at about 8 weeks old, the young fishers, called kits, were unable to eat solid food and would not have survived on their own. They were brought to the Fresno-Chaffee Zoo where experts cared for them until they were weaned off milk.
Fishers cats aren't members of the cat family, nor do they catch aquatic prey. They are, however, squeal-inducingly cute and a good reason to visit the Sierras this fall. The National Park Service announced this month that they released four orphaned, adolescent fishers into Yosemite National Park.
These relatives of the weasel are common in the boreal forests of Canada, and were once widespread in the northern American states. Their soft fur has made them popular targets for hunters, and despite restrictions, their numbers have yet to recover completely in their historic U.S. ranges.
The two sets of siblings were rescued south of the park on National Forest land when researchers discovered that the mothers—both radio collared—had been killed by predators. The monitoring is part of a four-year project by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to reintroduce fishers back into northern Yosemite. Found at about 8 weeks old, the young fishers, called kits, were unable to eat solid food and would not have survived on their own. They were brought to the Fresno-Chaffee Zoo where experts cared for them until they were weaned off milk.
Eventually, the plucky juveniles were transferred to the Fresno Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation where they lived outdoors and learned to hunt live prey. A wild fisher's diet consists of hares, porcupines, and other small animals. They also forage for mushrooms, nuts, and berries, and won't turn down any carrion they discover. With their survival instincts honed, the six-month-old fishers were carefully discharged above the Merced River.
The new park residents are part of the small, isolated Sierra Nevada population of fishers that has struggled to rebound after local extinction in the early 20th century. Biologists hope that adding the kits into the Yosemite territory will help link up the currently fractured distribution. Officials will keep an eye on the four as they mature and hope to add more orphaned youngsters to the area in the future.
The new park residents are part of the small, isolated Sierra Nevada population of fishers that has struggled to rebound after local extinction in the early 20th century. Biologists hope that adding the kits into the Yosemite territory will help link up the currently fractured distribution. Officials will keep an eye on the four as they mature and hope to add more orphaned youngsters to the area in the future.
