Blue Jay & Wolf Fire Update August 28, 2020

Blue Jay Fire
Location: In the wilderness 4 miles south of White Wolf campground and 1 mile west of Lukens Lake trail at approximately 9,000 feet elevation.
Discovery Date: July 24, 2020
Size: 275 acres
Containment: 15%
Strategy: Confine and Contain
Cause: Lightning

Wolf Fire
Location: In the wilderness 1 mile north of White Wolf campground and 2 miles east of Lukens Lake trail at approximately 9,000 feet elevation.
Discovery Date: August 11, 2020
Size: 289 acres
Containment: 0%
Strategy: Confine and Contain
Cause: Lightning

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The strategy for both fires is to confine and contain to a specific area, utilizing natural barriers for the fires to burn into, such as granite and bare ground. This minimizes fire suppression impacts in the wilderness and reduces exposure to firefighters in a remote area of the park where there are no trails or campgrounds. National Park Service and Forest Service resources are committed to both fires and will continue to monitor fire weather behavior and growth.

The Blue Jay Fire has a 30% active perimeter and the Wolf Fire has a 40% active perimeter. The fires are burning in an area with an overstory of lodgepole and red fir. Fire behavior for both fires is creeping and smoldering through ground litter on the forest floor and burning in pockets of accumulated dead and down logs with some isolated single tree torching along the active perimeter. Smoke from both fires is settling locally at night and in the morning then rising and dispersing to the north northeast in the early afternoon.

The environment in which both fires are burning is a fire adapted ecosystem. There are currently no threats to infrastructure and all trails remain open. Both fires may be visible from Tioga Road, Glacier Point, and from high country vistas.

Park Managers are working with the local Air Quality Districts and will be monitoring smoke impacts to the park and local communities. Heavy smoke from regional wildfires in California may impact the area reducing visibility.