Below is the update on the Island Lake Fire on the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge from BLM:
FIRE
NAME: Island Lake Fire
LOCATION: The fire is located in the Imperial National Wildlife
Refuge on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.
TIME
REPORTED: May 19, 2013, at 1 p.m.
ACRES
BURNED: Approximately 500 acres
RESOURCES: There are currently 1engine, 1 Type II crew, 2 fire boats,
1 law enforcement boat, and overhead personnel totaling approximately 50
people. A helicopter is on order at this
time.
AGENCIES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management,
and Arizona State Forestry Department
LAND
STATUS: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
VEGETATION: Primarily salt cedar and phragmites
WEATHER: Temperatures between 95 – 100
degrees with single digit humidity.
Winds will be northwest at 5 -18 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph.
RESOURCES
AND STRUCTURES THREATENED: Norton’s Landing
CONTAINMENT: 5 percent contained at this time.
CAUSE: The cause of this fire is under investigation.
CURRENT
STATUS: The
Island Lake Fire is moving upstream at this time and is only accessible by the
Colorado River. The southern portion of the fire
has a fireline around it and the eastern portion of the fire is desert. The western portion of the fire is the
Colorado River and it is holding the fire at this time. The plan for today is to prepare the line for
a burnout operation along the northern side of the fire to protect Norton’s
Landing which is a private inholding on Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.
CURRENT STATUS: The Island Lake Fire continues to burn upstream on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. Fire personnel are conducting a burnout operation on the north side of the fire to stop the fire’s progression.
RESOURCES AND STRUCTURES THREATENED: Norton’s Landing and Picacho State Recreation Area. Two ramadas in the Picacho State Recreation Area have been destroyed.
The forward progress of the fire on the California side of the Colorado River has stopped. There was an additional spot fire north of Picacho State Recreation Area and it has been confined.
Firefighter and public safety, along with structure protection at Norton’s Landing and Picacho State Recreation Area continue to be top priorities for this fire. With winds coming from the north, smoke will continue to carry into the Yuma area. Please take precautions if you are sensitive to smoke.
