Smoke and flames appear to engulf the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery Saturday, but the fire was pushed west of the hatchery where it burned one home and caused a firefighting crew to deploy emergency fire shelters. Three were slightly injured. Photo by Jon Klusmire

Agencies, crews from across state work on blazes in hills west of Indy and Big Pine;
highway closed & residents evacuated

By Jon Klusmire
Register Staff

Powerful wildfires roared up the Sierra and down through the Owens Valley over the weekend, scorching at least 37,000 acres from the valley floor to timberline near the top of the Sierra Crest.

The Inyo Complex fire, which started as 10 smaller fires and became three separate blazes, destroyed campgrounds, a water plant, at least one home and closed U.S. 395 two days in a row. The threat of flames forced the evacuation of Independence and Fort Independence for several hours Saturday and kept the residents of Big Pine nervously eyeing the smoldering mountains above them, hosing their roofs and preparing to evacuate both days of the weekend.

Firefighters head back up into the hills west of Independence to continue mop-up operations on the Inyo Complex. Photo by Jon Klusmire

By Monday morning, officials said the Inyo Complex fire, which stretched, in hop-scotch fashion, from south of Independence to just north of Big Pine, was 55 percent contained, a dramatic jump from the 8 percent containment on Sunday morning, said Inyo National Forest Public Affairs Officer Nancy Upham. Officials said 100 percent containment could come by Wednesday. Better, cooler weather and more resources helped crews make such good progress on the fire Sunday, she said.
Upham said as more crews get into the burned areas, estimates are likely to rise concerning how many additional outbuildigs or other stuctures were burned.
More than 1,164 firefighters from across the state, eight helicopters and nine air tankers fought the fires. In addition, Inyo County Road Department crews and crews from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power all mobilized heavy equipment and water trucks to cut and wet fire lines, especially on the west side of  Independence, which saw flames march down through the sagebrush toward town.
In the Independence area, one home, numerous barns and outbuildings, and the Independence Creek water plant, the Oak Creek Campground and two cars at the Baxter Pass Trailhead were destroyed by the flames, which were started by lightning strikes Friday night. About 11 separate strikes were counted in the area, said Upham, and all but three of the fires started by those strikes were contained.
The lightning started large fires in the Onion Valley and Oak Creek areas north of Independence, and by Friday evening the fire came downhill and forced the closure of U.S. 395 from early evening until about midnight. The other lightning-caused fire burned the heavy stands of trees and brush above the Big Pine Creek drainage Friday night, and was named the Sage Fire.  
In both areas, firefighters moved in with trucks and air support to protect homes and structures, such as the outlying homes in Oak Creek outside of Independence and in Big Pine Creek Canyon. When the fires started to burn downhill toward Big Pine, Independence, Fort Independence and U.S. 395, the assaults, from the ground and the air, intensified. Firefighters were less concerned when the  fires started to move uphill and toward the uninhabited mountains. 
Winds brought the fires to life again on Saturday, and caused the Seven fire in Onion Valley to roll north and merge with the Oak fire and, for a time, threaten the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery. The afternoon winds also re-ignited  the Sage Fire in Big Pine on Saturday, and kept the blaze burning in Big Pine Canyon.

Helicopters played a key role in fighting the Inyo Complex fires on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Eventually, 16 choppers were deployed to the fire. Photo by Jon Klusmire

By about 3 p.m., officials closed U.S. 395 from Pearsonville to Bishop because of the threat of the fire jumping the highway at several points in the Independence area. The Fort Independence reservation had already been evacuated early in the day.
The biggest concern to Independence residents, however, was the long, red line of burning sagebrush advancing downhill toward town. Residents on the west side of Independence were told to evacuate, and soon after the rest of the town’s residents were also ordered to leave due to the mandatory evacuation.
At one point, active fires could be seen burning and flaring and sending walls of smoke into the sky from the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery to the north, all the way across the sagebrush plain to Independence Creek, south of town. The smoke completely blocked the view of the Sierra for miles in both directions.
Heavy equipment from the county road department and LADWP, plus tanker trucks, rumbled into the sagebrush just west of town to cut fire lines and soak the sage.
Residents went to an emergency shelter at Statham Hall in Lone Pine, stayed with friends and some with RVs parked at the old Manzanar airport. That crowd watched as a furious air assault hit the flames that were snaking down Independence Creek, heading straight for town.
Helicopters and air tankers dropped water and flame retardant on the area, and eventually stopped the flames in the Independence Creek Campground.
Unfortunately, the town’s water plant along Independence Creek was destroyed. The tin roof over the reservoir of water at the site was seared and collapsed into the holding tank. The destruction prompted a boil-water order for Independence, issued by the Inyo County Public Works Department. However, it appeared that the main well that provides drinking water for the town was not seriously damaged, so water was still flowing to homes and businesses.
The wind also came to the aid of the firefighters and started blowing north, which seemed to stop the flames in their tracks.
By about 9 p.m., the wall of flame and smoke west of Independence had begun to clear off to the north, and the Sierra was once again visible to residents allowed to return to their homes.
Despite the huge swaths of blackened, ashen earth, firefighters could mark  several successes in both Big Pine and Independence.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power power plant on Big Pine Creek made it though the blaze, thanks to a fire line cut around the plant by firefighters and LADWP crews and equipment. The area’s high-voltage power lines also escaped damage, although in several locations on the valley floor near Independence wooden power poles did burn.
Also at the Big Pine fire, firefighers held the fireline north of the Glacier Lodge Road, which kept the blaze from getting down into the heavily wooded, Big Pine Canyon, and the homes along the creek. The fire burned through the high-elevation sage and trees, but was also stopped by firefighters from moving higher uphill into the Glacier Lodge area.
On Saturday  a wall of flames came down the South Fork of Oak Creek. The flames marked the merger of the Seven and Oak fires, and the blaze headed right for the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery. The flames created a small “fire tornado,” but with the help of hand crews and helicopters dropping water and tankers dropping fire retardant, the fire was forced west of the hatchery.
However, one home was lost in the area, and three Department of Forestry firefighters were slightly injured when they, and six other firefighters were trapped by the flames and had to deploy their portable, fire shelters. The fire also burned one fire engine, officials said. On Sunday, the aluminum fire shelters were still visible in the burned-out area as an investigation began.
Although by Sunday most of the active fire had died down, the danger level remained high. Just west of the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, a little breeze blew smoldering embers to life, and within minutes a stand of trees was engulfed flames.
The breath of the destruction, once the smoke cleared, became visible and was stunning in scope. In the high country, blackened meadows and peaks kept spewing smoke and flame flare ups. Trees, grass and shrubs had been reduced to ash.
On the valley floor, the plain north and west of Independence showed the clear line between charred sagebrush and shrubbery that didn’t’ get singed. Dust devils blew through and kicked up the ash, and kept the threat of new flareups real.
That “fire line” went from Independence Creek, north to the Mt. Whitney Hatchery, and at several points just a few miles north of Independence dropped down to the edge of U.S. 395, and crossed the highway several times.
Further north, a patchwork of burned valley floor emerged, with some areas completely scorched, and others untouched. The fire crossed U.S. 395 several times. At some points, the flames appeared to have come from nearly the middle of the mountains to the west all the way down to the valley and across the highway to the burn more vegetation east of U.S. 395.
The flames went as far north as 8 Mile Ranch, where it burned some outbuilidngs, but not the ranch house. The fire also snaked down Sawmill Creek, and then moved farther north through the sage almost to Aberdeen.
Forest Service crews helped evacuate about 30-40 campers from Big Pine Canyon,  and a number of other hikers coming out of the wiliderness at Onion Valley and other locations, Upham said. Campgrounds from Baker Creek to Onion Valley were also closed, and the Oak Creek Campground was destroyed by the flames, said Upham. Trailheads into the wilderness from Baker Creek to Georges Creek will remain closed until further notice, Upham added.