Tamarack Fire doubles in size over weekend, draws 800 firefighters

The Tamarack Fire doubled in size to 23,078 acres over the weekend, as nearly 800 firefighters have more than quadrupled the size of Eastern Alpine County, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center incident management situation report issued 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Fire officials hope to have a line around the fire by July 31, as 18 hand crews and 62 engines work the blaze.

The cost to fight the fire is up to $879,000 this morning, due mainly to the grounding of firefighting aircraft by smoke over the weekend.

Firefighters are hoping showers and increased humidity Monday afternoon will help slow the fire, which remains at zero percent containment.

Firefighters plan to build lines along the northwest flank of the fire to prevent it from spreading north toward Highway 88 and Woodfords Canyon.

A red flag warning issued for Alpine and Douglas counties was canceled 3 a.m. Monday, after the threat of thunderstorms diminished.

While more thunderstorms are expected later this afternoon, they are expected to be wetter, possibly bringing much needed rain to the Tamarack Fire.

The Hawkins Peak fire camera shifted from night vision to day vision at 2 a.m. Monday, illuminated by the flames from the Tamarack Fire burning in Alpine County.

“This fire is not laying down at all,” Eastern Alpine Fire Department Administrator Terry Hughes told Alpine residents at a Sunday briefing. “I’ve been in the fire business for 46 years and I’m seeing fire activity I’ve never seen before.”

As of Sunday night, firefighters had managed to defend Markleeville and Woodfords from the worst of the blaze.

Alpine estimated the fire had grown to 25,000 acres, and said a half-dozen structures burned, all of which were on state property in the Shay Creek region of Alpine County.

Forest Service officials said they planned flights by an aircraft equipped with infrared cameras over the fire to obtain better information on the size and the extent of the blaze.

The Nevada Fire Maps page estimated the fire at 23,000 acres as of 1 a.m. As of the 9 p.m. update, the fire remained uncontained and burned through the night.

Firefighters have been focusing on protecting lives and property after securing the area around Markleeville and mopping up any hot spots.

Smoke from the fire continued to bring unhealthy air quality levels to Carson Valley with 233 air quality index at 3 a.m. Unlike Saturday, when afternoon winds helped to ease the smoke levels, Sunday saw increased smoke through the day.

The smoke also hampered the use of aircraft on the fire with visibility dropping to 1.5 miles at 7:35 p.m. A wind shift increased visibility for about an hour around 8 p.m. but conditions deteriorated again with visibility at 3 miles at 3:35 a.m.