As of Aug. 13, the lightning-caused “Indian Fire” had burned 13,500 acres and was 70% contained.

The Indian Fire started on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at approximately 2:06 p.m. The fire is southeast of Mono Lake and north of Hwy 120. Firefighters both on the ground and in the air are aggressively fighting the fire with 551 people committed to that effort. Although cooler weather and light precipitation on parts of the fire helped slow its progress, fuels remain very dry. Over the next several days, firefighters will continue to build and improve containment lines as well as mop up any hot spots.

As the firefighting effort lessens crews will refocus on the restoration of impacts caused by the fire suppression. Local biologists and botanists from the BLM are working directly with firefighters on rehabilitating the landscape. The public is also an important partner in healing the land by treading lightly in the burn area.

Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 assumed command of the fire effective 6 p.m. on Aug. 10. The management of the fire is under Unified Command between the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service. Incident commander, Mike Wakoski would like to thank the community of Lee Vining and the adjacent areas for their support and hospitality to Team 3 and all firefighters.

–Press Release