One indication that things have slowed down on the Angora fire is the response offered by the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch to a wildfire report Wednesday evening. Upon learning of a 6 p.m. fire report at Highway 395 and Rockbottom Road, the dispatch offered two air tankers, five engines and some handcrews. East Fork firefighters arrived to find a 25-square-foot spot fire that had already been suppressed by a passing motorist.
While the latest information on the Angora fire is eight hours old, if the weather was anywhere near as still at Tahoe overnight as it is now, firefighters should have made good progress in cutting a line around the fire. Fire managers meet at 7 a.m. and there should be an update available shortly thereafter. As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, the fire was 55 percent contained.
Those holding their breath waiting for the winds that were predicted to arrive on Wednesday shouldn't exhale just yet. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the Sierra. A low pressure system is expected to bring downslope winds with gusts of up to 45 mph today and only slightly weaker winds on Friday. The warning is in effect from 1 to 11 p.m. today. A fire weather watch is in effect for Friday afternoon through evening.
The temperature in Genoa at 6:30 a.m. is 51 degrees and the winds are calm, but the barometer is dropping.
