As the “fire weather warning” lifted Tuesday morning, officials reported the Sherpa Fire was 70 percent contained — up from 62 percent Monday night. Fire personnel from across the state are being sent home or to one of the other three active wildfires — the Border, Reservoir, and Fish fires — burning in Southern California.
The size of the Sherpa Fire has increased just slightly to roughly 8,000 acres. Independent reporter Keith Hamm was at the Dos Pueblos High School staging area Tuesday morning. He said hotshot crews were still being delivered — hiking in or being dropped off by helicopters — to extinguish hot spots, mop them up, and maintain containment lines. While the temperatures remain above normal — peaking Monday at 103 degrees in the Refugio foothills — a cooling trend began this morning, defusing some anxiety among officials.
“This morning [commanders] were telling personnel, ‘You all know you’re going to be somewhere else in a couple days, but right now keep your head in this game,’” said Don Ferguson, spokesperson for Unified Command. There have been a few injuries among firefighters, mostly heat related. One firefighter suffered a minor laceration with a chainsaw. No one has been hospitalized.