Emissions from the Meadow Fire are turning out to be lower than anticipated, so despite the poor dispersion, we are not seeing the Very Unhealthy-level smoke that might otherwise have manifested. Monday's moisture from Hurricane Norbert produced isolated showers all around the fire, but only trace amounts fell directly over the fire. Associated cloud cover increased fine fuel moisture briefly, and lower windspeeds eliminated the primary spread mechanism of torching trees and spot fires propogated by flying embers. Over the past three days the fire has continued to consume large diameter fuels with very low drought-induced fuel moistures. Below is a map showing intense, scattered and isolated hotspots on the Meadow Fire. Most of the area that was "intense" after the major growth Sunday is now "scattered"--the very dry fuels are consuming very completely and quickly, leading less residual smoke. Fortunately, much of the fire perimeter has been stopped by natural barriers or by suppression actions taken by one of the fourteen 20-person fire crews now working the fire. Today was the first day all divisions around the fire were staffed after two busy days of helicopter crew shuttles to the remote and rugged granite domes above Little Yosemite Valley
As a result, impacts have been localized to the Yosemite Valley, with some moderate influence in El Portal and Tuolumne Meadows. Full graphics and today's report can be downloaded from this link, and the current conditions and likely forecast for all the monitored sites around the Meadow fire can be found below.
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