BISHOP, Calif. — Firefighters have successfully halted the forward momentum of a wildfire that was sweeping through a secluded region in eastern California. Despite this achievement, evacuation orders remain active for residents inhabiting several hundred homes, authorities informed Monday night.
The blaze, known as the Silver Fire, ignited on Sunday afternoon near Route 6 in Inyo County, situated approximately 5 miles northeast of Bishop in the Owens Valley, close to the Nevada state line. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. By Monday, nearly 2.5 square miles of grass and brush had been scorched, as reported by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection through a social media post. The containment level stood at 47%.
Individuals residing in roughly 800 homes within the small communities of Laws, Chalfant, and White Mountain Estates were compelled to evacuate following the outbreak of the fire. However, officials did not provide an updated status on how many people remained displaced as of Monday evening.
Firefighting crews prepared to remain on-site overnight to monitor smoldering areas and strengthen containment efforts. The prospect of gusts reaching 65 mph had restricted the operation of water-dropping helicopters and kept air tankers on standby, explained Cal Fire spokesperson Chloe Castillo earlier on Monday.
“The winds are highly unpredictable,” she stated. “At times, they veer north, then switch to east.”
The fire poses a threat to land owned by the Bishop Paiute Tribe as well as to habitats for vulnerable species like the Owens pupfish and the desert bighorn sheep. Inyo County, having received sparse recent rainfall, remains unusually dry and part of it is under severe drought conditions. Similarly, most of Southern California continues to face moderate to extreme drought, as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor.