The Donnell Fire was a wildfire that started on August 1, 2018 due to an unattended illegal campfire, near Donnell Reservoir, burning around California State Route 108 in

Tuolumne County, California Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...

and in the

Stanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. National Forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest national forests. It was named after t ...

. It spread rapidly, and the Forest Service closed a California state highway, many forest service roads, campgrounds, wilderness areas, access to privately-owned

inholding An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area. In-holdings result from private ownership of lands predating the designation of the park or fores ...

s, and the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

. The fire burned , and destroyed 54 major structures and 81 minor structures, before the fire burned out on October 1. There were nine injuries caused by the fire, but no deaths. Among the destroyed buildings were those of the historic Dardanelle Resort and the 1933 Dardanelle Bridge a unique bridge listed on the

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

. Both were at Dardanelle, an unincorporated community on California State Route 108, the highway to

Sonora Pass Sonora Pass (el. 9,624 ft. / 2,933 m.) is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada in California. It is the second-highest in California and in the Sierra Nevada. lower by 321 ft. (about 98 m.) than Tioga Pass to the south. State Route 108 ...

. The ancient

Bennett Juniper The Bennett Juniper is the largest known juniper tree in the United States. It is located in Section 5, Township 5 North, Range 20 east of the Mount Diablo meridian, The fire was declared 100% contained on November 28, 2018.McCarthy, Guy
"Forest Service declares destructive Donnell Fire 100 percent contained"
''The Union-Democrat'', November 29, 2018

References

{{Reflist

External links

Video of 747 Supertanker dropping fire retardant on southern perimeter of Donnell fire on August 12, 2018
Facebook. US Forest Service-Stanislaus National Forest, August 13, 2018. 2018 California wildfires Wildfires in Alpine County, California

See also

References

External links