July 30, 2010, 8:00 a.m.

Location: Kern River Ranger District, Sequoia National Forest, California

Date of Fire Start: July 26, 2010

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Cause: Human Caused, Under Investigation

Size: 16,460 acres Containment: 55 Percent

Management: California Interagency Incident Management Team 4

Cooperating Agencies: Bureau of Land Management, California Highway Patrol,

Kern County Sheriff, Tulare County Sheriff

Fire Status: The fire continues to burn in grass and brush on both sides of the Kern River, north of Kernville. Fire activity has moderated over the past couple of days, allowing fire fighters to make excellent progress towards containment. Today, crews will continue to ‘mop up’ the existing fireline, to ensure that no hot spots remain up to 200 feet inside the fire’s perimeter. This significantly reduces the opportunities for the fire to move outside the fireline. Additional crews will continue to construct fireline directly along the fire’s edge.

Forest personnel are working alongside fire fighters to ensure that natural and cultural resources are protected during fire fighting operations. Several helicopters were released from the Bull Fire yesterday to support the Crown Fire, burning in Los Angeles County.

Resources: Total Personnell: 2,060

Hand Crews: 81 Engines: 54 Dozers: 5 Water Tenders: 16 Helicopters: 9

Structures Destroyed: 8 residences and 6 outbuildings

Evacuations & Closures: No evacuations are in effect.

Mountain Highway 99 is closed from Headquarters Campground to Brush Creek. Also an area closure has been implemented for the Kern River Ranger District within the Bull Fire area. For detailed information please go to: www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia.

Community Meetings: A community meeting will be held tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the Oddfellows Hall in Kernville. Members of the Incident Management Team and Forest personnel will be available to provide an update on the fire, and answer questions from community members.

Special Note: A task force consisting of Law Enforcement Officers from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Kern County Fire Department, and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office was formed to investigate the Bull Fire. The task force is continuously working, following up on multiple reports from local citizens. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Anyone with information pertaining to the start of the Bull Fire is encouraged to call the Kern County Fire Department Tip Line, toll free at 1-877-FIRE-TIP (1-877-347-3847).

Further information may be obtained by calling: (760) 379-8763

or on the Internet at: www.inciweb.org/incident/2043