The recent thunder and lightning storms have sparked a few fires around the area including a small one in the 44 trails zone.
The fire is located just east of the junction of 44 and 17 roads, not far from the Knebal and 8-Mile Crossing campgrounds, as well as the Super Connector (see red dot on map for location). The fire is small (10-15 acres) and the USFS is on it with a dozer and heli water drops. They expect full containment without incident, but they would like to ask forest users to avoid the area as much as possible. There are no official trail closures at this time, but there is increased fire vehicle traffic in the area.
If you are headed up to 44 to recreate, please be alert for fire traffic, give fire vehicles and associated personnel plenty of room and report any additional fire starts.
UPDATE: Fire is contained and in mop-up stage as of 5pm 7/15.