Inn Fire Lee Vining, CA 395 closed

[ski3pin]

Just in time for the holiday weekend, fire on the east side Sierra Nevada -

Inn Fire CalFire Webpage

Current reporting has it at 1500 acres.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

That sure will put some pressure on traveling 395.
Maybe it will be over real soon.
Frank

 

[pvstoy]

Crap! Not good....

 

[craig333]

Probably going to bump up against the old fire west of the lake.

 

[ski3pin]

Inciweb page -

Inn Fire

it has size at 538 acres

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

Reports are that one structure was impacted, but nothing about the historic old Hammonds Station, on the west side of the highway. Any knowledge of its fate? It barely survived the fire of some years ago.

 

[ski3pin]

David, I've not found any details on structures. YubaNet page -

Inn Fire

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

The maps show that the Mono Inn, on the east side of the highway, in the middle of the burn area. I took a look at Google Maps and found that the old Hammond's Station, dating back to the Bodie days is farther south and now called the Tioga Lodge. Now I realize that it is at the southern end of the evacuation zone so likely out of harm's way for now.

 

[ski3pin]

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

Looking at the latest maps on InciWeb, the Mono Lake Park, on the north shore along the road to the cemetery, was impacted. The road has old growth trees along it, there are dense willows and expanses of maintained lawn.

A fond memory working here around 1979 or 1980. The park sat across the street from the southern boundary of the historic Conway Ranch. Often I'd find Richie Conway repairing ditches or fencing and I'd visit and get an earful of the regional history.

 

[ski3pin]

Our cousin we visit in Oracle, AZ has the Cody fire just to the northwest. Not evacuated but without power for 4 days now. -

Cody Fire

 

[ski3pin]

CA road conditions now show 395 open

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

The Mono Lake Park that I used to care for is fully within the fire zone. Given the large parking lot and expanse of lawns, I would think that the restroom structure and large wooden covered deck overlooking Mono Lake would be defensible.

This structure south along an old stretch of US395 and closer to the Mono Inn, may not have been able to be saved. It was a mobile home that was lived in back in the late 1970s and early 1980s by a co-worker. He and I covered the parks at Mono Lake and Lee Vining, along with the cemetery, and campgrounds on the old Tioga Pass Road and below Lundy Lake. The mobile home was invisible in dense trees and brush from the highway. The maps are from Cal Fire.

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

Inn Fire Update – May 25, 2025

Inn Fire Update – May 25, 2025 Firefighters on the Inn Fire continue to make steady progress. As of this morning, the fire is 15% contained, with containment

sierrawave.net

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

Inn Fire Update – May 26, 2025

Inn Fire Update – May 26, 2025 Efforts to contain the Inn Fire continue to show steady progress. The fire is now 31% contained, with containment li

sierrawave.net

 

[Sagebrush Reconnoiterer]

The historic Mono Inn is right in the middle of the fire zone. So far there's no mention of it being burned down.

A 1940 brochure of the Mono Inn. Courtesy of the late Wallis McPherson, whose mother was a Mono County Supervisor at the turn of the 20th century. Wallis was born around 1914. I interviewed him in 1991 for an article about the Venita for THE ALBUM quarterly.

I have forgotten about another piece of Mono Lake history below the Mono Inn. It is a 34'x10' tourist boat called the Venita, launched in the 1930s. It was powered by a Ford flathead V8. It was used by the McPherson's until the waters of Mono Lake dropped too low due to water diversions into the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

The Venita during its heyday in 1940. Photo courtesy of Wallis McPherson. It is also featured in the brochure above

The Venita in February, 1991. Debris of the former boat shed and dry dock facilities is in the foreground. The waters of Mono Lake are far below. Environmental activism by the Mono Lake Committee lead to laws being passed against the City of Los Angeles to export water from the lake's feeder streams until the lake level rose to a historical point.

I hope that this piece of history didn't go up in flames. If it did, my published article is here:

http://www.owensvalleyhistory.com/stories/the_album_1994_95_COMPRESSED.pdf