Whiskeytown Lake Remains Closed Due to Nearby Zogg Fire

With the Zogg Fire growing to over 50,000 acres just west of Redding, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area has enacted closures in the south side of the park as a precaution. Included in their closure is the entire lake for water activities so that aircraft can safely scoop water to dump on the wildfire.

Although it’s sad to see a fire so close to Whiskeytown, a beautiful park that saw 90 percent of its land burned in the Carr Fire, it’s convenient that fire officials have a lake so close in order to perform water drops. This leaves outdoor adventurers hoping to get out on the lake out of luck, but it’s a necessary evil to increase containment on the fast-growing fire.

Here is a map of the closure in Whiskeytown NRA:

Over the past three days since the fire began, Whiskeytown has become active with numerous aircraft picking up water on the lake. Here are a few photos from the operations:

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Another day at the job…A series of three UH-60 Blackhawks (one of these helicopters are shown here) picked up water from #whiskeytownlake and dropped it on the #ZoggFire all day yesterday and Monday. One back and forth circuit takes about three minutes. Each chopper has a pilot but also, if you look closely, you can see a person whose legs are dangling out of the side – this job is not for those afraid of heights! The job of the "dangler" is to control the bucket going in and out of the water. At the fire, the "dangler" dumps the water on specific and strategic locations. The bucket itself holds 780 gallons of lake water. #uniquedayjob #thankyoufirefighters #whiskeytownnationalrecreationarea #californianationalguard #calfire

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