July 31–August 31 The Rough Fire was begun by a lightning strike in the evening hours of Friday, July 31, 2015. The location of the fire's ignition was in the southern Sierra National Forest, partway up Deer Ridge between Rough Creek and Deer Creek in the upper drainage of the
Kings River. It was first detected by the Buck Rock
fire lookout in Sequoia National Forest to the south, and the location of the fire was triangulated with the help of several other lookouts. Lightning touched off several other fires in the region that night, but all were quickly contained. The Rough Fire—dubbed as such for its initial proximity to Rough Creek, in typical wildfire naming fashion—owed its survival to its rugged and remote location; there were no roads or trails that ground crews could use to access the fire. The section of the
Kings Canyon drainage in question contained slopes of eighty to ninety degrees, too steep for ground crews to work safely in. Forest Service experts considered the chances of quelling the fire with air power alone impracticable. By August 6, a week after ignition, authorities reported the fire as having burned with no containment.
September 1–31 On September 2, over 2,500 people were safely evacuated from Hume Lake Christian Camps and surrounding area. All camp events were cancelled and only security personnel remained. On September 5, the fire reached
Kings Canyon National Park as it crossed the mark. On September 7, a severely burned firefighter was airlifted to the
Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. On September 10, officials at
Kings Canyon National Park began evacuating all visitors and employees from the
Wilsonia and
General Grant Grove areas. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for
Dunlap, effective September 11. On September 14, moisture and lower temperatures associated with the remnants of
Hurricane Linda arrived in the southern Sierra. On September 15, as the fire slowed and with favorable weather conditions, evacuation orders and warnings in Dunlap and Squaw Valley were lifted. By that time, 3,742 firefighters, 345 engines, 19 helicopters and 45 bulldozers had been deployed.
October 1 onwards The Rough Fire was declared 100 percent contained on November 6, and then declared controlled sometime later in the month. The fire was, at the time it occurred, the thirteenth largest in recorded California history == Effects ==