LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Wildland fires from around Northern California are once again contributing to hazy summer skies in Lake County.
Over the past several days, a smoky haze has settled over parts of the county and hung over Clear Lake despite no local fire incidents.
Doug Gearhart, air pollution control officer with the Lake County Air Quality Management District, told Lake County News that the smoke is coming from the north.
He said the smoke is primarily from the Modoc fire, the Clear and Island fires in the Klamath National Forest, and the several other fires in the northern National Forests.
The 1,314-acre Island fire was sparked by lightning on June 25 deep in the Marble Mountain Wilderness on the Klamath National Forest, officials reported.
The US Forest Service said an alternative suppression approach is being used on the fire to clean up hazardous fuels from an area of wilderness where there is no recorded large fire history.
Officials said the fire is spreading at a rate of 20 to 50 acres a day, with smoke impacts being closely monitored.
Another group of lightning-caused fires, the Modoc July complex began on July 24 on the Modoc National Forest West of Highway 395, the Forest Service said.
As of Tuesday night, it had burned 61,730 acres and is expected to be contained on Aug. 16, officials said.
The Clear complex, also caused by lightning, began on July 25 on the Happy Camp Oak/ Knoll Ranger District of the Klamath National Forest, the US Forest Service reported. As of Tuesday night, it had burned 2,450 acres.
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Northern California fires responsible for hazy skies
- Elizabeth Larson
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