Pawnee fire fully contained; work continues on County fire, other incidents around the state
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Officials reported Sunday night that the Pawnee fire has been fully contained, while firefighters continue to work on major incidents around the region and state.
The Pawnee fire’s full containment comes two days ahead of when Cal Fire had estimated it would be fully hemmed in by fire line.
It began on the evening of June 23 northeast of Clearlake Oaks in the Spring Valley Lakes subdivision, burning to the east and eventually over Indian Valley Reservoir and Walker Ridge, entering Colusa County.
It burned 15,185 acres, and destroyed 22 structures and damaged five others in Spring Valley Lakes, based on a damage assessment.
Evacuations were in effect for several days during the fire’s first week for both Spring Valley and the Double Eagle Ranch subdivision to the east, off of Highway 20.
Those evacuations were called off and then the fire had a major flareup on June 30, which caused a renewed mandatory evacuation order for the Double Eagle Ranch, as Lake County News has reported.
Two engines are reported to still be assigned to the incident for the purpose of patrolling and maintaining perimeter, Cal Fire said.
To the southeast, the County fire, burning in Napa and Yolo counties, grew by nearly 2,000 acres on Sunday, reaching 90,288 acres on Sunday evening with 65 percent containment. Cal Fires said the fire is expected to be fully contained on Thursday.
The latest County fire damage assessment puts the number of destroyed structures at 16 and damaged structures at three, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said the assigned resources on the County fire – which have continued to be reduced due to needs in other parts of the state – stand at 2,667 personnel, 153 engines, 42 water tenders, 23 helicopters, 54 hand crews and 28 dozers.
Reports from the scene indicated that a firing operation was taking place on the fire beginning Saturday night and continuing into Sunday.
That operation caused some south Lake County residents to see smoke and flames, which resulted in an early morning smoke check that resulted in no local fires being located, according to radio traffic.
The causes of both the Pawnee and County fires remain under investigation.
To the north, the Klamathon fire near Hornbrook in Siskiyou County continues to burn, with evacuation orders remaining in place.
Cal Fire said the fire, which began Thursday, had burned 35,000 acres and 72 structures by Sunday evening, with one fatality and two reported injuries. It is 25-percent contained.
In other fire-related news, on Sunday afternoon and evening fire resources were being redirected to other parts of the state, including Livermore in Santa Clara where a fire was burning along Interstate 580 and had closed the highway.
A small grass fire also was knocked down in the area of County Road 85 in Yolo County Sunday, evening, according to radio reports.
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