CLEARLAKE – Firefighters remained on the scene of a small wildland fire in Clearlake throughout Monday night and were expected to be on scene Tuesday to continue mopping up.
The fire, dispatched at around 6:30 p.m., was located in brush with grassy oak woodland on two flanks and a moderate rate of spread, according to reports from the scene. Initially there were concerns that the fire had the potential to double in size.
Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta said the fire's final size ranged between four and seven acres.
Full containment was reached around 8 p.m., about an hour and a half after the fire was dispatched, he said.
“We haven't totally walked the fire but there's line all around it,” he said in an interview around 9:30 p.m.
Sapeta said Lake County Fire and Cal Fire had joint command of the fire, which initially had been dispatched as being located at 12th Avenue and Boyles.
When they arrived at the scene firefighters discovered it was on Wilkinson Avenue, where incident command eventually was located, he said.
No structures were lost, Sapeta said.
He credited Cal Fire aircraft with being “phenomenal” in their response.
“We had two tankers here within minutes,” he said.
Sapeta said there were 12 to 13 engines, four aircraft, two helicopters and five crews between his district and Cal Fire.
He said Cal Fire is handling the investigation, noting the fire is “suspicious in nature.”
“We're going to be here all night,” Sapeta said, explaining that firefighters also would be on scene Tuesday to continue mopping up the area, which was marked by heavy brush and chemise.
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