NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A fire in the Mendocino National Forest had reached an estimated 300 acres by Saturday night, according to forest officials.
The Mill Fire is burning near the Mill Valley Campground and Upper Letts Lake in Colusa County.
Mendocino National Forest officials reported that it was first spotted at about 3 p.m. Saturday and was estimated to have hit the 300-acre mark by 10 p.m.
Forest spokesperson Tamara Schmidt cautioned that the acreage is only an estimate until better maps are generated on the fire.
The U.S. Forest Service – with the assistance of Cal Fire – is working the fire, with Schmidt reporting that resources were continuing to make their way to the incident.
Reports from the scene indicated steep terrain that’s difficult for ground crews, with requests placed Saturday evening for additional air tankers and smokejumpers.
Twenty-five structures were threatened at the Board Camp summer home tract as well as the Mill Valley, Mill Creek and Letts Lake campgrounds, all of which Schmidt said were evacuated Saturday.
Visitors evacuating from the Letts Lake area on the west side of the fire are advised to take the Miner Ridge Road to Road M5 near Cedar Camp and follow M5 or County Road 42 out.
Schmidt said the road between Letts Lake and Fouts Springs, leading to Stonyford, is currently inaccessible, and forest visitors were asked to avoid the Fouts Springs and Davis Flat area due to increased fire traffic.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to Schmidt.
In addition to assisting on the Mill Fire, Cal Fire personnel were engaged in fire suppression efforts around the state.
The Thunder fire, located off Highway 162 at Thunderhill Raceway near Willows in Glenn County, was fully contained on Saturday afternoon at 167 acres, Cal Fire reported.
Also on Saturday, the 140-acre Butte Fire – located off of Butte Mountain Road at Corning Road southwest of Corning in Tehama County – was 100-percent contained, as was the 1,200-acre Dale Fire southwest of Redding in Shasta County, according to Cal Fire.
Still not contained on Saturday were the Tin Can Canyon fire in San Diego County, at an initial size of 20 acres, and the Fish Fire in Inyo County, reported Saturday night to be 175 acres and 20 percent contained.
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