NORTH COAST, Calif. – A lightning-caused wildland fire complex burning in northern Mendocino County destroyed several more structures and damaged a fire truck on Saturday.
The North Pass Fires – which began a week ago 10 miles northeast of Covelo in the Williams Valley – have so far burned 24,214 acres and are 32 percent contained, according to a report from Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, which have unified command on the incident.
US Forest Service spokesperson Tamara Schmidt reported late Saturday night that a fire engine was severely damaged by the fires, with preliminary reports indicating that no injuries to the four person crew were sustained.
The engine crew is being assessed by incident personnel and the incident is being reviewed, she said.
Since Friday, the fires have destroyed a residence and three additional outbuildings, bringing the number of destroyed structures to a total of six, officials reported.
Approximately 1,287 firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire on Saturday. Resources dedicated to the incident included 111 engines, 26 fire crews, two airtankers, 10 helicopters, 32 bulldozers and 23 water tenders.
Evacuations east of Covelo that were ordered due to the fires remained in effect on Saturday, with dozens of structures still threatened, according to the unified command report.
The fire area includes part of the Mendocino National Forest.
The Saturday night report from Cal Fire and the US Forest Service said the fires are continuing to spread east to Forest Road M2, south toward Anthony’s Ridge, north to Cedar Springs Ridge and northeast towards Pothole Creek and Steel Bench. The fires are projected to have limited movement north toward Castle Peak and Red Rock over the next 48 hours.
The Mendocino County Air Quality Management District issued an air quality alert for smoke concentrations leading to “hazardous” air quality conditions for the Covelo and Round Valley areas through Monday.
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