LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters stopped a wildland fire that began late Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of area residents as it burned partially within the Sulphur fire burn scar, after having contained a structure fire in Clearlake earlier in the day.
The Banks fire was first dispatched just before 5 p.m. in the 12800 block of Sulphur Bank Mine Road in Clearlake Oaks.
Copter 104 from the Boggs Mountain Helitack responded and was at the scene within 10 minutes, finding the fire at between and three acres, burning under power lines with a slow rate of spread, according to the radio reports.
Firefighters arriving at the fire said there was no structure threat, although it was near the Elem Indian Colony.
Because the nearby Sulphur Bank Mine is a federal Superfund site, incident command directed the helicopter not to pick up water from a nearby water source – likely the Herman Pit – but to go to the lake instead.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta and his firefighters were on scene, as was Chief Mike Ciancio of Northshore Fire and his crew, and Cal Fire and US Forest Service personnel.
Sapeta reported that forward progress on the fire was stopped at approximately 5:42 p.m.
He said lines running through the fire were deenergized, while lines on the outskirts of the blaze remained energized. The power lines that were shut off were reported to have left thousands of area customers without power for several hours.
Sapeta later told Lake County News that the fire burned a total of about five acres.
Sulphur Bank Road remained closed to traffic for a period of time during mop up in order to give firefighters the chance to clean retardant off the roadway, as it had become a hazard, according to Sapeta.
Resources responding to the fire included two dozers, three aircraft, one helicopter, nine engines and one water tender, and four overhead or command staff, Sapeta said.
He said the fire burned partially within the October 2017 Sulphur fire burn scar.
On Tuesday afternoon, the fire’s cause remained under investigation, with Sapeta explaining that investigators were not sure if Pacific Gas and Electric infrastructure was a primary or secondary cause.
“Their infrastructure was involved,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Sapeta and his firefighters, along with Northshore Fire, contained a structure fire on 35th Avenue in Clearlake.
The fire was dispatched at about 10 a.m. Tuesday, with firefighters able to see the column of smoke from the station, Sapeta said.
He said firefighters arriving at the scene found a well-involved singlewide mobile home and a detached overhead camper.
Sapeta said firefighters knocked down and contained the fire within about 25 minutes, followed by an hour and a half of overhaul.
They had to shut down the road as there was a lot of pedestrian and vehicle traffic coming through the area to look at the fire, which Sapeta said caused engines to have to come into the scene from another direction.
The structure was a total loss, Sapeta said.
One man was sent to the hospital to be evaluated for smoke inhalation, and Sapeta said a total of three people were displaced and are staying with neighbors.
Sapeta said the response included three engines, a water tender, two medic units, a company officer and mutual aid from Northshore Fire’s Station 75 in Clearlake Oaks.
He said on Tuesday that investigators are still working on determining that fire’s cause and origin.
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Firefighters stop blaze near Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake structure fire
- Elizabeth Larson
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