KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A small wildland fire in the Clear Lake Riviera threatened homes on Sunday but firefighters were able to stop it before it did any damage.
The fire in the 5000 block of Caddo Court at Fairway Drive was dispatched just before 5:45 p.m. Sunday, according to radio reports.
The first engine to arrive on scene, from Kelseyville Fire, found a 30-foot by 30-foot spot burning in brush, based on scanner traffic.
A few minutes later, another fire unit arriving on scene found the fire to be about 100 feet by 100 feet, burning amidst structures, reports from the scene stated.
“There were multiple residences that were immediately threatened,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Wink told Lake County News.
Wink said a combination of several factors – including quick action by residents, 911 activation, and the close proximity of firefighters at the nearby Kelseyville Fire and Cal Fire Kelsey Cobb stations “definitely averted a very critical condition.”
Conditions were hot, dry and windy, as is normal for that time of day in the Riviera. Wink said there was a west wind on the fire, but it was on the backside of a little hill.
“A lot of things were in our favor which averted it from becoming much more devastating,” Wink said.
He said there was a countywide response, but Cal Fire and Kelseyville Fire ended up being the only to agencies on scene, as others were canceled before arrival. Copter 104 from the Boggs Mountain Helitack also participated in the firefighting effort.
Altogether, Wink said the fire burned less than half an acre.
He said it was being passed around in the community that the blaze was fireworks-related, but it wasn’t.
Wink said the cause so far is still under investigation, but it’s listed as accidental and the responsible party was on scene, fully cooperating with authorities.
The fire, “did start in a lot that had not had its weeds cut,” Wink noted.
“A lot of people are doing a lot of good things in the Riv,” he said of weed abatement efforts, adding, “This just happened to hit one of the ones that hadn’t gotten done yet.”
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Firefighters stop fire near homes in Clear Lake Riviera
- Elizabeth Larson
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