NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The complex of fires burning since Sunday on the Mendocino National Forest continued to add more acreage on Friday as officials instituted a closure on the forest.
The August Complex had grown to 143,663 acres and 6-percent containment as of Friday night, according to the US Forest Service.
The complex is made up of 32 fires that have burned into 20 larger fires, officials said.
The Forest Service said 353 firefighters and 69 overhead personnel, 29 engines, two helicopters, five bulldozers, seven water tenders and six fire crews are assigned.
Officials said the Tathum and Cold Springs fires – located four miles west of Paskenta – have merged. The Forest Service is working in tandem with Cal Fire, which is constructing dozer lines along County Road 306 to protect the private homes and properties.
Mendocino National Forest officials said they have implemented a temporary area closure for the August Complex effective Friday.
The closure is to provide for firefighter and public safety due to extreme fire behavior and hazards associated with the complex, officials said.
“We understand it is hunting season and people want to go hunting and camping,” Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson said in a Friday statement. “However, this closure is necessary to ensure no one is injured within or near the fires or that visitors enter areas and find their egress compromised by dangerous fire activity. It will also help keep fire personnel safe while working on and near roads in order to contain the fires.”
Although this is a sizable closure and all National Forest System lands, inclusive of roads, trails, and campgrounds within the closure area will be closed until the hazards can be reduced to an acceptable level, officials said much of the forest remains open.
Officials ask visitors to please remember good camping etiquette and pack out everything that you pack in.
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August Complex burns thousands of more acres in Mendocino National Forest
- Elizabeth Larson
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