NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The US Forest Service reported that lightning-caused wildland fire incidents on the Upper Lake and Grindstone ranger districts in the Mendocino National Forest are now being managed together.
The August Complex has been burning since Aug. 16 on the forest’s Grindstone Ranger District in Glenn County.
The Hull fire was discovered on Aug. 19 four miles north of Lake Pillsbury on the Upper Lake Ranger District and has since prompted an evacuation warning for the Pillsbury Ranch community.
Officials said the Hull fire is now being managed as part of the August Complex.
As of Tuesday night, the fires had together burned 197,148 acres and were 17-percent contained, the Forest Service reported.
The Forest Service said the largest fire in the complex is the Doe, at 160,326 acres; followed by the Glade fire, 18,367 acres; the Tatham, 8,958 acres; and the Hull, 4,885 acres.
Forest officials said crews are continuing to utilize preexisting fuel breaks and roads to get around the southern edge of the Doe fire. Structure protection continues on the west side of the fire when fire behavior allows.
Crews working on the Hull fire are working in conjunction with crews on the Doe Fire to construct line on the southern portions of both fires, officials said.
The Forest Service said firefighters also are continuing to construct dozer lines on Tatham fire and are working with Cal Fire resources to contain the eastern flank.
On the Glade fire, crews will continue to go direct on the fires northern and western flanks, officials said.
Resources assigned to the incidents on Tuesday night included 476 firefighters and 152 overhead personnel, 37 engines, three helicopters, five bulldozers, 19 water tenders and eight crews, according to a Forest Service report.
The Forest Service said California Incident Management Team No. 15, which is overseeing the incident, will be transiting management of the August Complex to the Southern Incident Management Blue Team.
The incoming team will shadow California Incident Management Team No. 15 on Wednesday and will assume command at 7 a.m. Thursday, officials said.
Officials said light winds will cause smoke to linger over the complex the next several days. A slight chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms along with above-normal temperatures and low relative humidity could result in increased fire behavior.
Area residents are told to expect slight improvements in air quality as the Air Quality Index remains in the range of unhealthy to unhealthy for sensitive groups.
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August Complex, Hull fire on Mendocino National Forest now being managed together
- Elizabeth Larson
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