LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – New and aggressive activity on the LNU Lightning Complex on Wednesday resulted in a new evacuation warning for a portion of Lake County.
The complex grew to 360,868 acres by nightfall, an increase of 3,822 acres, with containment remaining at 33 percent during the course of the day, Cal Fire said.
Based on damage assessments, the number of destroyed structures increased to 1,080 on Wednesday, with 272 structures reported damaged. A total of 30,500 remain threatened.
The Hennessey fire portion of the complex, burning in Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, grew to 303,155 acres and 33-percent containment during the day, Cal Fire said.
On the Sonoma County side of the incident, the Walbridge fire west of Healdsburg edged up slightly to 55,353 acres and 19-percent containment, while the Meyers fire north of Jenner remained at 2,360 acres and 97-percent containment, according to Cal Fire.
Nearly 2,300 firefighters are now assigned to the complex, along with 292 engines, 68 water tenders, 13 helicopters, 24 hand crews and 68 dozers, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire told Lake County News that the complex is most active in its northern portion, which is in Lake County, where backburning operations have been taking place to slow the complex’s growth.
As a result, while evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted or adjusted in parts of Napa and Sonoma counties, allowing tens of thousands of people to go home, in Lake County on Wednesday all mandatory evacuations and warnings remained in place.
In addition, on Wednesday afternoon the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire issued a new evacuation warning for the area east of Old Long Valley Road and New Long Valley Road, extending north to the Lake-Colusa County line, north of Highway 20 and south and west of the Lake-Colusa County line.
That new warning impacting Spring Valley, Long Valley and the Double Eagle Ranch subdivision – as well as an order and a warning for parts of Yolo County – followed the fire jumping a portion of Highway 16, located a few miles outside of Lake County. Sheriff Brian Martin confirmed that the evacuation warning was issued due to that incident.
Less than a half-hour after the evacuation order was issued, a new fire near Indian Valley Reservoir was reported. Air resources were sent to that fire, which burned into the Pawnee fire scar, according to scanner traffic.
The last radio reports from the scene just before midnight put that fire’s size at 20 acres, with firefighters planning to check it on Thursday morning.
Radio reports on Wednesday evening indicated the spot fire that crossed Highway 16 was up to about 200 acres, but Cal Fire could not separately confirm later in the evening how large that spot actually was.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District said air quality due to the fires is expected to continue to be in the “unhealthy” range through Thursday.
Winds have shifted from the southwest to the west, which is helping to clear the air basin, but officials said smoke is still expected to intermittently impact the air basin until all of the regional fires are contained.
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LNU Lightning Complex continues to make aggressive runs; complex jumps Highway 16
- Elizabeth Larson
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