NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Weather conditions are expected to heat up over the next few days, which could challenge firefighters on the lines of major wildland fire incidents in northern Lake County and around the region.
The growth of the Glass fire was held to just under 2,100 acres during the course of the day on Thursday, with the fire’s size reaching 58,880 acres by nightfall, with containment remaining at 5 percent, Cal Fire reported.
Cal Fire said 2,517 firefighters are assigned to the incident, along with 361 engines, 49 water tenders, 22 helicopters, 30 hand crews and 83 dozers.
The number of threatened structures rose to 28,835 on Thursday.
Updated damage assessments on Thursday night put the number of structures destroyed at 588, 437 in Napa County and 151 in Sonoma County. Another 110 structures have been damaged, 62 in Sonoma County while Napa County had 48.
Cal Fire said the Glass fire burned actively throughout the day Thursday, with flames making intense runs and aligning with the topography. There also was spotting up to one mile.
Fire activity is expected to increase due to the hot, dry conditions that led to the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning that’s been extended through Saturday morning across the fire area.
Cal Fire said winds are blowing from the northwest, and the fire area is experiencing near-record temperatures and very low humidity.
On the August Complex to the north, Cal Fire – which is working with the US Forest Service to contain the incident – said it was up to 956,084 acres and 47 percent containment on Thursday night.
The Forest Service said 2,048 personnel are assigned.
That fire, burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests, is threatening 2,200 structures and has destroyed 100, officials said.
The newly positioned Pacific Northwest Team 2 continued to develop a strategy to move the August Complex South Zone – which includes the Mendocino National Forest lands in northern Lake County – towards full containment, the Forest Service said.
Along with monitoring the east side of the August Complex with ground and air reconnaissance, the Forest Service said fire personnel continued mopping up and monitoring containment lines in the Lake Pillsbury region and to the west.
Crews worked around structures, checked control lines, felled hazard trees along roads and retrieved equipment that was no longer necessary. Fourteen engines were reallocated from the South Zone to the North Zone, officials said.
The Forest Service said a Burned Area Emergency Response Team began work on the eastern side of fire, collecting and analyzing information to document burn severity and to prioritize emergency stabilization measures.
On Thursday, the Forest Service said personnel continued to patrol and monitor containment lines and mop-up areas that still hold residual pockets of heat on the interior of the containment lines. Crews also continued to backhaul equipment from some areas of the fire.
Firefighters in the Lake Pillsbury area will continue work to secure structures. Damage assessments of structures are ongoing, and reports will be updated as areas become safe to evaluate, officials said.
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Red flag conditions could challenge firefighters on region’s wildland fires
- Elizabeth Larson
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