LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters were hard at work on both sides of the county on Thursday fighting vegetation fires.
Work on the Sky fire near Lower Lake continued from the afternoon into the evening, while a shorter response was required for an escaped control burn near Scotts Valley.
The Sky fire was first spotted shortly before 12:45 p.m. running up a ridge in the area of Morgan Valley Road and Sky High Ridge Road, according to scanner traffic.
Cal Fire later gave the location as Morgan Valley Road and Sloan Ranch Road.
The fire response was slowed as firefighters tried to access it behind a locked gate and through steep terrain.
Officials reported over the air that they found a large cannabis operation nearby.
When they first were able to access the fire from the 21000 block of Morgan Valley Road, the fire was about five to seven acres.
Sheriff Brian Martin was on the scene a short time later and posted an online update in which he said the fire was in a relatively unpopulated area so their concerns about threats to homes were minimal.
The firefighting force during the day included both ground and air resources, many of which were released by evening.
On Thursday night, Cal Fire reported that the Sky fire was 45 acres and 50 percent contained.
An engine was reported to be monitoring the scene overnight with more firefighters to return on Friday morning.
As firefighters were at work on the Sky fire, they received a report that a burn in the 4600 block of Laurel Dell Road near Scotts Valley Road and Upper Lake had gotten outside of its control lines shortly before 5 p.m.
That escaped control burn was to the north of a location that had an escaped control burn on Wednesday, firefighters reported.
A helicopter working the Sky fire was dispatched to the new incident along with engines.
The last radio report on that fire indicated it was about two to three acres.
Lake County’s seasonal burn ban goes into effect on Saturday.
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