- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
No containment reached on Wye and Walker fires; Spring Valley evacuees directed to Clearlake
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Two large wildland fires east of Clearlake Oaks continued burning out of control Sunday night, with Spring Valley residents evacuating to a Red Cross shelter set up at Clearlake’s senior center.
The “Wye” and “Walker” fires were reported within minutes of each other Sunday afternoon. Initial dispatch on both incidents came shortly before 4 p.m.
The Wye Fire – named for the “Y,” the local nickname for the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 53 – had burned 5,000 acres by nightfall, with the Walker Fire, located near Walker Ridge, growing to 400 acres, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Julie Hutchinson.
Cal Fire had hit the fires from the air all afternoon, with tankers and copters ordered to return Monday morning, reports from the scene indicated.
By day’s end, Hutchinson said she had a report of one structure burned.
Firefighters had not been able to reach any containment on either of the fires, Hutchinson said.
Fire traffic shortly before 10:30 p.m. indicated dozers were working through the night to build fire lines.
On the Walker Ridge incident, a south wind was coming in on the fire, which was making a run at Bear Valley Road. Officials were planning for a long night on the incident.
Firefighting personnel also were to patrol along Highway 20 throughout the night, according to radio reports.
Hutchinson said evacuations were continuing in Spring Valley.
Capt. Chris Macedo of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have numbers on how many people had left their homes due to the fires.
Originally evacuees had been taken to a nearby quarry, and then were sent to the Moose Lodge just outside of Clearlake Oaks, Macedo said.
Later in the night, evacuees were moved to the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, 3245 Bowers Lane, according to Red Cross Lake County Disaster Coordinator Pam Plank.
“It’s a mess,” said Plank.
She said she had at least 250 people come into the emergency shelter, being run by six Red Cross staffers.
Plank said additional Red Cross personnel will come from Santa Rosa on Monday, and a public health nurse will be on site.
Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Richard Persons said the fairgrounds was contacted by the sheriff’s office Sunday evening about providing shelter for animals being evacuated from Spring Valley.
Person said he and his staff were standing by and would make stalls and other facilities available for evacuees.
He said he also had been contacted by Cal Fire about using the fairgrounds as a possible incident command center.
Local amateur radio operators were working from the evacuation shelters and also were in Spring Valley and Long Valley, according to Donna Hutton of the Lake County Amateur Radio Society. In the event phone and power went down, there would still be communications, she said.
Hutchinson said Cal Fire did not have information on a cause for the fires yet. She said the agency was concentrating on evacuating communities and getting the fires under control.
Reports from the scene indicated that a Cal Fire investigator had arrived at the scene Sunday evening.
Firefighters are scheduled to meet early Monday before the daytime firefighting effort continues.
They will face hot summer conditions on Monday; the National Weather services predicts a daytime high of 103 degrees for Lake County.
Caltrans said Highway 20 between Highway 16 and Highway 53 was to remain closed due to the fires, with no estimated time of reopening offered Sunday. The agency said it would provide an update on the highway closure on Monday morning.
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