- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Wye Fire reaches 6,000 acres; officials lift Spring Valley evacuation order
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Hundreds of Spring Valley residents got the word Monday evening that they could go back home after they were ordered from their homes the night before due to the Wye Fire.
Cal Fire said the Wye Fire – which now includes the Walker Fire – had reached 6,000 acres by Monday evening, and was 25 percent contained.
The fires had broken out Sunday afternoon in the area of Highway 20 and Highway 53 and near Walker Ridge Road.
Cal Fire reported at 7 p.m. Monday that the mandatory evacuation order for Spring Valley – including Old Long Valley Road and New Long Valley Road – had been lifted, and that residents would be able to return to their homes as of 8 p.m. with the help of an escort.
The California Highway Patrol had begun escorting motorists along a reopened stretch of Highway 20 east of Highway 53 at about 6 p.m. Traffic was limited to a single-lane, guided by a CHP pilot car.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Lake County News received a report from a citizen of backed up traffic in the area of Highway 20 and 53, with the possibility that the highway was to be closed again. When contacted, Cal Fire’s information center said they didn’t have information on another closure.
Cal Fire said the Wye Fire had threatened a total of 480 homes in the Long Valley and Spring Valley areas.
The fire destroyed two structures and damaged a third; the exact locations weren’t reported by the agency.
There also were two injuries from the fire, the cause of which remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.
Evacuees had been housed at a Red Cross shelter set up at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, and an assistance center also was set up at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge.
On Monday, dozens of people, their pets and livestock waited at the lodge for conditions to change so they could return home.
Cal Fire indicated that evacuations in the Wilbur Hot Springs area due to the Walker Fire were still in effect.
Total fire personnel on scene Monday included 358 firefighters, of which 290 were Cal Fire staff, the agency said.
There also were 21 engines, six fire crews, two air tankers, seven helicopters, eight bulldozers and six water tenders working on the fires, according to Cal Fire.
An estimated time of containment hasn’t been announced.
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