- Lake County News reports
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Repair work continues in Mendocino Complex area
The Mendocino Complex is the largest wildland fire in California at 459,123 acres, which includes the 410,203-acre Ranch fire and the River fire, which burned 48,920 acres.
The complex was fully contained on Sept. 19, as Lake County News has reported.
The Northern California Team 1 has been managing the suppression repair activities of the Mendocino Complex since Sept. 17.
The management of the complex transitioned back to the Mendocino National Forest on Monday, with Jason Kraling serving as the incident commander, officials said.
The Forest Service said the fireline has been secured to prevent further growth. The remaining resources will continue to extinguish any smoldering vegetation near containment lines and fall trees that pose a hazard to firefighters working in the area.
Officials said the Mendocino National Forest is doing everything possible to reasonably reduce risks to the public and reopen areas. The goal is to reduce erosion and other impacts from suppression activities and there is still a lot of restoration work to do.
As of Monday, there were 6.5 miles of fireline still to be repaired, the Forest Service reported.
The Ranch fire area is closed as described in Forest Order 08-18-15. The purpose of the closure is to provide for public safety and for the firefighters who are engaged in repair efforts within the Ranch Fire closure area. The closure area applies to all public use, including hunting, the use of firearms and off-highway vehicles.
The northern half of the forest is open for outdoor activities.
The B-Zone deer hunting season continues until Sunday, Oct. 21. Forest visitors need to exercise extreme caution near the fire closure since heavy equipment and firefighting vehicles are utilizing area roads. Visitors can contact the ranger station nearest their destination for current information.