- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Lake County strike team returns from Lodge Complex
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local firefighters have returned home after a 17-day deployment to the Lodge Complex in Mendocino County.
The complex began early on the morning of July 30 as the result of lightning in the Wilderness Lodge/Eel River Canyon near Laytonville.
As of Monday night, the fire had burned 12,535 acres and was 85-percent contained, Cal Fire reported.
Northshore Fire Protection District reported that Lake County Strike Team XLK 2101-C – working under the California Mutual Aid System – responded to the incident.
The team consisted of firefighters and type three fire engines from Lakeport Fire District, Kelseyville Fire District, Northshore Fire District and Lake County Fire District. The fifth engine in the strike team came from the Bennett Valley Fire District in Sonoma County, officials reported.
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Mike Ciancio was the strike team leader.
The Lake County strike team conducted multiple days of fire operations that included setting back fires to set containment lines. Days of operation also included building and setting a 4,000-foot-long hose lay with direct fire attack to protect structures near Laytonville, local fire officials reported.
To date, there have been 15 injuries to firefighters on the incident, Cal Fire reported.
Local officials said no Lake County fire personnel were injured while working the incident, but there was some damage to fire apparatus due rugged conditions and high temperatures.
The Lake County strike team was working in the area where six firefighters were injured during a entrapment and burn over, Northshore Fire reported.
Along with Lake County's firefighters, many others have been released from the incident.
Cal Fire reported that approximately 823 personnel were still assigned on Monday night, several hundred fewer than the previous day. Other resources on scene included 25 fire engines, 28 fire crews, 17 bulldozers, one helicopter and 10 water tenders.
Cal Fire said fire crews that are continuing to work the incident are mopping up, looking for hot spots within the fire lines and making repairs.
Suppression costs on the incident to date total $38.2 million, Cal Fire said.
The California Fire Chiefs Association reported that the California Mutual Aid System “is one of the most robust and well-managed networks in the nation.”
The system partners local government agencies with each other and with state and federal agencies including Cal Fire, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
As in the case of the Lake County strike team, the California Mutual Aid System deploys local government firefighters from cities, counties, tribal fire departments and special districts through a variety of contract agreements, which in many cases provide for complete reimbursement by the state or federal government to the local government agency.
The California Office of Emergency Services reported that in late July and early August alone local government agencies have deployed more than 490 fire engines to incidents throughout the state, with more than 2,050 firefighting personnel and more than 244 overhead personnel also deployed to various fire incidents.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.