- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Fire update: Highway 20 reopened; County, Pawnee fires continue to challenge firefighters
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday acreage went up on both the Pawnee fire in Lake County and the County fire in neighboring counties to the southeast, with conditions allowing for officials to reopen a stretch of Highway 20 that the Pawnee fire had threatened.
Cal Fire said the County fire in Yolo and Napa counties was up to 44,500 acres and 3 percent containment on Monday morning, while the Pawnee had edged up by a few hundred acres to 14,700 acres, with containment up to 75 percent.
The region’s big fire, the County, began on Saturday, and continues to burn aggressively in Yolo and Napa counties.
It’s threatening 116 structures and has led to mandatory and advisory evacuation orders in a number of areas in Yolo County, including Berryessa Knoxville Road, from the Pope Creek Bridge to the Napa/Lake County line.
Cal Fire said firefighters worked throughout the night to establish control lines, with the fire burning actively and running up steep terrain. The fire is burning in tall grass, brush and dense oak, and extreme fire behavior is still occurring.
The Pawnee fire, burning since June 23 northeast of Clearlake Oaks, continues to threaten 50 homes in the Double Eagle Ranch subdivision off of Highway 20, Cal Fire said.
On Monday the subdivision remained under evacuation order, while the Lake County Sheriff’s Office lifted an advisory for the areas between Highway 20 and Morgan Valley Road and from Sky High Ridge Road, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said ground resources worked throughout the night to reinforce control lines and extinguish interior hotspots on the Pawnee fire.
Monday’s hot and dry weather conditions raise the potential for more growth on the Pawnee fire, and Cal Fire said multiple ground resources and air assets are available in the area to take quick action if the need arises.
A key development on Monday morning was the reopening of Highway 20, which has been closed between Highway 53 and Williams.
The closure began Saturday evening, following the flare up on the Pawnee fire which threatened the highway.
Cal Fire estimates the Pawnee fire will be fully contained on July 5, while the County fire’s full containment is expected on July 10.
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