- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
VIDEO: Officials say Pocket and Tubbs fires not currently threatening Lake County
THE GEYSERS, Calif. – The work of thousands of firefighters around the North Coast is beginning to bring major wildland fires in neighboring counties under control and is preventing them from progressing to Lake County’s borders.
This week, in addition to responding to the Sulphur fire in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, and then the Long fire in Clearlake on Saturday morning, county supervisors have been doing their best to keep south county residents calm due to the proximity of the Tubbs and Pocket fires.
Cal Fire is managing the Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns and Oakmont fires under one incident, the Central LNU Complex, with total size at 94,370 acres.
On Saturday night, Cal Fire said containment on the Tubbs fire, at 35,470 acres, rose to 50 percent, with the Pocket fire at 11,246 acres and 15-percent containment, the Nuns fire at 47,106 acres and 15-percent containment; and the Oakmont fire, at 550 acres and 10-percent containment.
The Central LNU Complex has destroyed 3,462 structures and killed 22 people, officials said Saturday night.
Resources assigned to the complex on Saturday had grown, with total personnel increasing to 3,439, along with 343 engines, 43 water tenders, seven helicopters, seven air tankers, 68 hand crews and 80 dozers.
Firefighters slowed the rate of spread of both fires on Saturday, with the Tubbs fire growing by 200 acres and the Pocket fire burning another 250 acres, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said the most active portion of the Tubbs fire is still the northeastern portion around Red
Hill and Mount Saint Helena, where the fire continues to make short uphill runs around to the north side of the peaks.
While the incident has crept closer to the Lake County line, on Saturday night Cal Fire Division Chief Greg Bertelli confirmed that it was not yet within Lake County.
On the Pocket fire, Cal Fire said the incident continues to the east, with crews continuing their progress in increasing containment.
District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon and District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown have been leading the effort in responding to concerns about the fire and working to dispel fears that have arisen because of posts on social media that in some cases have panicked south county residents.
Simon said he’s in constant communication with Cal Fire and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
He’s also personally put eyes on the Tubbs fire every day to assess its distance to southern Lake County.
While the Middletown area remains under an evacuation advisory issued on Wednesday, he said the fire lines are holding.
“I think Mother Nature is cooperating,” he said in a Saturday evening interview with Lake County News.
If evacuations are necessary, the message would come out through the appropriate channels, including the sheriff’s Nixle alerts, which Simon urged people to continue to keep an eye on at this time.
While social media is good, Simon said it’s better to have information directly from officials.
Brown was on the ground in Spring Valley on Saturday morning when firefighters stopped the forward progress of the Long fire, which began shortly before 5 a.m.
The last size report on the fire from the scene on Saturday afternoon put the fire’s size at 41 acres, as Lake County News has reported.
In an effort to better illustrate the distance of the fires Tubbs and Pocket fires from Lake County, on Saturday afternoon, Brown and Calpine Director of Engineering Tim Conant hosted Lake County News on a tour through The Geysers geothermal steamfield, which stretches across 45 square miles in southern Lake County and Northern Sonoma County.
From the ridges in the steamfield, the smoke from both fires was clearly visible, with tankers flying through the Pocket fire area.
Both Brown and Conant explained that the Pocket fire would have to turn around, cross several ridges, hillsides and creeks, and the burn scars or both the Valley fire and last year’s Sawmill fire to reach Lake County.
In the case of the Tubbs fire, the winds were blowing the smoke and the fire away from Lake County.
In the video above, they explain the situation and point out the fires’ locations in relation to Lake County.
After driving a circuit from Bottle Rock Road through The Geysers, Highway 101 and then back over the Hopland Grade, it became clear that the fire remained several miles away from Lake County and that the wind is blowing to the east and away from the county.
“It is highly unlikely that Lake County will be at risk,” said Brown, agreeing with Cal Fire’s assessment of the situation.
Cal Fire said the Central LNU Complex is expected to be fully contained on Oct. 20.
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