- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
VIDEO: Officials host Pawnee fire community meeting
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Cal Fire and local officials gave community members impacted by the Pawnee fire an update on conditions and firefighting operations during a Monday evening meeting.
About 40 people attended the community meeting at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, hosted by Cal Fire Incident Management Team 3, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Northshore Fire Protection District.
The Pawnee fire was first reported on Saturday evening in the Spring Valley Lakes subdivision east of Clearlake Oaks.
That same evening, Spring Valley was placed under a mandatory evacuation order which remains in effect.
Since then, with the fire moving to the east, mandatory evacuations also have been ordered for the nearby Double Eagle Ranch subdivision. Power has been cut to both communities due to downed power lines and trees.
Incident Management Team 3 Operations Chief Geoff Belyea said that on Monday crews made good progress on the southern portion of the incident, which had started as a spot fire at Spring Valley’s south end.
He said they buttoned up the southern end of the fire and were working to finish putting in control line on the north end of that spot fire along New Long Valley Road in order to fortify Spring Valley.
Along the fire’s western edge, Belyea said crews were making good progress, with bulldozers, hand crews and engine companies laying down fire hose.
In the area of Chalk Mountain, there was an unburned “island” of fuel – or vegetation – that ignited on Monday, sending up a lot of spoke. Having that fuel burn out actually was helpful, Belyea said.
On Monday evening, he said the main push of the fire was away from Spring Valley and toward the Walker Ridge area, located at the border of Lake and Colusa counties. He said hand crews, engines and dozers were working in the Double Eagle Ranch nearby.
Belyea noted that the fire had grown on its north end, and was burning northeasterly toward Indian Valley.
Incident Management Team 3 Assistant Chief Billy See said that damage assessment teams have been in the field counting the burned structures.
The count as of Monday night remained at 22 destroyed structures, of which 12 were residences and 10 outbuildings, See said.
See said the damage assessment was expected to be completed within 36 hours.
At that time, the fire had burned 10,500 acres and was 5 percent contained, with that containment near the impacted communities, he said.
The fire at that point was not active in Spring Valley, with the main fire growth pushing to the east and northeast, he said.
“Each day we’re fighting Mother Nature now,” he said, explaining that the weather was see-sawing between red flag warnings for low humidity and high temperatures, to delta-influenced conditions, with higher humidity and winds.
When asked about when evacuees might be able to return home, Sheriff Brian Martin said he hoped it would be this week. He said 1,500 people from 500 to 600 homes were impacted by the evacuations.
Before people can return home, he explained that Pacific Gas and Electric has to restore power, with power lines still down and other hazards throughout the community, including trees across roads.
“The primary concern is we make it as safe as we possibly can,” Martin said.
Martin also reported that the second Wolf Creek bridge further into the subdivision had been compromised by the fire, but that Lake County Public Works Director Scott De Leon may have an option to install a bailey bridge. He said the first Wolf Creek bridge remains open.
He also reported that the Spring Valley Pantry, the community center and Cowboy Church all survived the fire. PG&E had dropped in and hardwired a generator at the market, which is continuing to remain open and has supplied first responders with meals.
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