LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters working through the night made more gains in their efforts on a wildland fire burning northwest of Lakeport.
Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that the Scotts Fire had been held to 4,618 acres overnight, with containment rising to 50 percent.
The fire – burning since Friday afternoon on Cow Mountain, west of Scotts Valley Road and east of Ukiah – was given No. 1 priority statewide when it began burning, according to Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Tim Streblow.
Cal Fire said the fire’s cause remains under investigation.
Incident Commander Eric Hoffman, a Cal Fire division chief who also led the effort against the Wye Fire in August, told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that firefighters had achieved shaky containment around the fire, with hand line and dozer line being connected overnight.
Hoffman was joined by Streblow at the Board of Supervisors' meeting, where they offered a detailed update on the incident's management.
Streblow said that when the Scotts Fire broke out last week, Cal Fire found itself at “max drawdown,” meaning that most of Cal Fire's resources around the state had been committed to other incidents. By that time they already had tapped into California's mutual aid system.
He recognized Lake County's fire chiefs for their role in assisting Cal Fire. “The best thing that we have in Lake County is the commitment and resources that step up to help us out.”
Hoffman said the fire initially was dispatched through Cal Fire's Mendocino Unit on Friday afternoon. It later was discovered that the fire was within the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, with only 20 acres inside the Mendocino Unit's area.
On that first night they did a lot of good work using bulldozers, but there were gaps in the line, and the fire went through those gaps, he said.
On Tuesday, with a shaky line around the fire, Hoffman said there was still a lot of heavy fuel in the interior, but added, “We're doing real well.”
Resources on scene Tuesday morning included 1,625 firefighting personnel, 157 engines, 44 fire crews, 11 helicopters, 30 bulldozers and 27 water tenders, according to Cal Fire's morning incident report.
Hoffman told the supervisors that incident command needs to allow firefighters to begin returning to their home fire stations to be prepared for other fires. Already on Tuesday morning there was a report of another fire in Shasta and Siskiyou counties, he said.
Many of the firefighting personnel on the Scotts Fire have been out on incidents for 21 days, Hoffman said.
He said Cal Fire plans to maintain its base at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport and will give firefighters the chance to rest there.
In reviewing the incident, Hoffman said the evacuation for Blue Lakes last Friday went very well, with good cooperation from the sheriff's office and local fire districts. Once the order was lifted, residents were able to get back home quickly.
On Sunday an evacuation warning was given for Scotts Valley Road. Hoffman said Red Cross quickly set up a shelter in preparation for a full evacuation, which didn't happen.
“Once again the system seemed to work real well,” he said.
Hoffman said Cal Fire officials also had come up with emergency plans for the fire that they would leave with the county. Those plans could be used for future incidents.
Lampson Field, which the county closed to general aviation traffic effective Sunday morning, is being used as Cal Fire's helibase.
Hoffman said there were nine rotary wing helicopters at Lampson Field on Tuesday morning, with plans to begin releasing the helicopters for use on other incidents.
During the discussion Streblow said a DC-10 out of McClellan Air Force Base had been used in the firefighting effort. The jet, which was last on scene at the Scotts Fire on Monday, had been sent to Wyoming on Tuesday.
Streblow said the DC-10 can carry the equivalent of 12 times what a regular S2 tanker can take on a run.
Streblow said the state is at “historic levels” for the dryness of vegetation. He said they were in the 97th percentile for ignition, meaning if 100 embers were dropped, 97 would catch fire. He added that the fire season is far from over.
Most of the big fires this season have been driven by fuel and topography, said Streblow. Winds have not been as big a concern, but low humidity has, with fires burning just as well at night as they do during the day.
During the meeting board members expressed their thanks to Cal Fire and local fire officials for the efforts to get the Scotts Fire under control and protect local communities.
Cal Fire has estimated that the Scotts Fire will be fully contained by Saturday.
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