LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Local, state and federal officials took part in a community meeting in Lower Lake on Sunday that sought to bring residents up to date on the effort to bring the Rocky fire under control.
Several hundred community members were on hand for the meeting, which included officials from Cal Fire, Lake County Fire, the Board of Supervisors, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Clearlake Police Department, Lake County Air Quality Management District and the Lake County Office of Emergency Services.
Congressman Mike Thompson and State Sen. Mike McGuire also were on hand to offer their support as well as assurances that the community will be receiving assistance to get it through the fire and the recovery period.
Across agencies and levels of experience, the message to the community was the same – that the Rocky fire was displaying unusual activity that even longtime fire service veterans hadn't encountered before, making it both dangerous and difficult to fight.
Fire officials said a critical element driving the fire's rapid growth and unpredictable behavior is the area's incredibly dry conditions, a result of four years of drought.
Just how quickly the fire grew initially was explained by Cal Fire Assistant Chief Linda Green, who went over the play-by-play of the fire's initial dispatch.
Firefighters were first dispatched to a possible structure fire at the end of Rocky Creek Road east of Lower Lake just before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, she said.
The first aircraft to arrive found the fire between 25 and 30 acres. By the time the first Cal Fire battalion chief got there minutes later, the fire was between 50 and 100 acres, and spotting, Green said.
When Copter 104 arrived from Boggs Mountain shortly afterward, it spotted a second fire on Morgan Valley Road about four miles away from where the first fire was reported, she said.
Those two fires eventually would combine, she said.
Then, a third fire was reported on Highway 20 at New Long Valley Road east of Clearlake, Green said. “We were a little stretched.”
She said the initial attack plan was to go aggressive on the second fire, a goal helped by additional resources coming into the county – specifically, a group of engines that was passing through the area of the third fire on Highway 20 and quickly controlled it to an acre.
Back in the Lower Lake area, within an hour, the Rocky fire had reached 150 acres. By 5 p.m. evacuations on Morgan Valley Road began, with the fire hitting 600 acres an hour later, she said.
By midnight, the size estimate was between 7,000 and 8,000 acres, according to Green.
Butte County-based Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Shorrock explained the movement of the fire after its initial push on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the fire made a rapid push to the west and down into Morgan Valley that night and then started heading toward Jerusalem Valley. He said firefighters managed to keep it north of Jerusalem Valley that night.
On Friday, there was a wind shift from about 9 a.m. to mid-afternoon, which covered the city of Clearlake with ash. Shorrock said air and ground resources were able to keep the fire east of the Cache Creek Dam on Friday.
On Saturday, aircraft flying overhead saw the most intense fire activity that had been seen up to that point on the incident. “We knew we were in for a long Saturday,” he said.
At noon, the fire broke across Cache Creek to the north and headed into the wilderness area, Shorrock said.
“We had planned on it getting to Highway 20,” Shorrock said. “We didn’t plan on it getting there so rapidly.”
Beginning at about 3 p.m. Saturday, the fire shifted under a very strong south-southwest wind and began a major run, Shorrock said.
Over the next five hours, the fire burned 22,000 acres.
“That’s a significant movement,” he said.
On Saturday night, firefighters held the fire at Highway 16 up to Highway 20 and over toward Walker Ridge Road, and were trying to stay ahead of the fire, he said. On Sunday, the fire activity was heating up in the wilderness area south of Highway 20.
Shorrock said the incident is presenting the kind of fire danger that he in his 40 years in the fire service hasn't seen before.
“Some of the rules are thrown out just due to the intensity and the spread,” he said, adding that they're lucky to not have had many injuries to firefighters or civilians. Cal Fire previously reported two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
More resources on the way
Sheriff Brian Martin thanked the sheriffs in neighboring counties, Cal Fire, the Board of Supervisors, McGuire and Thompson, noting how all of the agencies are working together.
“This is unprecedented fire activity and it's more dangerous than normal,” Martin said.
Putting the fire's 22,000-acre spread on Saturday into perspective, he said that the city of Clearlake covers 6,400 acres.
Regarding evacuations, Martin said officials have had a lot of cooperation from communities. He said authorities know it's very inconvenient for people to have to leave their homes.
“We will do everything that we can to get you back as soon as we can,” he said, adding, they also want to make sure people are safe. “We will not lift these evacuations until we are certain that it is safe to do so.”
There are many considerations that go into deciding to allow people to return to their homes, which Martin said include having Pacific Gas and Electric look at power lines and local officials assess roads, as well as allowing for firefighters to finish mop up efforts. Going back too soon could hamper those efforts and result in harm, he said.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services, Lake County Sheriff's Office and Cal Fire are the agencies with the authority to tell residents they can return to their homes after an evacuation, said Martin, urging people to wait for that confirmation rather than relying on statements circulated on the Internet.
He also encouraged people to show their appreciation for firefighters with signs or a friendly wave, and said donations may best be made to the Red Cross.
McGuire said the state's job is to make sure that Lake County has the resources it needs to be able to get through a disaster like the Rocky fire and thrive in the recovery.
He also pointed to the drought and its impact on the incident, with its unprecedented fire activity.
“It’s erratic, it’s massive, it’s burning hot and because of the wind we see this fire burning in all directions,” he said.
McGuire said firefighters from around the Western United States are coming to California to assist not just with the Rocky fire but with other major wildland fire incidents.
He said 400 hand crews have been activated from out of state, as have 14 California National Guard aircraft, eight of which – including a Chinook helicopter – are working the Rocky.
Two Nevada National Guard copters have been requested to help California, and two massive C130 tankers have been brought up from the Channel Islands in Southern California, with additional C130s heading into California, one from Colorado and one from Wyoming, McGuire said.
McGuire thanked Thompson for his efforts to secure a Fire Management Assistance Grant from President Barack Obama's Fire Relief Fund, which will cover up to 75 percent of the costs associated with the fire incurred by local, state and tribal governments.
He said the California Office of Emergency Services also has a team of specialists on the ground in Lake County to help assess damages, which has been a difficult task because of the fire's rapid rate of spread. “It's going to be a longterm project.”
McGuire added, “I will make you this promise right now, the California Office of Emergency Services is here for the long haul,” and is ready to assist residents and businesses with their damage claims.
He will host a town hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Clear Lake High School MAC building, 350 Lange St. in Lakeport, where he said representatives of local and state agencies will be on hand to give updates on the fire.
Thompson told the community members at the gathering, “I've never seen fire this bad before,” but he credited the state and local officials working the incident for their skills and professionalism. “They are absolutely top notch.
Thompson also pledged to do everything he can to marshal all of the needed resources.
Cal Fire Division Chief Scott Lindgren said Cal Fire appreciated the thanks for the community, but he wanted to turn the attention back to the local agencies. “They're the ones that protect you day in and day out,” he said, asking for a round of applause for them.
Lindgren went on to caution residents that a lot of work is ahead. “We’re not out of the woods on this fire yet,” he said, also acknowledging the Rocky's “unprecedented fire behavior” which he said could result in more evacuations, a prediction that proved true in the time since the meeting.
“We have a long road to go once we get this fire out to get through the rest of this fire season because of the drought,” Lindgren said.
During a question and answer period, Martin encouraged community members to take evacuation notifications seriously, and to follow any mandatory evacuation orders that are issued.
Lindgren said evacuation advisories are issued when officials think there the potential for a fire to reach an area. He said such advisories aren't issued unless it's believed that there is a legitimate threat to a location. Mandatory evacuations are for immediate danger, he added.
As for those community members wondering if schools in the Konocti Unified School District will start on Aug. 12 as scheduled, Superintendent Donna Becnel said that day was still the target for opening.
She said parents and students will be notified if there are any changes.
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