LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters continued to gain ground on the Rocky fire on Friday, hitting the 50-percent containment mark by nightfall.
Cal Fire said the fire area remains at 69,600 acres.
The newest report showed the first growth in containment since Thursday night, when the blaze was reported to be 45-percent contained.
Cal Fire is estimating that it's still on target to fully contain the Rocky fire by Aug. 13, according to spokesman Dominic Polito.
“So far, Mother Nature has felt sorry for us and given us a break,” Polito said.
Part of that break included some rain overnight, which helped on the fire lines, he said.
The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning due to concerns that thunderstorms on Thursday night and Friday morning might bring lightning strikes and, potentially, more fire activity.
“There was lightning but it didn't ignite any fires,” Polito said.
The number of fire personnel assigned to the incident continued to be scaled back on Friday, with approximately 2,966 firefighters assigned, along with 195 engines, 84 fire crews, 30 water tenders, 17 dozers, 13 helicopters and four air tankers.
Cal Fire said the fire continues to creep and smolder along the perimeter, with access remaining a challenge as firefighters work to sustain perimeter control and build additional control lines.
On Friday, conditions were hot and dry, with upslope winds at 10 miles per hour in the fire area, Cal Fire reported.
Since it began burning on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 29, the fire has destroyed 43 homes and 53 outbuildings, and damaged eight additional structures, according to Cal Fire.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe told Lake County News on Friday afternoon that county damage assessment teams had begun visiting areas still under evacuation on Thursday and were continuing that work on Friday.
Highway 20 and Highway 16 were reopened on Friday morning as state and local authorities had anticipated.
With Highway 20 a major roadway in and out of the county and across the region, the closure had reportedly presented headaches not just for travelers but for pear truck drivers trying to deliver fruit during the height of the harvest season.
Drivers have been asked to use caution while driving through the fire area, as firefighters still actively working along the highways.
“Everyone was really courteous, stayed out of our way,” Polito said.
Also on Friday morning, Spring Valley residents were allowed to start returning to their homes, a day after some residents in the Lower Lake area were allowed to return home, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Cal Fire.
Authorities also have lifted the evacuation advisory for Clearlake area east of Highway 53 from Dam Road to Highway 20 and Highway 53 west to Sulphur Bank Road along Highway 20.
New repopulation information can be found at http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/pub/cdf/images/incidentfile1161_1677.pdf .
Still under evacuation is the Double Eagle Ranch subdivision, off Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks, officials said.
Polito said the fire has burned around the subdivision.
“There's some really hard-to-reach areas over there in the canyons, and that's what they're working with,” he said, adding that authorities don't want residents to go back to their homes until the fire in that area is 100-percent contained.
The Rocky fire is still close enough to Double Eagle Ranch that a report of what was believed to be a new fire came in at about 6 p.m. on Friday in the area of Mule Skinner Road, located in the subdivision, according to scanner reports. Firefighters reported it actually was the Rocky fire, visible in the distance.
Evacuation centers remain open at Kelseyville and Middletown high schools, Cal Fire said.
Some air and ground resources from the Rocky fire were diverted to fight a small wildland fire in the Seigler Canyon area near Highway 29 outside of Lower Lake on Friday evening. Polito said the fire in Seigler Canyon was held to three acres.
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Rocky fire containment reaches 50 percent, no growth in acreage
- Elizabeth Larson
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