August Complex tops one million acres; Glass fire damage totals climb again
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Fifty days of burning have brought the August Complex to more than one million acres, while to the south the containment on the Glass fire grew, as did the numbers of burned structures revealed by the latest damage assessments.
On Monday evening, the lightning-caused August Complex was at 1,003,387 acres and 58-percent containment, the US Forest Service said.
The complex, which began Aug. 17, is burning across seven counties – Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties – and on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.
In a separate report, Cal Fire said it has so far destroyed a total of 242 structures and damaged six others. There are 1,691 personnel and 30 crews assigned.
It’s the largest fire in California history, and more than twice the size of the fire in second place – the 2018 Mendocino Complex, which also burned in Lake County and totaled 459,123 acres.
The complex accounts for a quarter of the four million acres Cal Fire said have burned in California so far this year.
On Sunday, the Forest Service said overhead teams continued to reassign resources, build strategy, secure communications, and move crews and equipment to strategic positions near the complex’s west and northwest perimeter.
In the South Zone, which includes northern Lake County, crews continued to patrol the fire perimeter, Lake Pillsbury and Rice Fork, officials said.
The Forest Service said a new incident management team is traveling to the forest and will be arriving on Wednesday to manage the complex’s South Zone.
Over the last week, the August South BAER team conducted reconnaissance and assessments of the southeastern side of the fire. The team has narrowed its assessment focus to approximately 521,000 acres, the Forest Service said.
BAER surveys are rapid assessments that evaluate the burned area to identify watersheds having increased potential for post-fire flooding, sediment flows and rock slides. The Forest Service said BAER emergency response efforts are focused on the protection of human life, safety and property, as well as critical cultural and natural resource values such as the water quality of streams and wetlands on National Forest System lands.
Multiple fire engines and water tenders are continuing to patrol containment lines along the long southern perimeter of the fire from Eel River to Paskenta, the Forest Service said.
Glass fire damage assessment numbers rise
To the south, Cal Fire said the Glass fire, burning in Napa and Sonoma counties, grew to a total of 66,840 acres on Monday night, an increase of 1,940 acres over the previous night, with containment growing in that same 24-hour period by 15 percent, to a total of 41-percent containment.
Nearly 2,800 firefighters are assigned to the fire, burning since Sept. 27. Resources on the incident include 409 engines, 48 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 27 hand crews, 48 dozers and 11 masticators, Cal Fire said.
The latest damage assessments put the number of destroyed structures at 1,309 – 768 in Napa County and 541 in Sonoma County. Damaged structures total 249, 121 in Sonoma County and 128 in Napa County.
Cal Fire said the Glass Fire burned actively throughout Monday, especially in higher terrain due to critically dry fuels and rugged topography. Aggressive mop up and tactical patrol continue in areas where the fire’s forward progress has stopped. Crews are working aggressively to construct and reinforce existing control lines.
Due to the fire’s close proximity to the Lake County line, evacuation warnings for two areas in Lake County, south of Middletown, remain in effect, officials reported.
The agency asked that as people start returning home, they be vigilant that emergency crews are still working in the area.
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