Mendocino Complex’s counts of burned acreage, destroyed structures climb sharply
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Continuing its pattern of dramatic nighttime growth, the Mendocino Complex marked the end of its first week by scorching nearly 30,000 more acres overnight as it pushed into the footprint of another recent wildland fire.
At the same time, officials gave a new tally of the complex’s destroyed and damaged structures that had risen sharply since the last report.
Cal Fire said Friday morning that the Mendocino Complex of the Ranch and River fires was up to 153,738 acres, with containment rolled back from 39 to 30 percent containment.
The Ranch fire was reported to be 83,890 acres Thursday night, with 33-percent containment. By Friday morning, the updated acreage had ballooned to 112,226 acres, with containment rolling back to 28 percent, according to Cal Fire.
Based on Lake County fire history, the Ranch fire – part of which is located in Mendocino County – is on track to become the largest in Lake County’s recorded history, far outpacing the 83,000-acre Fork fire of 1996.
The River fire remains at 50-percent containment, having grown less than 300 acres overnight to a total of 41,512 acres, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire also released a new damage assessment on the complex, which showed a total of 88 structures destroyed, 41 of them homes. Another 19 structures – 10 of them homes – have been damaged.
Cal Fire said 9,200 structures remain threatened. Numerous evacuations, which are listed here, remain in place.
Both the Ranch and River fires continued to remain active throughout the night, with Cal Fire noting that the Ranch fire made significant and rapid expansion to the east towards the scar of the Pawnee Fire, which burned in and around the Spring Valley Lakes subdivision east of Clearlake Oaks in June.
Radio reports also indicated overnight that firing operations were used successfully to remove vegetation, with the goal of controlling the complex.
On Friday, the plan is for firefighters to continue to prep and defend structures and construct primary and secondary control lines, according to Cal Fire.
Access and weather make many areas of the fire difficult to directly fight fire, so Cal Fire said aircraft support will be utilized when weather and smoke visibility conditions permit.
Cal Fire has pushed back by more than a week the expected date of full containment on the incident, now estimated to be achieved on Aug. 15.
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