Fire rages in Tehama County portion of Mendocino National Forest

Print
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – A fire in a part of the Mendocino National Forest located within Tehama County has burned nearly 7,000 acres.


The Whiskey Fire, located five miles northwest of Paskenta, ignited on Thursday, according to the US Forest Service. The cause is under investigation.


On Sunday the Whiskey Fire was 25-percent contained at 6,815 acres, Cal Fire reported.


The Unified Command by the Forest Service and Cal Fire's Tehama-Glenn Unit initially led the effort to bring the fire under control, before turning the fire's management over to Nor Cal Interagency Incident Management Team II on Friday. The team draws on expertise from federal, state and local fire fighting agencies throughout California.


The fire was initially reported at about 12:30 p.m. June 12 as about 10 acres in size before it spread rapidly through the brush, according to the US Forest Service.


The fire is burning in chaparral brush and grass in a sparsely habited area of the forest, at elevations of 1,500 to 4,000 feet, officials reported. Conditions include hot temperatures and dry vegetation due to winds and little precipitation.


Portions of Forest Roads M-2 and M-4 were closed to public travel to expedite movement of fire equipment and personnel to the fire lines, officials reported. Five structures are listed as threatened but there is no evacuation ordered.


In other fire news, Cal Fire reported Sunday that Butte County's Humboldt Fire was 80-percent contained at 23,162 acres.


Firefighter numbers had been scaled back to just under, 1,200, from a high of nearly 4,000.


Northshore Fire personnel and firefighters from Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit were sent to Butte County to assist with the containment effort last week, as Lake County News has reported.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


{mos_sb_discuss:2}