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Cal Fire said the Sulphur fire, burning since early Monday in and around Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake, remained at 2,500 acres, with containment up to 30 percent.
The growing containment allowed city of Clearlake officials allowed to lift some of the mandatory evacuations in effect in the city since Monday, as Lake County News has reported.
City, county and fire officials on Tuesday began the process of assessing damage due to the fire.
Sheriff Brian Martin said he did not yet have firm numbers, but estimated as many as 150 homes were destroyed by the fire, with most of burned structures in the city of Clearlake.
One area where the damage was reported to be minimal is the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks, near where the fire had started shortly before 1 a.m. Monday.
None of the more than 20 homes on the tribe’s 80-acre rancheria were damaged, according to a statement from the tribe on Tuesday.
City officials also held another town hall on Tuesday night to answer questions and share information.
At that point, Clearlake Mayor Russ Perdock said there had been no loss of life due to the fire.
Elsewhere around the region, the fire-related death toll grew.
The Sonoma County Coroner’s Office raised the number of dead in its jurisdiction to 11, while Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said there were three dead in the Mendocino County Complex. Two other deaths have been reported in Napa County.
In response to questions at Tuesday night’s town hall about the fire’s movement, Lake County FIre Chief Willie Sapeta explained, “The fire isn’t going in any one direction.”
He said the fire was located primarily on the back side of Eastlake Drive, all the way up to the top of Sulphur Bank Drive where there is a hard closure at 18th, Bush and Sulphur Bank, as well as past Mendocino Street off of Lakeshore Drive on the gooseneck, and just on the east side of Windflower Point.
As firefighters increased containment on the Sulphur fire, conditions in Napa and Sonoma counties on Tuesday afternoon remained critical, with new fire incidents, erratic fire activity and new rounds of evacuations.
At various points, officials reported having little or no resources to respond to the new incidents.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol closed Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena at Western Mine Road in Middletown as well as on the Napa County side while firefighters worked in the area, as Lake County News has reported.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office later said firefighters were in the area working on the Tubbs fire.
Clear Lake Area CHP Officer Kory Reynolds told Lake County News on Tuesday evening that the closure was to remain in effect overnight. He did not know at that time when it might reopen.
Sheriff Martin was in the south county on Tuesday evening to assess the situation.
He told Lake County News he was monitoring the activity on the 28,000-acre Tubbs fire on the opposite side of Mount St. Helena, noting that the fire was at that time moving toward Lake County.
Martin said there were no immediate threats and he had not called for evacuations or advisories for southern Lake County.
Nonetheless, residents in the south Middletown area were encouraged to prepare for the possibility that evacuation might be necessary by gathering medications, important papers, and having a plan to move your pets and animals.
Other progress in relation to the fire was made on Tuesday, with President Trump approving a major presidential disaster declaration requested by Gov. Jerry Brown on behalf of Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma and Yuba counties due to ongoing wildland fires.
Brown had declared a state of emergency in Lake and other counties on Monday.
Sheriff Martin also declared a local emergency due to the Sulphur fire on Monday, with the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday to unanimously ratify the declaration.
Supervisor Rob Brown also told community members at the Tuesday night town hall that the county is committed to helping the city, and the agencies already are working together on the path forward.
“Recovery started yesterday,” he said.
Brown also reported that work is under way to establish a local assistance center in the city to help fire survivors begin the recovery process.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
