Smoke challenges firefighters on LNU Lightning Complex
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters are being challenged by heat and smoky conditions as they battle the growing LNU Lightning Complex.
The fire added another 16,000 acres overnight, growing to 341,243 acres by Sunday morning. Containment edged up a few percentage points to 17 percent, Cal Fire reported.
The main fires in the incident are the Hennessey fire, burning in Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, and the Walbridge and Meyers fires in Sonoma County.
The Hennessey fire was up to 287,811 acres and 17-percent containment on Sunday morning, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire’s Sunday mapping showed black containment line on the eastern side of the fire and the southern end that had burned into Solano County. All portions of the fire in Solano County now have containment lines around them.
The Walbridge, west of Healdsburg, has grown to 51,072 acres and the Meyers, north of Jenner, is at 2,360 acres. Cal Fires said firefighters have so far not been able to get containment on either of those fires.
The assessment of structures destroyed remained at 845 on Sunday morning, with another 231 damaged and 30,500 threatened, Cal Fire reported.
The evacuation orders and warnings for southern Lake County remain in effect because of the fire’s growing footprint to the southwest of Lower Lake and east of Hidden Valley Lake.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, radio reports on the incident indicated that heavy smoke was once again an issue, and that air operations were being suspended temporarily due to airports in the region being closed because of lack of visibility.
That’s challenging firefighters who are asking for air support in areas where there are flareups – including Berryessa Estates – and where the fire is threatening containment lines.
Resources assigned appear to have remained unchanged since Saturday evening, with 1,704 firefighters, 233 engines, 33 water tenders, 11 helicopters, 15 hand crews and 37 dozers working the incidents.
Cal Fire and local officials will hold a virtual community meeting for Lake County residents at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24. The meeting will be available on Facebook, PEG TV Channel 8 and via Zoom. The meeting ID is 913 3863 4529, passcode is 094776.
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