Cal Fire prioritizing efforts on LNU Lightning Complex in southern Lake County
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters working on the LNU Lightning Complex are prioritizing operations in southern Lake County, where a firing operation is part of the strategy to bring the active portion of the complex under control.
The complex grew by 8,000 acres overnight to a total of 368,868 acres, with containment remaining at 33 percent, according to Cal Fire’s Thursday report.
Cal Fire said nearly 2,300 firefighters remain assigned to the incident, burning since Aug. 17.
The number of structures destroyed throughout the complex remained at 1,080 on Thursday, with another 272 structures damaged.
The Hennessey fire – the portion of the complex burning in Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties – is up to 311,222 acres and 33-percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire mapping shows that the east side of the fire and the southern half of the west side have secure containment line. However, that leaves the northern portion of the fire in Lake County and the interior portion around Lake Berryessa still without full containment.
Chris Waters, the operations section chief for Cal Fire’s Incident Management Team 2 that is overseeing the fire, said the highest priority area on the Hennessey fire is south and east of Middletown.
He said their highest priority operation is a firing operation in that area around Middletown. There was a “pretty good air show” with aircraft working the fire on Wednesday, with Waters adding that aircraft will be at the scene again on Thursday in support of the firing operation.
On Wednesday, in the area where Cache Creek enters the Capay Valley in Yolo County, the fire crossed Highway 16 and made a run up the hill, starting to head north, Waters said.
The fire is now well-established on a plateau above Highway 16. Waters said they are developing a plan and moving resources into that area to contain it.
In Sonoma County, the complex’s fires showed no change in size or containment. The Walbridge fire west of Healdsburg has burned 55,353 acres and is 19 percent contained, and the Meyers fire north of Jenner is 2,360 acres and 97-percent containment.
On Thursday, an evacuation warning for Spring Valley, Long Valley and Double Eagle Ranch east of Clearlake Oaks was lifted. The warning had been issued on Wednesday after the Hennessey fire jumped Highway 16.
So far, no other evacuation orders or warnings for parts of southern Lake County have been lifted. Sheriff Brian Martin told Lake County News that the situation is being monitored continually and any potential changes depend on weather conditions Thursday afternoon.
As firefighters continue their work on the LNU Lightning Complex, Cal Fire Sonoma Lake Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones said Thursday that new fires across California continue to break out, including 46 new starts on Wednesday.
So far this year, 1.6 million acres have burned in California, compared to 55,000 acres at this time last year, Jones said.
She estimated that the state has another few months of peak fire season ahead.
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