How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Mendocino-Lake Community College District is planning to reopen its Lake Center doors by Aug. 13 in order to begin preparing for the upcoming fall semester, which begins on Aug. 20.
The center has been closed since July 30 because of mandatory evacuations in the city of Lakeport put in place due to the Mendocino Complex fires.
Restoration experts are working hard to complete all required work so that college staff and students can safely return to the center.
While the Ukiah campus continues to operate as an evacuation center in coordination with Mendocino County and American Red Cross, students can visit the admissions and records office or call 707-468-3000 to register, enroll for classes and get questions answered relating to the fall semester.
A list of resources for students affected by the fires can be found on the college Facebook page.
The Lake Center is located at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.
For more information about Mendocino College, go to www.mendocino.edu.
The center has been closed since July 30 because of mandatory evacuations in the city of Lakeport put in place due to the Mendocino Complex fires.
Restoration experts are working hard to complete all required work so that college staff and students can safely return to the center.
While the Ukiah campus continues to operate as an evacuation center in coordination with Mendocino County and American Red Cross, students can visit the admissions and records office or call 707-468-3000 to register, enroll for classes and get questions answered relating to the fall semester.
A list of resources for students affected by the fires can be found on the college Facebook page.
The Lake Center is located at 2565 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.
For more information about Mendocino College, go to www.mendocino.edu.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake reported that its National Night Out event scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 7, has been canceled due to the Mendocino Complex fire.
The fire has placed a significant demand on law enforcement, fire and other public safety resources throughout the county.
Additionally, the air quality remains impacted by smoke and ash from the fire.
“Our employees, volunteers and community partners worked hard to prepare for the event, so it is disappointing that we have to cancel it,” said Clearlake Chief of Police Andrew White. “However, we remain committed to working in partnership with our community, consistent with the spirit of National Night Out, to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.”
The city of Lakeport, which was under mandatory evacuation for several days last week due to the complex’s River fire, also announced this week that it is postponing its National Night Out event on Tuesday, with plans to reschedule it, as Lake County News has reported.
The fire has placed a significant demand on law enforcement, fire and other public safety resources throughout the county.
Additionally, the air quality remains impacted by smoke and ash from the fire.
“Our employees, volunteers and community partners worked hard to prepare for the event, so it is disappointing that we have to cancel it,” said Clearlake Chief of Police Andrew White. “However, we remain committed to working in partnership with our community, consistent with the spirit of National Night Out, to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.”
The city of Lakeport, which was under mandatory evacuation for several days last week due to the complex’s River fire, also announced this week that it is postponing its National Night Out event on Tuesday, with plans to reschedule it, as Lake County News has reported.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Fire managers have lifted the evacuation advisory previously in place for roads and areas near the Eel fire, 10 miles east of Covelo.
The fire began last Tuesday.
With containment at 60 percent and no growth in several days, fire managers have determined the area is safe for the public and residents, according to Punky Moore, spokeswoman for the Mendocino National Forest.
The public is asked to use caution while traveling through the area as personnel and equipment are still working on the fire.
Moore said fire crews continue to mop up smoldering vegetation, reinforce containment lines and fell dead standing trees that pose a threat to firefighters on the line.
With diminished fire activity, the number of resources needed on the incident will start to decrease. Moore said there are approximately 144 personnel working on the incident and the fire remains at 972 acres.
The fire began last Tuesday.
With containment at 60 percent and no growth in several days, fire managers have determined the area is safe for the public and residents, according to Punky Moore, spokeswoman for the Mendocino National Forest.
The public is asked to use caution while traveling through the area as personnel and equipment are still working on the fire.
Moore said fire crews continue to mop up smoldering vegetation, reinforce containment lines and fell dead standing trees that pose a threat to firefighters on the line.
With diminished fire activity, the number of resources needed on the incident will start to decrease. Moore said there are approximately 144 personnel working on the incident and the fire remains at 972 acres.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Mendocino Complex continued to add acreage overnight as it pushed further into the national forest and western Colusa County, and new damage totals showed another increase in structures lost in its path.
Cal Fire said the Mendocino Complex grew to 273,664 acres and 30-percent containment by Monday morning, an overall increase of nearly 6,700 acres overnight.
That breaks down as 225,001 acres and 21-percent containment for the Ranch fire and 48,663 acres and 58-percent containment for the River fire, according to Cal Fire.
The complex is now the second-largest wildland fire incident in California’s history, second only to the Thomas fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara in December.
Based on an updated damage assessment, Cal Fire said Monday morning that the complex has so far destroyed 143 buildings, specifically, 75 homes and 68 structures. Approximately 26 structures, 12 residents and 14 other types of building, have been damaged.
Cal Fire said the complex continues to threaten 9,300 structures.
Officials said the River Fire had limited movement overnight. A burnout operation conducted on the northern portion of the fire late Sunday afternoon improved containment. Firefighters are planning to work on burning out and tying in containment lines on Monday.
With containment up and firefighters making progress on the River fire, resources are being mobilized to help with the Ranch fire, according to Cal Fire.
The Ranch Fire continues to grow to the north and southeastern directions, threatening communities in its path, fire officials said.
Fire mapping shows it is continuing to move north toward Stonyford in Colusa County. Cal Fire Incident Management Team 2 Operations Section Chief Charlie Blankenheim said Sunday that fire officials have plans for protecting Stonyford should it reach there, and have put in control lines to keep it out of that community.
Cal Fire said the terrain on the northern quarter of the Ranch Fire makes it challenging to access the fire front directly.
Late Sunday night, Kurt Jensen Jr., a Lake County News contributor, said he witnessed the fire burning actively off of High Valley Road above the community of Clearlake Oaks, while Lake County News staff in the area on Sunday evening said it did not appear to be active Sunday in areas of including Lucerne, Glenhaven and Clearlake Oaks along Highway 20.
Cal Fire said many crews will be on the ground in the communities threatened by the fire, providing structure protection.
Resources that Cal Fire said are assigned to the Mendocino Complex as of Monday morning include 3,781 personnel, 432 engines, 89 water tenders, 15 helicopters, 57 hand crews and 80 dozers.
The target for full containment continues to be Aug. 15, Cal Fire said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Fire officials reported gaining ground on the Mendocino Complex on Sunday, with much of that success being in protecting Northshore communities.
Cal Fire said it has established fire lines on the ridges of the Northshore meant to protect communities stretching from Upper Lake in the west to Clearlake Oaks in the east.
A full update on the situation that unfolded on Sunday is here: http://bit.ly/2vHlNlZ.
In response to community members’ questions about the situation in Clearlake Oaks and Glenhaven along Highway 20, John Jensen of Lake County News took a quick trip to those areas on Sunday evening, reporting that both appeared to be unscathed.
The short video above gives an idea of the conditions there on Sunday.
In the town of Lucerne, Kurt Jensen Jr., a Lake County News contributor, reported on Sunday night that it was quiet, with no fire activity in the community boundaries.
However, Kurt Jensen said he encountered the Ranch fire burning off High Valley Road above Clearlake Oaks, in an area where Cal Fire had earlier confirmed that the fire was active.
Fire officials have reported losses in the Spring Valley Lakes subdivision east of Clearlake Oaks, but so far specific numbers have not been reported.
Separately, Lake County News has received reports from property owners about structure losses in the Bartlett Springs area in the hills above Lucerne. A tally of losses is not yet available.
Lake County News is planning another trip through the fire areas on Monday to visit other communities impacted by the Ranch fire, as conditions allow.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The fourth-largest wildland fire complex in California history grew by nearly 40,000 more acres on Sunday as it pushed further into forest lands in Lake County and east into Colusa County.
The Mendocino Complex reached 266,982 acres and 33-percent containment on Sunday night, according to Cal Fire.
The largest of the complex’s two fires, the Ranch fire, is up to 218,319 acres and 23-percent contained, while the River fire is 48,663 acres and 58-percent contained, Cal Fire said.
The boundaries of the two fires still have not touched, although they have continued to creep closer together and appear to be less than two miles apart in the area of Scotts Valley Road near West Highway 20, based on state mapping.
That growth between the northern edge of the River fire and the southern boundary of the Ranch fire, however, appears to have stalled thanks to containment lines fire officials said have been completed between Scotts Valley Road and Blue Lakes near Highway 20.
Firing operations planned for Sunday night and early Monday morning also are expected to strengthen containment, according to Cal Fire Incident Management Team 2 Operations Section Chief Charlie Blankenheim.
The Ranch fire, which burned into the scar of the June Pawnee fire on Saturday, has shown the most aggressive growth, gaining nearly 40,000 acres in size since Saturday night and throwing spot fires over one mile ahead of the main fire, according to Mendocino National Forest spokeswoman Punky Moore.
Cal Fire said more resources are now working the incident, including approximately 3,781 firefighting personnel, 432 engines, 89 water tenders, 15 helicopters, 57 hand crews, 80 dozers and an unspecified number of aircraft.
With some evacuations called off in the north Lakeport area, the number of structures threatened on Sunday was reduced to 9,300, Cal Fire said.
However, an updated damage assessment from Cal Fire showed a growing toll, with 130 structures – 68 residences and 62 other buildings – now reported destroyed, and 26 structures – 12 homes and 14 others – damaged.
The good news, according to Cal Fire, is that favorable weather allowed firefighters to get in and directly fight the fire in some areas.
That stable weather system occurred on Sunday morning, and Cal Fire said it gave ground and air opportunities to suppress the fire’s growth.
However, conditions continue to change quickly, and on Sunday afternoon lower humidity and higher winds caused the Ranch fire’s activity to increase and push forward as it has in previous days to the south, east and northern portions of the fire.
State fire mapping shows that the Ranch fire spread northward toward Lake Pillsbury overnight. Moore said firefighters initiated dozer line overnight from the Eel River northeast toward Elk Mountain Road to protect the residences around Lake Pillsbury, and to attempt to keep the fire out of the Pine Mountain Project.
She said the fire slowed around Little Round Mountain on Sunday morning.
The fire also has continued to move east toward western Colusa County. Over the court of the last few days, it has passed the northern end of Indian Valley Reservoir and continued approaching Leesville.
To the north lies the community of Stonyford. As of Sunday evening, the Ranch fire hadn’t reached there yet, Blankenheim said.
“The fire is still quite a ways from Stonyford,” he said, explaining there is fire line at the toe of the slope where the forest comes out of the hills before Stonyford.
While the Ranch fire is expected to continue moving north toward Stonyford, Blankenheim said they feel pretty good about where they've placed line to keep it out of that community. “We do have a plan to keep it out of the structures in Stonyford,” he said.
Moore said crews were working on dozer lines along the Stonyford-Lodoga Road and around Stonyford.
She said the favorable conditions on Sunday on the southeastern side of the fire, included favorable visibility that allowed aircraft to use retardant drops to reduce the fire spread while firefighters on the ground built dozer line down the eastern edge of Bear Valley.
Moore said the Mendocino National Forest’s Stonyford Work Station is closed until further notice due to mandatory evacuations on the Ranch fire.
Firefighters gaining ground
During a Sunday evening community meeting held at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, Blankenheim gave an overview of the gains and the challenges on the River and Ranch fires.
Blankenheim’s Incident Management Team 2 is familiar with Lake County, having worked here during the 2015 Rocky and Jerusalem fires, according to Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones, who also spoke at the Sunday meeting.
“It’s been a real good day on the River fire,” Blankenheim said.
On the southern portion of the fire, near Highway 175 and Lakeport, all of the fire line is tied in, mop up has been completed and equipment is moving out, he said.
Up through Scotts Valley, where last week some of the most furious fire activity had occurred, the situation was looking good on Sunday evening, with fire line tied in, Blankenheim said. He said the situation was the same on the Mendocino side of the incident.
Blankenheim said two firing operations, expected to burn between 2,000 and 3,000 acres, will take place along the River fire’s northern edge in the Scotts Valley area overnight.
The successes on the River fire led to the reopening of Highway 20 between Highway 101 and Highway 29 on Sunday. Highway 29 south of Highway 20 also reopened in both directions. Highway 20 east of Highway 29 remains closed, officials said.
The situation on the Ranch fire was more dynamic and active on Sunday, according to Blankenheim.
He said the Highway 20 corridor from Upper Lake to Clearlake Oaks looks very good. However, he said the fire is still active along the highway coming out of Upper Lake.
Blankenheim said there is dozer line established along the ridges from Upper Lake to Clearlake Oaks.
Firefighters are trying not to use that line on the ridge, however. “We’re going direct wherever we can,” he said, using helicopters to drop water, planes to drop retardant and hand crews to cut lines.
“We’re trying to keep it from coming off the hill,” he said.
Engines are staged and prepped around the communities of Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks to protect them, he said.
Blankenheim said the Ranch fire hit the Pawnee fire scar on Saturday. On Sunday, he said firefighters were holding the fire’s progression at High Valley Ridge, where it was backing down in a few places and structure protection was in place.
“The plan for tonight is to continue to go direct wherever we can,” he said, noting there are a lot of spot fires and activity on the Ranch fire.
With the River fire wrapping up, Blankenheim said they have been able to move resources and concentrate aircraft along the southeast portion of the Ranch fire. “We’re really having some good success.”
On Saturday, when the Ranch fire hit the Pawnee fire area, it moved up Indian Valley Reservoir and hit the lake.
He said it then made an 8- to 10-mile run from an area of the map that appeared to be northwest of Hough Springs in Lake County east toward Leesville and Brim Road in Colusa County.
The Ranch fire has crossed Brim Road and has an east wind from the Sacramento Valley on it, pushing it back toward Indian Valley Reservoir. They’re trying to tie it into the reservoir, where Blankenheim said they’re optimistic they can stop it.
Blankenheim said they took direct line from Brim line to Stonyford, and did firing operations Saturday night up to just below Lodoga, where it’s holding well.
If they can pick up the slopover on the fire’s eastern edge in Colusa County overnight, he said they will be good shape from the northeast corner near Leesville to the edge of the fire’s head near Lucerne.
While there is still a lot of potential for spot fires, Blankenheim said they believe they can hold the head of the fire – the active portion heading east – and their No. 1 priority on Monday is to work that area.
He said firefighters will continue to build line up past Stonyford and look for places to bend it back across the Mendocino National Forest. The forest area continues to provide a lot of challenges due to a lack of resources, with the focus on areas where structures are and where the head of the fire is.
Blankenheim said they’re now starting to shift resources and focus to building lines across the northern portion of the Ranch fire.
Line also is being built up out of Potter Valley toward the lake, with a goal of using the Eel River to control the fire’s advance, he said.
Blankenheim said a lot of work on the forest remains to be done, as well as a lot of planning.
Officials are optimistic that the situation is starting to come together after three to four days where their efforts seemed futile and nothing appeared to work, he said, adding that they’re finally feeling like they’re getting a handle on the bottom of the fire.
Sheriff Brian Martin said Sunday evening that mandatory evacuations for the majority of the Northshore are remaining in effect due to the continued fire activity – which can be seen in the hills above the towns.
He said law enforcement patrols are continuing to protect the evacuated communities.
Martin said evacuations will remain in place until it’s safe.
“If we let you in too soon, we’re going to fail you,” he said, explaining some areas remain dangerous and there also are some power outages in fire-impacted communities.
He said authorities will do their best to keep community members safe and get them home as soon as possible.
Email Elizabeth Larson at