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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A wildland fire that spread from Clearlake Oaks to Clearlake early Monday has scorched thousands of acres, with numerous structures reported destroyed.

The Sulphur fire, first reported at about 1:15 a.m. Monday, quickly moved from its point of origin on Sulphur Bank Road near the Elem Colony into the city of Clearlake, prompting evacuations.

The fire is in the vicinity of Borax Lake, Mt. Baldy, the Elem Colony and surrounding unincorporated areas and areas within the city limits of Clearlake.

Shortly before 10 a.m. Monday the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported that the Sulphur fire had burned 1,800 acres, with zero containment. Cal Fire raised that size estimate to 2,000 acres as of just before 11:30 a.m.

Fire crews have reported structures have been involved, but there was no estimate available mid-morning as to how many structures had been damaged or destroyed.

Battalion Chief Mike Wink is the Cal Fire incident commander and is supported by Northshore Fire District and the South Lake County Fire District. Other agencies assisting include the city of Clearlake, the city of Lakeport, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Highway Patrol, Pacific Gas and Electric, Amerigas, Lake Transit Authority and others. Additional resources continue to respond.

Sheriff Brian Martin as the director of the Lake County Office of Emergency Services has proclaimed a local emergency throughout Lake County.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors has called a special meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.

At that time, the board will consider adopting a resolution confirming existence of a local emergency and ratifying Sheriff Martin’s disaster proclamation for the Sulphur fire.

Through the night and into the daytime hours firefighters have worked to protect structures and build line around the fire, according to radio reports.

On Monday morning, aircraft began to work the region’s fires and assess sizes, based on scanner reports. Some helicopters also remained engaged in rescue operations around the region.

In Clearlake, areas reported to be under mandatory evacuations include Second Street to 17th Street, San Joaquin to Windflower Point, the Burns Valley area to Smith Lane and North Drive in Clearlake and Sulphur Bank Road in Clearlake Oaks.

Lake County Transit is assisting evacuees with transportation to evacuation centers, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Evacuations and rescues also have been ongoing, with the Lake County Sheriff’s Boat Patrol responding to the area of the gooseneck and Pirate’s Cove to rescue residents, according to radio reports.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the evacuation center at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown had reached capacity. A second shelter has opened at the Grace Church, located at 6716 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

Due to the fire situation, on Monday morning the Lake County Office of Education said Konocti Unified School District, Lucerne Elementary, Middletown Unified School District and LCOE Clearlake Creativity School, located on Old Highway 53 in Clearlake, are closed. Kelseyville, Lakeport and Upper Lake schools are open.

Mendocino College reported that its Ukiah Campus, North County Center in Willits, Lake Center in Lakeport and Coast Center in Fort Bragg are all closed on Monday for the safety of staff and students. All classes are cancelled and staff and students are encouraged to check their e-mail as well as www.mendocino.edu for continued updates.

Woodland Community College’s Lake County Campus also is closed Monday, according to Executive Dean Annette Lee.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to communities in Northern California as the region deals with devastating fires,” California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said Monday. “Many community college students and staff are affected, and the focus of our colleges is on the safety of all residents, who are urged to follow the instructions of local emergency officials. The state chancellor's office will work with colleges forced to cancel classes to minimize any impacts on academic calendars. These colleges will play important roles as the region recovers from this emergency and moves forward.”

The sheriff’s office also reported that Mediacom is actively working on restoring services to customers in Clearlake and surrounding towns after the Sulphur fire destroyed some fiber optic lines.

Currently, video and high speed data services are impacted by the fire damage to our lines while customers with Mediacom phone service is not currently impacted in most areas, the sheriff’s office said.

On Monday morning there was not an estimated time to repair this damage as Mediacom’s engineers are still evaluating options to restore service as quickly as possible. Call 855-633-4266 for the latest updates.

In other news, Pacific Gas and Electric reported that thousands of Lake County residents in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks remained without power on Monday morning. More than 2,500 residents had been without power since just before 10:30 p.m. Sunday, with no cause yet reported.

Large fires continue to burn around the region, with thousands of North Coast residents in evacuation shelters.

In Napa County the Tubbs fire, located off of Highway 128 and Bennett Lane near Calistoga, had burned 20,000 acres as of 7:30 a.m., followed by the Atlas fire, located off of Atlas Peak Road, at an estimated 5,000 acres, and the Partrick fire, on Partrick Road, at 100 acres. Cal Fire has not reported any containment for those incidents.

In Sonoma County, the Nuns fire is reported to have burned 300 acres. It’s located of Highway 12, north of Glen Ellen, Cal Fire reported.

In Mendocino County, the Potter and Redwood fires had burned a combined 4,500 acres by Monday morning, with 11 structures confirmed destroyed in the Potter fire, Cal Fire said.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Two fires that began overnight in Mendocino County had by dawn on Monday burned thousands of acres with nearly one dozen homes confirmed destroyed.

Cal Fire’s Mendocino Unit issued the update on the Potter and Redwood fires shortly before 7 a.m. Monday.

Efforts to fight both fires were hindered by the high winds that blew through the area overnight, according to the report.

The Potter fire, located on Busch Lane in Potter Valley, began Sunday night just after 10:30 p.m. Cal Fire reported.

Cal Fire said it had burned 1,500 acres as of Monday morning, with zero containment.

Eleven homes were confirmed destroyed in the fire, Cal Fire said. No injuries have so far been reported.

There are no evacuations or road closures due to the fire, Cal Fire said.

Resources assigned include 205 total firefighting personnel, 13 engine companies, 12 overhead personnel, six fire crews, four chief officers, two bulldozers and one water tender, according to Cal Fire’s report.

The Redwood fire, located north of Highway 20 and west of the Mendocino National Forest in Redwood Valley, was first reported at 12:45 a.m. Monday, Cal Fire said.

It had burned 4,500 by 7 a.m., with zero containment, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire said Monday morning that it did not yet know how many structures had been destroyed or damaged by the Redwood fire. No injuries are reported.

Resources that Cal Fire said are assigned to the Redwood fire include 231 total personnel, 11 overhead personnel, seven fire crews, six engine companies, five chief officers, two bulldozers and one water tender.

The causes of both fires remain under investigation, Cal Fire said.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The city of Santa Rosa’s manager, acting as Director of Emergency Services, has declared the fires in Santa Rosa as a local emergency.

The city said early Monday that several neighborhoods remain under mandatory evacuation:

- Cross Creek Road;
- Sky Farm Drive;
- Saint Andrews Drive;
- All residences north Fountaingrove Parkway;
- Montecito Heights;
- The Hopper Avenue Area West of Coffey Lane (Between Dennis Lane and Hopper Avenue to the north and south and Coffey Lane and Barnes Road to the east and west);
- All residences east of Fulton Road, between Piner Road and Guerneville Road;
- Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Sutter Hospital are being evacuated.

The city said residents need to heed evacuation orders and leave immediately.

Shelters are open in the following locations:

- Finley Community Center (THIS SHELTER IS AT CAPACITY) at 2060 West College Ave.;
- Veterans Building on 1350 Maple Ave.;
- Elsie Allen High School at 599 Bellevue Ave.;
- Petaluma Community Center at 320 McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma;
- Sebastopol Community Center, 390 Morris St., Sebastopol;
- Analy High School, 69 Analy Ave., Sebastopol;
- Animals may be sheltered at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Road.

Officials said all Santa Rosa City School will be closed on Monday.

The following roads are blocked due to traffic:

- Highway 101 southbound from Mark West Springs Road;
- Highway 101 northbound from Bicentennial Avenue;
- Highway 101 at Highway 12 southbound.

Officials ask the public not to call 911 unless they are reporting an active fire.

Find updates on the fires at www.srcity.org/emergency.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A wildland fire burning in Mendocino County resulted in another round of evacuations on the North Coast during a frenzied night of fire activity.

The Redwood Complex was reported shortly before 1:45 a.m. Monday, within hours of fires that began in Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties.

Initial reports from the scene early Monday put the fire’s size at more than 600 acres, burning in all directions, with structures threatened and residents reported trapped.

The fire could be seen from Lake County, with the red glow hanging over Highway 20 early Monday. Local firefighters had received reports from area residents who believed it was in Lake County.

The Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services reported numerous areas were under mandatory evacuation and some roads were closed due to the fire complex.

In Redwood Valley, School Way from Highway 101 has been closed and East Road and West Road are under evacuation order, the agency reported.

In Willits, Tomki Road to Canyon Road is under evacuation order. Also ordered to evacuate were Golden Rule subdivision and Reeves Canyon, officials said.

Officials said shelters are opening for evacuees. Those south of the fire can go to Ukiah High School while those north of the fire can go to the Willits Community Center.

For large animal evacuation, residents are being directed to the Ukiah Fairgrounds.

Additional details will be posted as they become available.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An early Monday morning fire that began in Clearlake Oaks has burned into the city limits of Clearlake, triggering evacuations in both communities.

The Sulphur fire was first reported in the area of Sulphur Bank Road near the Elem Indian Colony in Clearlake Oaks at around 1:15 a.m.

First units to arrive on scene estimated it was about 10 acres, before revising that estimate to 75 acres and then to between 500 and 1,000 acres within the first 20 minutes of dispatch, based on radio reports.

By 3:30 a.m., the fire was reported to have burned 1,200 acres, according to radio reports.

With the fire headed toward the Elem Colony, evacuations were ordered there not long after dispatch as well as at nearby Orchard Shores. In Lake Village Estates, transformers were reported to be blowing.

The fire continued rapid progress toward Clearlake, cresting the top of Mount Baldy just after 2 a.m. and heading for the city.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for Second Street to 17th Street, San Joaquin to Windflower Point, the Burns Valley area to Smith Lane and North Drive in Clearlake and Sulphur Bank Road, officials said.

The Lake County Office of Emergency Services said Twin Pine Casino in Middletown has been opened as an evacuation shelter.

The fire came during the midst of a hellish night of wildland fires around the North Coast, with Cal Fire and local agencies stretched thin as they worked to respond to fires in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.

The region is under a red flag warning due to high winds and extreme fire dangers, with officials confirming overnight that the winds were contributing to the chaotic conditions.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Strike teams of firefighters from Lake County and elsewhere around the region are battling a number of major wildland fires that began burning Sunday night and early Monday morning in Sonoma and Napa counties, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents.

The Cal Fire Sonoma Lake Napa Unit put out the call for at least 10 strike teams Sunday night to respond to a growing number of late-night fires in Napa County in Sonoma County being fanned by high winds.

Reports from the scenes of the fires indicated the high winds on Sunday night and Monday morning were playing a part in the fires, resulting in “extreme fire behavior.”

Shortly before midnight, incident command ordered increasing numbers of evacuations from Calistoga to Santa Rosa, with evacuation centers opening up both in Napa and Sonoma counties.

Dispatch also repeatedly informed responding units that rescue is a priority, with structure defense and suppression where possible.

A call went out to all Lake County fire stations shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday for an immediate need strike team.

At least three engines and two water tenders from arounds around Lake County responded to the Tubbs incident in Napa County, with Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta as strike team leader, according to radio reports.

The Tubbs incident is burning in the area of Highway 128 and Tubbs Lane. Late Sunday, there was no size estimate available, but structures were reported to be threatened.

Also burning in Napa County is the Atlas fire, located off of Atlas Peak Road, south of Lake Berryessa. Cal Fire estimated the Atlas to be about 200 acres.

Another fire in the 3000 block of Partrick Road in Napa County was reported shortly before 11:45 p.m. Sunday. At that point it was moving at a rapid rate, was 20 acres and threatening structures, with authorities looking for any available resources to respond.

In Sonoma County, dispatchers were overwhelmed with 911 calls in response to fires burning at Mark West Springs and Riebli Road in Santa Rosa, Shiloh and Conde in Windsor and Highway 116 at Fredericks Road in Sebastopol, Lawndale Road in Kenwood and Mark West and Ursuline Drive in Larkfield, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Evacuations have been ordered along Porter Creek, Petrified Forest, Franz Valley and Mountain Home Ranch Road, and in Larkfield, where the fire was on the east side of Highway 101, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

The agency said “mass evacuations” were taking place.

In the city of Santa Rosa, several neighborhoods were under mandatory evacuation early Monday morning.

The city said evacuation orders have issued for residents of Cross Creek Road, Sky Farm Drive, Saint Andrews Drive, all residences north of Fountaingrove Parkway, and Montecito Heights

The fire expanded to west of Highway 101 in the northeast Santa Rosa neighborhood near the Kohl’s Store at Coffey Lane and Hopper Avenue, where there were several structural fires, the city reported.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said Silverado Trail is closed at Yountville Cross Road, with all Soda Canyon residents ordered to evacuate.

A hard closure is in effect on Highway 128 at Tubbs Lane, with a mandatory evacuation of Highway 128 west to the city of Santa Rosa.

The county of Napa reported that a local emergency had been declared as of 10:15 p.m. Sunday, and that it had opened its emergency operations center and emergency shelters in response to the series of wildfires burning there.

Areas evaluated included Atlas Peak Road, including Silverado Country Club, Knights Valley to Tubbs Lane in Calistoga, Monticello Road to Circle Oaks Subdivision and Soda Canyon Road.

Emergency shelters are open at Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, 1435 N. Oak St.; Crosswalk Community Church in Napa, 2590 First St.

The Napa County Animal Shelter at 942 Hartle Court will shelter dogs, cats, rabbits and other household animals.

Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.

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.