CLEARLAKE PARK, Calif. – Using helicopters and ground crews, Cal Fire and Lake County Fire knocked down a wildland fire that burned several acres Thursday afternoon.

The fire was dispatched just before 5 p.m., with numerous Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire engines and units racing along Clearlake Park's winding and sometimes confusing streets to locate the blaze.

Burning on a steep hillside above San Joaquin Drive, firefighters on the ground and Cal Fire crews in the air attacked the incident.

As air attack spotter planes circled overhead, a tanker dumped retardant and a helicopter made trips back and forth between nearby Clear Lake and the hillside, where it made numerous water drops.

Nearby, one homeowners stood in his yard with a hose, dousing the dried up vegetation.

Lake County Fire and Cal Fire had a unified command on the fire, with Northshore Fire Protection District sending a water tender under mutual aid, according to Lake County Fire Battalion Chief George Murch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fire officials also had called Clearlake Police for assistance with traffic control, as vehicles were trying to pass through the area where fire trucks – and, for a time, a Cal Fire helicopter – were parked on the roadway.

A Clearlake Police volunteer was posted at San Joaquin Drive and Carter Lane to keep the roadway clear.

The fire burned between five and seven acres, based on estimates from the Cal Fire pilots, Murch said.

While the blaze was contained within an hour, the late afternoon wind was cause for concern. Murch measured it at an average of 7 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 15 miles per hour. He also reported the temperature was 92 degrees at the scene.

Because of the wind, he estimated that mop up and monitoring would continue for another four to five hours.

No reason was given for the fire starting. No injuries were reported, and there were no reports of burned structures.

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