Firefighters gain ground on Calif. blaze
Full control of wildfire expected in September
UKIAH, Calif. — Firefighters said for the first time Wednesday that they have made good progress battling the state’s largest-ever wildfire but don’t expect to have it fully under control until September.
The blaze north of San Francisco has grown to the size of Los Angeles since it started two weeks ago, fueled by dry vegetation, high winds and rugged terrain that made it too dangerous for firefighters to directly attack the flames now spanning 470 square miles.
Crews, including inmates and firefighters from overseas, have managed to cut lines around half the fire to contain the flames, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. The blaze about 100 miles north of San Francisco around the resort region of Clear Lake has destroyed 116 homes and injured two firefighters.
Those lines have kept the southern edge of the fire from spreading into residential areas on the east side of the lake. But Cal Fire said the flames are out of control to the north, roaring into remote and unpopulated areas of thick forests and deep ravines as firefighters contend with record-setting temperatures.
California is seeing earlier, longer and more destructive wildfire seasons because of drought, warmer weather attributed to climate change and home construction deeper into the forests.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jonathan Cox said the area has few natural barriers to slow flames and terrain that firefighters can’t get to. So firefighters fall back to the nearest road, ridge or river, where they bulldoze a wide line and wait for the flames to come to them.
The Mendocino Complex Fire, which will take months to put out, is one of 18 burning in the state.