Monument Fire nears 120K acres; SR299 remains closed
The Monument Fire grew to nearly 120,000 by Tuesday morning with 10% containment and continued to keep state Route 299 connecting Humboldt County with Shasta County closed.
The highway was closed from 4.6 miles west of Burnt Ranch to 2.1 miles west of Weaverville.
More than 5,000 homes around Junction City, Weaverville, Hayfork and Douglas City in Trinity County are threatened by the Monument Fire, spurring the governor to allocate more resources to that fire.
State Route 36 also was fully closed from the junction with state Route 3 to Bowman Road because of the Mcfarland Fire on that corridor.
The National Weather Service Eureka office posted a red flag warning that is in effect from 1 p.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. tonight above 1,500 feet warning of “critical fire weather conditions.”
Air quality in Humboldt County was predominantly good to moderate, the North Coast Air Quality Management District said Tuesday. Hoopa, Willow Creek, Garberville and Redway could see a lot of smoke overnight and be potentially in the unhealthy range today.
Monument Fire
There were a total of 911 personnel assigned to the lightning-started fire in the Shasta-trinity National Forest.
Firefighters were struggling to control the fire around state Route 299, according to Tuesday’s incident report.
“Gusty northwest winds challenged firefighters with significant fire activity, including short-range spotting,” the report stated. “The fire front pushed towards SR-299 near Red Hill and Dutch Creek Road advancing to the east around Junction City. … On the north side, firefighters were successful in containing a spot fire that crossed SR299.”
The fire was hard to reach for firefighters.
“The fire is burning in the footprint of the 2008 Cedar Fire, Eagle Fire and Buckhorn Fire burn scars,” the report notes. “The terrain is extremely steep and access is difficult.”
Mcfarland Fire
The Mcfarland Fire, burning along state Route 36 in Trinity County, had grown to 97,407 acres as of Tuesday morning and was 53% contained.
The incident report notes on Monday “gusty and dry west to northwest winds surfaced over the fire area and increased fire activity” and Tuesday’s “weather conditions bring another critical fire day.”
The fire will likely grow because fire crews are stretched thin.
“These strong gusty winds could produce rapid rates of spread and additional spotting,” the report states. “The extremely limited night resources will be responsible for both perimeter control and point protection on structures in the fire area.”
Evacuations were ordered in the community of Platina.
Antelope Fire
The Antelope Fire in Klamath National Forest was at 56,753 acres with 27% containment.
“Crews continue to focus the majority of their efforts on holding the northeast and southwest sections where the fire has been most active,” a release from the Klamath National Forest states.
The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation orders and warnings for several communities surrounding the Antelope Fire.
River Complex Fire
The River Complex Fire was at 44,117 acres with 10% containment and was expected to grow amid high temperatures and high winds.
“Stronger winds aloft will spread over the area later today, and when coupled with the dry air, will result in critical fire weather conditions across the fire area,” the incident report stated Tuesday.
Evacuation orders were in effect for several areas of Trinity County.