Cache Fire consumes 80 acres

LOWER LAKE » A wildfire which erupted east of the Cache Creek Apartments in the Lower Lake area of the county on Wednesday, which necessitated mandatory evacuations, traffic jams and street closures in the area burned approximately 80 acres.

According to scanner reports, the blaze led to at least one burn victim and a traffic jam at the junction of Highways 29 and 53 occurred when people were fleeing the fire, which prompted calls for additional assistance from the CHP and backed up traffic for several hours Wednesday afternoon.

An evacuation shelter for residents was established at Kelseyville High School.

Evacuation orders were issued for multiple zones in Lower Lake and evacuation warning for zones LOWE169 and LOW- E-170 were issued, including the schools in Lower Lake. The evacuation orders for zones LOWE159 and LOW- E169 were no longer in effect by press time Thursday, residents living in these areas were told to return home.. According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, evacuation warning for zones LOW-E161, LOWE167, LOW-E170, and LOWE176

were also no longer in effect

Residents can track information in their area during any emergency at zonehaven. com and punching in their address and/or zip codes.

Clearlake’s City Manager Alan Flora signed a Declaration of Emergency for the Cache Fire Wednesday, the ratification of which was added to this week’s City Council meeting as an emergency item.

The final report posted by the Cal Fire’s Sonoma Lake Napa Unit by press time Thursday stated the fire had burned approximately 80 acres and was 20 percent contained.