Firefighters fear Zogg Fire, August Complex could merge
LOS ANGELES — As fire crews continue working to get a number of significant blazes in Northern California under control, they’ve also endeavored to prevent a megafire merger that would take the top off the state’s record books.
The potential stems from two fires — the historically mammoth August Complex and the farsmaller-but-still-devastating Zogg Fire — that have burned to within roughly nine miles of each other in an area southwest of Redding.
While crews have increased containment of both blazes recently, particularly on the Zogg Fire, officials this week acknowledged some concern that the two could eventually meet.
“Nobody wants them to merge. We have every plan in place for them not to merge. But it’s 2020, and time will tell,” said Kale Casey, public information officer for the Alaska Incident Management Team that’s assigned to the north zone of the August Complex.
Fusing with the roughly 56,000-acre Zogg Fire would swell the August Complex’s already massive footprint to more than 1 million acres — a previously unthinkable milestone in an unprecedented fire season.
However, officials have made significant strides in controlling the Zogg Fire, boosting containment to 46% as of Friday.
The progress is particularly promising around the fire’s southern edge — the area nearest the August Complex.
Chris Waters, an operations section chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said Friday that the fire has calmed significantly in “the area from Igo south to Highway 36 and then back north to Platina Road.”
“We have engines still patrolling looking for hot spots and making sure that thing doesn’t cause us any problems,” he said in a video briefing. “And then they’re also going to be available to do initial attack in the event that another incident starts.”