San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Evacuations: Fires in Mendocino, Napa counties put homes at risk.
Wildfires in Mendocino and Napa counties raged into the evening Saturday, destroying structures and prompting evacuations as firefighters struggled to get the upper hand on the stubborn blazes.
The Ranch and River fires west of Clear Lake combined Saturday into the 14,000-acre Mendocino Complex that crossed into Lake County and threatened the towns of Lakeport and Upper Lake, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport began evacuating patients around 4:15 p.m. because of the threat from flames as several neighborhoods east of town were under mandatory evacuation orders.
Patients at the level-4 trauma center were taken to nearby hospitals, said Morgen Wells, a spokeswoman for Sutter Lakeside.
Just south of Lake Berryessa in Napa County, a 150-acre wildfire exploded in the Berryessa Highlands neighborhood, burning several homes and forcing residents to flee for their lives.
The Steele Fire started around 4:30 p.m., forcing residents on Steele Canyon Road between Rimrock Drive and Headlands Drive to evacuate, said Sgt. Pat McMahon with the Napa County Sheriff ’s Department.
Firefighters were attacking the flames from the air and on the ground, with several homes burning or damaged, McMahon said.
A large plume of smoke could be seen for miles as aircraft made several passes over the growing flames. The fire was 10 percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Saturday for Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties to request federal assistance to support the communities affected by the Steele Fire and Mendocino Complex.
The fires were just three of more than a dozen major wildfires that have scorched more than 150,000 acres around California, according to Cal Fire. Some 10,000 firefighters were fanned out around the state on the front lines.
“One of the problems that firefighters are facing right now is just a lack of resources,” said Bryan May, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Emergency Services. “With all of these fires burning across the state, they are tapped out.”
Firefighters, trucks and other resources were pouring into California from states as far away as Maryland, with more than 400 local government fire engines responding, he added. Rising temperatures have made conditions for firefighters particularly challenging.
President Trump granted Brown’s request for federal assistance Saturday for the Carr Fire in Shasta County, where five people have died and 536 structures have been destroyed.
The National Guard was deployed to battle the 83,800acre fire, which was only 5 percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Before mounting its attack on Lakeport, the Ranch Fire ignited around noon Friday at Old Lake County Highway and Highway 20 and grew to 5,000 acres. The flames prompted an evacuation advisory for the entire town of Upper Lake on Saturday night.
The nearby River Fire started around 1 p.m. Friday, 13 miles away at Old Lake County Highway, 6 miles north of Hopland, and grew to 9,000 acres.
Seven firefighters were injured while battling the blazes, four of whom were taken to hospitals for heat-related illness. No immediate information was released on the conditions of the other firefighters. The combined Mendocino Complex was 5 percent contained with nearly 1,000 homes under evacuation orders, said county Undersheriff Matthew Kendall.
So far, one home and one outbuilding have been destroyed, and 386 structures remain threatened.
Elsewhere in California, the wildfire threatening Yosemite Valley, which has caused the park to remain closed because of the unhealthy air quality, won’t be fully contained for at least another two weeks, Cal Fire said.
The Ferguson Fire, burning in Merced River Canyon, has scorched 51,671 acres and was 30 percent contained as of Saturday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The National Park Service had originally hoped to reopen the valley Sunday but is now planning to delay the reopening until Friday. Flames are not threatening the valley, but the smoke has rendered the air quality unhealthy.
Seven firefighters have been injured, and one was killed in the blaze. Braden Varney died fighting the Ferguson Fire on July 14, when his bulldozer rolled over.
There was no immediate information on the injuries.
One structure has been destroyed, and 5,245 are still being threatened by the blaze.
The cause of the Marsh, River, Ranch and Ferguson fires is under investigation.
The Cranston Fire in Riverside County — which is one of the largest wildfires — has burned 13,118 acres acres in San Bernardino National Forest and was 29 percent contained Saturday afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
The cause of the blaze that’s resulted in over 2,000 evacuations is arson, the Forest Service said.