UPDATE . —
As of tonight’s update the Ranch fire is 51,539 acres and the River fire is 28,869 acres, of which approximately 30,000 acres are part of the Mendocino National Forest. Around 12,000 residences are threatened and 14,000 people are evacuated. The update notes, “The fires continue to spread to the east and remain very active with running and spotting. The forecast is for dry and hot conditions with the high temperature 90-100 degrees and wind from 10-15 mph,” making for challenging conditions. More resources arrived today, and a 2,677 personnel are working on the incident.
About 5 p.m. today another wildland fire broke out in Covelo, which is being called the Eel Fire, and as of 6:30 p.m. had grown to about 2o0 acres, with portions of Mendocino Pass Road under mandatory evacuations. See all the details here.
The evacuation orders have been lifted for the residents of the Kelseyville, Finley, and Big Rancheria areas as of 7 p.m. However, the evacuation advisory remains in effect for the Kelseyville area north of Lake- Sonoma County Line; east of Bottle Rock Road; south of Clear Lake; and west of Soda Bay Road, Red Hills Road, and Highway CA-175; including the subdivisions of Soda Bay, Riviera Heights, Buckingham Park, Riviera West, and Clear Lake Riviera west of Soda Bay Road.
Evacuations were also lifted for most of Potter Valley, see the details from the update earlier today.
Both the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department have requested that people not bring material donations such as clothes or food to either the shelters or to first responders. “We are grateful for the outpouring of public support, but are not able to accept donations of any items at this time at the shelters. Please consider making a monetary donation to support our affected residents,” asks the Lake County Sheriff.
Monetary donations can be sent to the non-profit North Coast Opportunities, which serves both Mendocino and Lake counties and assisted with the fire recovery efforts last year. Gas and grocery gift cards can also be accepted. Gift card and cash donations can be made at NCO’s administrative office, 413 N. State Street in Ukiah, CA 95482, and donations can also be made on the website.
As of this afternoon, a limited number of new items are being accepted at the MendoLake Complex Fire Relief Unit, located at 8465 East Road in Redwood Valley, across from Redwood Valley Market. NCO reserves the right to turn away items at its discretion. Here’s the list:
New items being accepted include:
Bottled Water Non-perishable foods New towels
Baby wipes Diapers (4/5/6) Full size toiletries
New socks New underwear Adult diapers L/XL
Cleaning supplies Garbage bags Disposable plates/utensils
Evacuees from both Mendocino and Lake counties who received CalFresh benefits or have experienced food loss may be eligible for replacements; the application must be received by August 27. The information for Lake County residents can be found in yesterday’s fire post, but Mendocino County HHSA will also provide “replacement affidavits” for displaced residents of Lake and Shasta counties who get in touch. To apply for replacement benefits, please contact:
Ukiah office: 1 (877) 327-1711, 737 S. State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482, Monday – Thursday, 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Fort Bragg office: 1 (877) 327-1677, 764 S. Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, Monday – Thursday, 7:00 a.m. – noon; 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Mail delivery has stopped in the evacuated areas of Lake County, and will resume when evacuations are lifted. Until then, all the evacuees from Lake County (both Ranch and River fires) can pick up their mail at the Clearlake Post Office, 4500 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m with photo ID.
UPDATE 12:10 p.m. — Areas of Potter Valley, south of Burris Ln. and west of the fire line are being repopulated as of noon today. The areas of Pine Ave. and Mid Mountain Rd. that had been evacuated, remain evacuated for now.
Here are the details from the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office:
Evacuation orders have been lifted and residents may return to the following areas:
• Potter Valley Community The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has reduced the Evacuation Order to an Evacuation Warning in the following areas:
• Potter Valley Community; All areas north of Highway CA – 20, east of East Side Potter Valley Road, south of Burris Lane, and west of the fire perimeter, including Burris Lane and MeWhinney Creek.
The Evacuation Order for Potter Valley including Pine Avenue and Mid Mountain remains in effect.
NOTES: SAFETY MESSAGE – The public is reminded to stay vigilant on current fire conditions.
Please continue to adhere to road closures and any evacuation warnings. A reminder to
drive slowly and yield to emergency personnel in the area. There will be smoke in the
respective areas as firefighters continue firefighting operations. If at any time you feel
unsafe, please call 911.
MENDOCINO Co., 7/31/18 — As we enter day 5 of the Mendocino Complex fires the blazes continue their steady growth into the dry grasslands and forests of Mendocino and Lake counties, but substantial progress was made in the fight overnight and containment has grown around both fires, while the number of structures destroyed remains low, and no injuries or fatalities have been reported.
According to CalFire, as of 7 a.m. today, the Ranch Fire has grown to 47,339 acres and containment has grown to 10%; the River Fire has grown to 27,069 acres and has 8% containment. Seven residences and three outbuildings have been destroyed between the two fires.
Of course these figures are just numbers and hard to picture, but thankfully there are some fresh maps. Because of the large size of these files we’re including links to them, for more detailed views follow the links. Here is a current fire map of the Ranch Fire as of this morning, and here is one of the River Fire.
A CalFire map of the River Fire for July 31.
A CalFire map of the Ranch Fire for July 31.
Large areas of Lake County remain evacuated, as do sections of Mendo near Potter Valley, and between Potter and the Lake County line. The area around Old River Rd. where the River Fire actually began, was largely repopulated yesterday. (For more info on specific Lake Co. evacuations and shelters scroll down.) Effectively all of western Lake Co. had been evacuated as of yesterday, including the communities of Lakeport, Upper Lake, Nice, Finely, Kelseyville, Blue Lakes, Big Valley Rancheria, Wittier Springs and others.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will meet today at 9 a.m. to discuss the situation and the deceleration of a state of emergency in Mendocino County. They will meet in Board chambers, and their meetings are always live streamed on YouTube here.
And here is a public website with excellent data from weather satellites and lots of detail. This map, which shows the fire’s hot spots, not the actual containment lines or fire perimeter, actually has time-stamps showing when the satellite data was gathered.
We will continue to update this post through the day, so check back.
Here is the CalFire fact-sheet:
And here is yesterday’s coverage:
There have been several power-outages in past days, due to damage to high power transmission lines, here is some more information about that:
