Wildfires contained

It's taken a month, but firefighters have finally gotten the upper hand on the fires that ravaged Mendocino County, a cause for joy even though mopping up may take another month.

"As a county and a big community at large, we came together. We stood our ground. We lost two homes early on, but we can claim victory today," said Jim Wattenburger, chairman of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors.

The 129 lightning-caused fires in Mendocino County were 100 percent contained Thursday.

Firefighting costs have hit $43.5 million for those fires, which have burned 53,300 acres.

In the so-called Soda Complex conflagration mostly on federal land in Lake and Mendocino counties, three fires have been contained, but the Mill fire near Lake Pillsbury is only 60 percent contained.

"We're glad we have them contained, but we are in no ways in a position to feel safe on the Mill fire. It is in extremely steep, rugged country, which is very dangerous for our firefighters," said Dave Sinclear, a spokesman for Cal Fire in Redding.

Those fires have burned 8,500 acres, cost $10.5 million in firefighting efforts and are being fought by 655 men.

Still burning out of control is a fire in the Mendocino National Forest in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel area of Trinity County, which has burned 24,655 acres and is getting only minimal firefighting efforts.

At the peak statewide, there were 2,093 fires burning, with all but 43 now contained. In total, 887,315 acres have burned. State figures show that 18,571 firefighters from all 50 U.S. states, Canada and Australia have been called in. Of those, 16,119 personnel have been in Northern California.

"It is literally a historical level of response," said Pete Buist of Fairbanks, Alaska, who was working as a media officer in the Redding office of the U.S. Forest Service.

The fires have taken their toll, economically and emotionally.

The smoke has threatened wine grape crops, timberlands have burned, and firefighters have been pushed to their limits.

"We try not to have frayed nerves, but it is just the way things are this year," Sinclear said. "We're having record levels of fire danger."

Firefighters usually rotate out of the fire lines after 14 days, but resources have been stretched so thin that 14 days passed unnoticed.

"I'm working on 22 or 23 days," said Mike Carr, a Cal Fire spokesman in Ukiah. "It has been very taxing. It has been labor intensive due to the types of fire, lightning-caused and in remote terrain. People are working longer shifts, in tough conditions. It has been a long road."

Carr said it is important that crews get time off now that the fires are being contained.

"We have a lot of peak fire season left in the summer," he said. "We have to make sure we get crews rested."

You can reach Staff Writer Bob Norberg at 521-5206 or bob.norberg@pressdemocrat.com.