Lightning strikes start fires in remote?Mendocino County

Lightning strikes ignited three fires in rugged northern Mendocino County near Laytonville on Wednesday, according to Cal Fire.

One of the three fires was mostly contained as of Wednesday evening, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Julie Cooley. However, ground crews have yet to reach two of the three fires, which have been dubbed Wilderness Lodge Lightning Complex, because they are in remote, heavily wooded areas that are difficult to get to on foot, she said.

In addition, she said Cal Fire had to receive permission from the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the area, to clear roads to bring firefighting equipment closer to the fires. Using air tankers, Cal Fire has been able to keep the two remote fires from spreading to larger areas. By Wednesday evening, one was at 16 acres and the other had burned 5 acres, Cooley said.

The third fire, reported at about 2:15 p.m., was located about two miles up Bell Springs Road and had consumed roughly 15 acres and was 75 percent contained, she said.

Cooley said there were 180 fire personnel fighting the fire, including five engines, eight crews, three bulldozers, five air tankers and 5 helicopters. More crews are expected to be sent to the area on Thursday.

The National Weather Service said the lightning was part of unstable air that had moved up from the south, primarily from a tropical storm that hit off the coast of Mexico.

“We do get these from time to time but they usually strike in Arizona and Southern California,” said Diana Henderson, a forecaster with NOAA. “This time it affected us also.”

She said while the storm brought some downpours in isolated areas, they were sporadic and most of the rain evaporated before hitting the ground. However, the front had already moved out of the area and was headed across the Sierra toward the California/Oregon border.

Glenda Anderson contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Elizabeth M. Cosin at 521-5276 or elizabeth.cosin@pressdemocrat.com.