Mendocino Complex grows overnight, making it the fourth largest wildfire in state history

With communities protected but miles of forests standing on the edge of flames, the 10-day-old infernos in Lake County together have reached the top ranks of major California wildfires.

The two blazes, jointly known as the Mendocino Complex fires, grew Sunday by nearly 38,000 acres to encompass 267,000 acres, according to Cal Fire. That ranks them as the fourth largest wildfire in state history.

The largest fire, last December’s Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, was nearly 282,000 acres, or just 15,000 more than the Lake County fires.

Those numbers sound sobering for a North Coast that already has suffered the most destructive fire in state history: last October’s Tubbs fire, which destroyed 5,600 structures and caused 22 deaths. That blaze was part of a series of North Bay wildfires that claimed 40 lives and burned over 6,000 homes.

The larger of the two Lake County fires, the Ranch fire, “will be burning for days,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg.

He noted the Ranch fire alone had grown by roughly 100,000 acres in the past two days and that it has “a heavy fuel load in its path” in the Mendocino National Forest.

“There is a high likelihood that the Ranch fire will eclipse the Thomas fire and become the largest fire in California history,” McGuire said.

The two fires both began July 27. The lesser fire in the Mendocino Complex, the River Fire, has burned almost 49,999 acres. The Ranch fire has consumed 218,000 acres.

Fire officials reported Sunday evening the two fires were 33 percent contained, compared to 32 percent a day earlier.

The fires together have destroyed 68 homes, 13 more than reported Saturday.

However, it wasn’t reported whether those homes actually burned Sunday or simply had been found from days earlier as the investigation of the damage continues.

Despite little growth in containment, fire officials characterized Sunday as a day of progress. They reopened Highway 20, a major route between the north end of Clear Lake and Highway 101 north of Ukiah. However, most side roads off the highway remain under mandatory evacuation.

On Sunday, firefighters also kept watch over miles of fire lines protecting communities on the north and eastern side of the lake. And they managed to further contain the River fire, allowing officials to lift mandatory evacuations for an area near Lakeport.

Weather conditions also turned out to be more favorable on Sunday, with the high temperature in Lakeport at 93 degrees.

“We’re catching our breath a little bit, which is good,” Sean Kavanaugh, part of the Cal Fire incident command, told viewers over a live Facebook broadcast Sunday evening.

However, the necessary emphasis on protecting communities means firefighters still must contain the flames moving north into the national forest.

Daren Dalrymple, who represents the forest service in the firefighting efforts, told Facebook viewers that firefighters eventually will need to build fire lines along a forested area that stretches for “50  air miles.”

He warned Lake County residents that even after they are allowed to return home, “you’re still going to have a lot of smoke” from the burning forestlands.

The two fires have left a massive swath of north Lake County under mandatory evacuation.

By Sunday morning, the two fires had forced over 23,000 residents from their homes, though some near Lakeport were allowed to return.

The closed area extends at least 35 miles from the hill country above Ukiah to grazing lands in Colusa County east of the Indian Valley Reservoir.

The mandatory evacuation zones circle land on both sides of Clear Lake and reach from Clearlake Oaks in the south to Lake Pillsbury in the north.

McGuire and local officials Sunday commended firefighters for their efforts protecting miles of communities along the lake’s north and eastern shore from Upper Lake to beyond Clearlake Oaks.

“It’s a tremendous effort,” said county Supervisor Rob Brown, who represents Kelseyville and Cobb in the county’s southwest area. “It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years in Lake County.”

In a sign of progress, county government offices and court buildings will reopen today in Lakeport after a weeklong shutdown caused by the fires. Most of those offices have been closed since July 30.

Lakeport city offices will be open today for basic services, officials said during the Facebook broadcast. But Lakeport schools likely will delay opening until Aug. 22.

On Sunday about 550 people remained in one of four emergency shelters in the county, officials reported.

Supervisor Jim Steele, who represents the north and northeast sections of the county, said residents in the shelters are “pretty weary” and had not expected to be this long away from home.

Steel said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about containing the fire, but the best efforts can be hindered by bad weather.

When the winds become too strong, he said, the fire “will just take off and run for miles.”

Staff Writer Diane Peterson contributed to the story. You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rdigit.