Firefighters in Lake and Colusa counties turned the corner late Tuesday in their fight against two wind-whipped fires that burned 7,000 acres, establishing control lines that should keep the fires from spreading.
"It is a matter of mop up. The major fire activity has stopped spreading; what is burned is burned," Mike Carr, a battalion chief for Cal Fire, said Tuesday night.
"We put a ring around the fire and now we'll go in from the control lines 400 to 500 feet in and mop up, putting out smoke the size of a pencil," said
Since Sunday, two people have been injured, two homes burned and one damaged along Long Valley Road, near Spring Valley east of Clear Lake. Several hundred homes were ordered evacuated Sunday, but the order was lifted Monday.
The fire was 60 percent contained at 6:30 p.m., with 100 percent containment still a week away. Carr said, however, that barring the unforseen, the worst of the fire is behind them.
"We are not out of the woods, but we are in good shape," he said
The progress came despite searing temperatures. At 4 p.m., it was 106 degrees. Winds, however, were light at 3-6 mph and the humidity was a bit highger than in previous days.
A small part of the fire was still moving east at a very slow pace along Bear Valley Road north of the intersection of highways 20 and 16, but that is open and uninhabited land, said Paul Lowenthal, a Santa Rosa firefighter who was acting as a fire spokesman.
Traffic along Highway 20 was still restricted, largely for the safety firefighters from Healdsburg, Windsor, Rincon Valley and Geyserville who were patrolling the fire along the edge of road.
The good news came after a day of air attacks by helicopters and airplane crews and by firefighters setting back fires in the open areas along Bear Valley Road, Lowenthal said.
Tuesday's goal was to cut three miles of containment line in "real nasty terrain" studded with rocks, steep slopes, dense brush and cliffs," Lowenthal said. "That's no easy task."
Lake County's two big fires started about 4 p.m. Sunday several miles apart in an area east of Clearlake Oaks, just off Highway 20.
One began east of Walker Ridge Road, known initially as the Walker fire. The other, called the Wye fire, started farther to the west on the edge of Highway 20 east of the "Y" intersection of Highways 20 and 53.
The fires spread rapidly in the ultra dry brush and extreme hot weather, growing several thousand acres in just a few hours.
The cause remains under investigation.
Both fires were in highly rural, open lands of oak, brush and grass, including state Bureau of Land Management territory.
Ninety percent of the Walker fire was on the north side of Highway 20, but some of it had crossed over to the south side.
The Wye fire, which is closer to Clearlake Oaks and Spring Valley, also is burning on both sides of Highway 20. About two-thirds of the blaze is on the north side of the highway.
Tuesday afternoon, the Wilbur Springs fire station in at Highways 20 and 16, which is in Colusa County just east of the Lake County line, was about a quarter-mile from the eastern edge of the fire and had become the hub of the effort.
Dozens of fire engines lined the highway and scores of firefighters were mobilizing. At least one helicopter was buzzing overhead.
A heavy curtain of ashes was falling and smoke would periodically thicken and then ease up, depending on the wind direction.
The flames had made their way back to the edge of Highway 20 and firefighters were trying to keep it from jumping the roadway and taking off. The two-lane route is the major connection between Lake County and the Sacramento Valley.
Tuesday started with a ramped-up firefighting effort, with triple the number of firefighters and several more aircraft, said Cherie Alver, Cal Fire spokeswoman.
The fire had threatened hundreds of homes in Spring Valley on Sunday night and Monday, forcing an evacuation. At least two homes were lost.
Those folks were back home Tuesday, after their evacuation was lifted Monday night.
Fire officials Tuesday shifted their main attention farther east to the more remote area of Wilbur Springs and Bear Valley Road off Highway 20. Wilbur Springs is the home of a venerable hot springs resort with a handful of residents connected to it, officials said.
While no evacuations were ordered for Wilbur Springs, residents at five homes were being escorted as they traveled through the area.
By late Tuesday, 1,219 firefighters and 157 engines were attacking the fire. On Monday, about 325 firefighters and 44 engines were assigned to the two fires.
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