Fire crews stretched thin as nearly 100 lightning-sparked blazes burn

Nearly 100 fires sparked by lightning strikes had burned at least 7,500 acres across Mendocino County early Monday.

No homes were threatened and fire officials anticipate no evacuations, according to a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. However, residents near fires should continue to check for updates.

"I've never seen anything like this," said Sheriff Tom Allman.

The largest fire had burned about 1,500 acres near Navarro, but was not threatening homes Sunday night, he said.

However, evacuations were "highly recommended" near Laytonville, where 100 acres were burning, and about 10 miles west of Ukiah, where 300 acres were burning near Montgomery Woods State Reserve.

"We've been advised to leave," said Mimi Johnson, who lives with her husband and son in Running Springs Ranch, a subdivision consisting of minimum 40-acre parcels that include grassland and conifer and oak forests.

Residents of 15 to 30 homes in the area had been asked to leave, Allman said.

"It's pretty scary. There's been nothing like this ever," said Johnson. The family built their home there 27 years ago.

Cal Fire spokeswoman Tracy Boudreaux also believes firefighters have never faced fires of such magnitude in the county.

The fires, sparked by lightning throughout the county Friday and Saturday, outnumbered the resources available, Boudreaux said.

As a result, some smaller, more remote fires that did not pose immediate threats to lives and homes were left to burn for the time being, she said.

About 600 state, local and private firefighters were battling the fires, and more crews were expected, Boudreaux said.

Johnson had begun packing cherished family photographs and insurance and bank documents when the first of the fires broke out Saturday.

Her husband, Doug, patrolled outside for tree branches and brush he could remove. They planned to water their redwood decks before leaving.

Smoke from the fires near their home could be seen moving east toward Running Springs Road, which sits atop a high ridgetop.

On Saturday, firefighters narrowly held off flames from a neighbor's home a few miles southwest of them, but the fire destroyed several outbuildings, she said.

Sunday morning, Johnson and her neighbors thought they were safe, but then the winds picked up, pushing the flames back in their direction.

Residents loaded trucks and cars with belongings and began leaving on the narrow dirt road Sunday afternoon.

Bill Peters' home is high on the ridge, with a clear view of the approaching fires, and was in an area firefighters said they believed they could save earlier in the day.

But Peters was taking no chances with the vintage roadster and flatbed pickup he'd spent "too long" restoring.

A friend drove Peters' cherry-red, 1948 cabover truck to a storage unit on the outskirts of Ukiah while Peters hauled his convertible 1932 Ford roadster on a trailer.

"We're getting everything we can sell to live on in case we don't have a house," he said.

That included some of the model trains he manufactures in a warehouse on his property and ships around the world.

The fire danger in Ukiah was low Sunday, but the air quality was poor. A number of residents were out walking and bicycling, despite the thick smoke that obscured the nearby hills.

The Mendocino Air Quality Management District issued an advisory telling people to limit outdoor activities.

Allman said the smoke is expected to pollute the air for up to 30 days, and individuals with respiratory issues should plan to leave the county until it clears.

This is not the first time Mendocino County has been hit by multiple lightning-caused fires.

In 1987, lightning ignited nearly 70 fires. But they were not nearly as big and damaging, Allman said. Efforts to set up shelters for displaced residents were under way Sunday afternoon.

He said residents can take their livestock to the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Ukiah.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.