[UPDATE 8:22 p.m.] Day 31: Lightning Fires…..Will They Ever End?

Saturday, 29 August 2015, 8:20 am Kym Kemp 16 comments

Firefighters crossing the South Fork of the Smith River. [Photo from the US Forest Service-Six Rivers National Forest’s Facebook Page. Photo by Ed Tollefson.]

On July 30th, lightning spread fire like the plague through northern California. Today, as the fever begins to cool under a damp sky and some fires come close to total containment, we still continue to follow what is happening.

Like we have every day, we’ll keep checking on the fires and letting you know if something important happens. As we do, we’ll note the time the facts were posted so you can quickly see if there is something new. Look for the most recent general updates on the bottom but new information for individual fires is posted in the summaries below in blue. (Newest maps of the fires here.) Those that have expanded 20% or more will have their acreage in red bold type.

Democrat Fire (west of Weaverville): (Current as of 6:45 p.m.) 128 acres and 100% contained. “100% contained.” (More information here.)Public Information Line: (530) 225-2510. Tomorrow, we’ll remove this fire from out list–and may this list get short quickly!
Horse Fire (northeast of Shelter Cove): (Current as of 7 a.m.) 146 acres and 100% contained. Now completely contained. Tomorrow, we’ll remove this fire from out list–and may this list get short quickly! (More info here.) Fire Information Line: 925-588-9192
Fork Complex (Trinty Pines and north to Hayfork):(Current as of 6:30 p.m.) 36,499 acres burned and 97% contained. Structures Destroyed: Residences 8, other buildings 4, Firefighter injuries to date: 12, Total Personnel:269. “Fire behavior is expected to continue to be minimal as containment continues to be successful.” (More info here.) Fire Information Line: 530-628-0093
Gasquet Fire: (Current as of 7 p.m.) 23,868 acres burned and 30% containment. Total Personnel: 754. Injuries: 6. “Tonight showers are expected after midnight, rainfall will be up to 1/4 inch by morning. Bear Fire – 7640 acres, 18% containment. Coon Fire – 5,657 acres 97% Containment Peak Fire – 9663 acres 5% containment Feeder Fire – 898 acres 100% containment.” (More info here.)
Mad River Complex (Ruth Lake and Surroundings) Now Combined with the Route Complex -see below: (6 p.m.) 37,278 acres and 90% contained. Personnel: 288. “The Lassic Fire continued to grow on the Eastern side towards the Gobbler Fire; however, fire activity was moderated by precipitation received overnight… The Gobbler and the Pickett are in patrol status. Lassic Fire (18,014 acres, 39% contained) “(More info here) Telephone number for the public information officer is 707-574-6289.
Nickowitz Fire (northern Humboldt/southern Del Norte):(Current as of 6:40 p.m. Not updated as of 8:15 a.m.) 6,631 acres and 55% contained. Total Personnel: 273. “With expected rain and increased humidity, main fire spread will be minimal to the southwest along Nickowitz Creek toward Barren Butte below the 13N01 road.” (More info here) Phone: 530-627-3246. Estimated Containment Date:Tuesday September 15th.
River Complex:(Current as of 7:45 p.m.) 68,846 burned and 37% contained. Total Personnel: 479. “Although conditions over the fire area have seen a warming and drying trend since this morning’s showers, fire behavior will remain diminished as a result of fuel moisture increase.” (More info here.) Telephone number for the public information officer 530-276-8559. Estimated containment: October 01st, 2015.
Route Complex (south and west of Hyampom and Buck Mt. area) Now Combined with the Mad River Complex:(Current as of 6:15 p.m.) 35,674 acres burned and 96% contained. Structures destroyed: 2 outbuildings. Total Personnel: 657. Injury: 1. “Johnson Fire (33,782 acres, 71% contained) “Fire activity was moderated by precipitation received overnight.” (More info here.) Telephone number for the public information officer is 707-574-6865. Estimated containment: Tuesday September 01st, 2015.
South Complex (north and west of Hyampom):(Current as of 8 p.m.) 29,275 acres burned and 65% containment. Personnel: 461. Injuries: 3. “There has been no growth in the fire in the last 48 hours.” (More info here)

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Here’s our tools to keep you abreast of what’s happening:

Newest Info: Next, the twitter feed near the bottom right of our home page is continuously updated with the latest tweets from Cal Fire, other local news organizations, the National Weather Service, etc.

Above that are two scanner feeds–one that will take you to Eureka/north coverage. The other that will take you to Eureka/south coverage.

Past Info: Reminder, at the bottom of this post under Earlier Chapters are links to our previous coverage. Much of it still very relevant. Particularly note our newest fire maps.

Don’t miss a post: In our right hand column is a subscribe box (for those accessing on mobiles, scroll down to the bottom and the box is just above recent posts.) Fill that out and a link to every story will appear in your email.
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16 Comments

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Humanityfirst

8 years ago

Wondering if the rains went as far as to help with the fires. The weather conditions seem good for today anyway.

Author

Kym Kemp

8 years ago

Reply to Humanityfirst

Hey, your name got fixed!

Guest

Humanityfirst

8 years ago

Reply to Kym Kemp

Yes, when I went to comment I there was a blank spot where my name should be and I put it in right this time. I thought you did something to fix it. Yay 🙂

Guest

Liz

8 years ago

I agree, I hope your list gets smaller and smaller!

Guest

Gary Robertson

8 years ago

Don’t know how much the rain helped the fires but it definitely helped the spirits of some ….

http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/hayfork-excited-for-chance-of-rain/34983242

Guest

Jeff

8 years ago

The first line should read JULY 30th

Author

Kym Kemp

8 years ago

Reply to Jeff

Sheesh! Thank you. It is fixed now.

Guest

Gary Robertson

8 years ago

The date correction reminds me of something my grandfather used to say … it was an old expression even in his day ….”That will never be noticed from a trotting horse.” 🙂

Author

Kym Kemp

8 years ago

Let’s hope the readers were all trotting then.

Guest

Michael

8 years ago

Remember, 100% “Contained” doesn’t mean the fire is out, it’s not even “Controlled” yet. Contained just means all the firelines are in, and it is unlikely to continue to grow. It still can be raging inside of those lines. Controlled is the next status a fire goes through. Controlled means the fire is fully under control, and is calming down, and is not a threat to firefighters or the public anymore, but still can be burning for months after this status. The final status is “out”, and on large Forest fires, the Agencies usually wait until the fire has had a lot of rain on it, and there have been no smokes at all for days…This can be many months later on a big one…Or in Winter, before they get called out. They are very careful about this, as if a fire rekindles after being called out, it usually has to be treated like a new one for payments, etc. There are some famous examples of a fire being called out then roaring to life. The Oakland Hills fire, that destroyed hundreds of homes, had been declared “out”…a bit too early..

Guest

Hick

8 years ago

WORD

Guest

Steve

8 years ago

Thank you all the updates. The first good soaking rain and you can take a day off Kym. 🙂

Author

Kym Kemp

8 years ago

Reply to Steve

First, I had to get ready for school starting tomorrow…I teach part time. BUT, then my mom and I took my niece, her family and my family to the fair–curly fries, horse shows and kids who win first prize in the Lego section…Who can beat that?