Huge Fire in Lake County, Evacuations Underway
A huge inferno is roaring over 3000 acres east of the town of Lower Lake tonight. [Map below indicates rough area of the incident.] The Rocky Fire is moving rapidly in rugged terrain. Cal Fire states that getting crews and equipment to the blaze is difficult. In addition, the Lake County Office of Emergency Services states, “Effective immediately and until further notice, the Lake County Sherriff’s office has requested that all residents of Morgan Valley Road between the Napa County Line and the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 53 in Lower Lake evacuate immediately, due to the Rock Fire.” According to Cal Fire’s incident page, an evacuation center has been opened.
The Lake County News posted the following on their Facebook page about 9:30 p.m.
A structure is reported to be on fire in the 21800 block of Morgan Valley Road. Reports are indicating people are inside the home.
Channel 10 news has posted some incredible pictures.
UPDATE 10:49 p.m.: State Senator Mike McGuire tweeted this photo from Lower Lake,
#RockyFire is now at 3k acres. The blaze is moving fast and is extremely dangerous. Evacuation orders in place. pic.twitter.com/xomt88W3o1
— Mike McGuire (@ilike_mike) July 30, 2015
UPDATE 7:15 a.m. Thursday:
The Lake County News has updates on the hundreds evacuated. Cal Fire is saying 8000 acres burned as of 7 a.m. and several outbuildings burned.
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There is a reason that they call it “grease brush”. It burns just like grease. I’ve seen films of whole canyons of brush flashing over in a matter of just minutes. Lake county fires are studied by most fire departments. The combination of wind, heat, and fuel make them almost explosive. If it were me I would leave immediately. To hell with everything! Get out!
If you’re about to get burned over in a fire I was taught to go into a home or building let the fire burn over and then get out hopefully that’s what those people were doing in that home.hope they made it out safe
That’s what you do for sure….
Hope the toxic lake doesn’t catch fire!
Then again, maybe fire will clean it and let nature take over….
flame reTARDANTS or toxic lake? hmmmmmm
Thats bad advice for a structure in an urban wildland interface. The heat of the fire front causes homes and structures to literally explode into flame. To many building products off gas chemicals that burn like gasoline and homes have all sorts of architectural elements that will actively catch and hold fire brands. Fact is most civilian injures/fatalities in wildand fires are due to people ignoring evacuation advisories and area closures. You’ll hear survivors say “I didn’t think… ” whatever would happen. Key part of that being their “not thinking”. Best to just heed evacuation orders and leave it all. You can replace stuff, even pets, people you love, not so much.
will blm firelookout
will j, maybe some of us can ” You can replace stuff, even pets, “. Some of us love our pets as much as we love certain people in our lives.
I also have beloved canine members of my family, specifically a Belgian Tervuren as a working dog, plus an assortment of felines. Still, heart rending as it is, I choose to protect and would save my spouse and children first. We have a fire plan for people and pets. I pray I’ll never get to see it implemented. I sincerely apologize if my comment is crase sounding, but the fact remains that it’s a choice you (and I) will be faced with when living in a rural or wildland setting. Like the boy scout motto states “be prepared”.
Hey Will…
They tell fire fighters to do the very same thing if they become cut off and a house is near by.
Telling people to run away in fear is good for job security, but bad for people’s lives.
Good luck out there.
Thanks! Folks on the fire lines need it more then I.
For fire personel up here the house/structure solution is very last option or not to be used at all. Your safer to do a burn out of a safety zone and deploy fire shelters for your crew. Of course if you have to do this as a fire fighter it means some aspect of fire line protocols was breached that placed you in an unsafe position to start with.
We must be getting a little of the smoke. went out this morning, about three. The moon looked orange. Lake co. will be a dangerous place for the next couple months. BE CAREFUL!