August Complex: Now a Million Acres
![Three glows on the eastern horizon [Photo taken from west of Miranda by Andrew Burnett]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/120901450_385064505987708_127167002419206691_n.jpg)
Three glows on the eastern horizon show the northern areas of concern–to the left near Ruth Lake, then behind Zenia, and to the right, near Covelo. For perspective, Bear Buttes is the triangular mountain in the foreground on the right. [Photo taken on the evening of October 3 from west of Miranda by Andrew Burnett.]
Over the weekend the August Complex shifted management teams with the Alaska Management Team keep the Northeast area of the fire and the Pacific Northwest Team 2 began managing the northwest portion of the fire in conjunction with Cal Fire.
Spot fires kept firefighters struggling to keep up yesterday. Several jumped over the line near Hwy 36 and the South Fork Ridge area. Today, planes with infrared heat sensors will be flying the area making sure that firefighters have located all in that area. “Contingency and alternate lines are being identified in the event that the fire moves further north,” the US Forest Service said today in a prepared statement.
Crews are now working on the area where the fire crossed Hwy 36 and PG&E is working on infrastructure there, too. It could take a week to do repairs, said Alaska Incident Management Team’s Operations Section Chief Karen Scholl.
Flames pushed across lines just north of Journey’s End yesterday so firefighters conducted firing operations to help protect the popular area. Crews are jumping on spot fires in the southeast side of Ruth Lake and trying to slow and calm the spread of the fire moving around the west side of the Lake.
According to Chris Trinidade, Cal Fire’s Deputy of Operations for the West Zone. Somewhere around midnight, last night, a snag came down across the lines in the Zenia area and caused the fire to push past. There were also spot fires that crews in the West Zone will be working on this morning.
The fire that spotted over the line near Round Mountain south of Wildwood in Trinity County a couple days ago is now over 600 acres. Firefighters are working to strengthen contingency lines in that area.
Firefighters are watching the area east of Covelo as it remains active.
According to Jeremy Ward, spokesperson for Cal Fire, firefighters in the entire west area of the fire are facing warm and dry weather. He said, “The potential for spot fires across containment lines remains high [today].”
The Images:
“This piece of fireline is what will seal off the fire from mile post 54 Hidden Valley along the 36 from spotting south into areas of the Pickett Fire scar. The Tahoe Hot Shots worked throughout the evening in favorable conditions to get the fuels to consume along the north side of 36. One spot fire that made it over the 36 to the south was line and mopped up.” [Video credit: Public Information Officer PIO Kale Casey/Alaska Incident Management Team]
The Plan:
The North Zone Plan:
Plan for Defending Post Mountain, Hayfork, Rowdy Bear, Indian Valley, Hyampom
The NorthWest Zone:
The West Zone: (please note the front says October 4 but it is for October 5 as the Cal Fire officer states at minute 5:30ish)
The Weather:
Expect warm and dry weather with smoke staying in the valleys.
The Roads:
Here is the latest information: (This includes maps of Trinity County roads now closed.)
The Meeting:
A virtual meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7. The meeting will take place via Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/
For those in the Southern Humboldt area, daily updates and incident maps are at the following locations:
- Shopsmart in Redway (Incident Updates)
- Ray’s Food Place in Garberville (Incident Updates and maps)
- Garberville Post Office (Incident Updates)
- Miranda Market (Incident Updates and maps)
The Maps:
- PIO Map: Click to open a much more detailed pdf of the map or zoom in.
- Firemapper: This is an unofficial representation of heat from satellites showing on the ground fire. Zoom or click the map to go to the full site which covers the whole fire and allows you to look at other fires.
Evacuation Area information:
USEFUL Information:
- Trinity County Evacuation Orders
- Ruth and Ruth Lake
- Forest Glen
- Post Mountain/Trinity Pines
- Three Forks
- Hettenshaw Valley
- Mad River
- Zenia and Kettenpom
- Island Mountain
- The area of Kettenpom south to Kekawaka Creek
- Bear Wallow and Friend Mountain, including Rowdy Bear
- Indian Valley and Hidden Valley
- All areas south of State Route 36 to the Trinity County line
Evacuation Warning- Wildwood area, including Peanut and the area south of State Route 299
Humboldt County
Evacuation Warning
- Areas east of Alderpoint Road to the Trinity County border and south of Showers Pass Road to Mountain Creek
Evacuation Information
Residents are urged to evacuate from the fire area. Failure to evacuate diverts firefighters from protecting homes to assisting residents who should have evacuated. Evacuation information for Trinity and Humboldt counties is available from the Red Cross at 530-276-8034.
Road Closures
- State Route (SR) 3 at Rattlesnake Road
- Rattlesnake Road at SR 36
- Post Mountain at SR 36
- SR 36 at Humboldt County line
- SR 36 at SR 3
- Zenia Bluffs Road at Humboldt County Line
- Zenia Lake Mountain Road at Peaks Road
- Kekawaka Creek Road to Mendocino County Line
Damage Assessments
Trinity County Office of Emergency Services will conduct structure damage assessments when it is safe to do so. They may be contacted at: 530-623-8223.
Forest Closures: Shasta-Trinity, Mendocino, and Six Rivers National Forests.
Each forest has closures in place. Individual forest closure information is available online:
- Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders
- Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices
- Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices.
It is critical that all national forest visitors follow these important closures and restrictions for their own safety and the safety of our firefighters. Many hunting areas are closed due to wildfire activity; for more information visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go.
- Evacuations for animals Mendocino:
- The Laytonville rodeo grounds are open for livestock. They are located at Harwood Road Laytonville, call ahead at 707-984-8100
- Covelo Rodeo Grounds for small/large animals/livestock (22830 S. Airport Road in Covelo)
- Evacuation place for Trinity residents:
- Evacuees are encouraged to proceed Hayfork Fairgrounds where a temporary evacuation point has been established. This is not a shelter location, it is a point where evacuees can pick up hotel vouchers and proceed to hotels that have been procured in Lewiston and Weaverville. The previous temporary evacuation point in Humboldt County is no longer in service.
- Information Boards are updated daily at the following locations:
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- Platina Store – 4554 State Route 36W, Platina, CA
- Harrison Gulch Guard Station – 2555 State Route 36W, Platina, CA
- Wildwood Inn and RV Park – 2721 Wildwood Rd, Wildwood, CA
- South Fork Mountain Vista – Horse Ridge Lookout Rd & State Route 36W, Mad River, CA
- The Watering Hole (Mad River Burger Bar) – 2515 State Route 36W, Mad River, CA
- Mad River Ranger Station – 741 State Route 36W, Mad River, CA
- Southern Trinity High School – 600 Van Duzen Rd, Mad River, CA
- Dinsmore Store – 43819 State Route 36W, Bridgeville, CA
- Hayfork Ranger Station – 111 Trinity Street, Hayfork, CA
- Hayfork Post Office – 7180 State Route 3, Hayfork, CA
- U.S. Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest
- U.S. Forest Service – Mendocino National Forest
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- Evacuation place for Mendocino Residents-
- Covelo High School for people (76280 High School Street)
- The Laytonville rodeo grounds are open for livestock. They are located at Harwood Road Laytonville, call ahead at 707-984-8100 Harwood Hall is also open for residents feeling the Hopkins fire. They are located 44400 Willis Ave, Laytonville
- You can listen to Trinity County Scanner by clicking here Trinity County Public Safety
- You can listen to Southern Humboldt County Scanner by clicking here Humboldt County Law, Fire and EMS – Eureka and South
- You can listen to Mendocino County Scanner by clicking here Mendocino County Sheriff, Fire, EMS, Cal Fire and CHP
- Good fire and smoke info here: Click here. (Please remember the info here isn’t always up to date. If you are given an evacuation order, leave–no matter what this says.)
- Good Social Media Site–FIRE EVACUEE INFO – Humboldt/Northern Mendo/Trinity Fires: Click here
- Wildfire Evacuation Checklist
- Evacuation place for Mendocino Residents-
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How You Can Help:
- GoFundMe for Trinity County’s Southern Trinity VFD. Click here.
- GoFundMe for Post Mountain VFD: Click here.
- If you would like to donate, the addresses for Southern Humboldt Fire Departments can be accessed by clicking here.
- To volunteer or donate to assist regional wildfire evacuees, please contact:
- Pay it Forward Humboldt
- Volunteer: 707-499-2364
- Donation: 707-499-3840
- [email protected]
- Humboldt Area Foundation
- American Red Cross
- Humboldt CERT
- Pay it Forward Humboldt
Earlier Chapters: (Because there are so many earlier chapters, we’ve eliminated all but the last few days. However, they can still be easily accessed by clicking on the last title and scrolling down to the list posted there)
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- August Complex: Smoke, Flames, and Burning Homes
- August Complex: Flames Continue to Consume Structures
- August Complex: Fire, Fear, Frustration
- August Complex: Red Flag Warning Conditions on the Southern Half of the Fire; Anger in the North Zone as Residents Claim Homes Are Lost Unnecessarily
- August Complex: In the North, Fire Pushing Towards Zenia and Also Towards Bear Wallow, In the South, Another Critical Fire Danger Day
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come on rain !
This coming rain event looked good at an inch and a half. But latest predictions have it coming in much milder-barely over a half inch. But anything is better than nothing…this fire will run until rainy season drenches it. Hopefully away from peoples’ homes and into the wilderness…
I really think that the only way this and other fires can be stopped is with heavy rain. It does not seem to matter how the firefighters attack this monster, it always has another trick to throw at them. I am just praying that no firefighters and/or local people will not be trapped at some point and killed. They are now dealing with a fire breathing dragon!
When this thing was at 250k i told friends to go to vegas with me and put bets on it hitting 1M. I went alone and back 3 more times alone to add to my bet. I was laughed at for this.
Ill be enjoying this new McLaren.
Wait, there’s betting on ultimate wildfire size?!? No!
Y’all be the next Dan Halen.
You used to be able to get a permit for dead standing poles and 10 cords if firewood from the forestry department. Then in the mid 90s forestry stopped logging, cut trees to block roads, and stopped permitting cutting poles and cord wood. If anyone thinks that is NOT BAD MANAGEMENT, your blind. I feel that insuring some down and dying fire fuel was a good idea to help nourish the land. Now how can anyone defend very poor management?
While there needs to be a shift back toward more intensive, proactive forest management reminiscent of the old Forest Service of the 1950s, it needs to be done in balance with current ecological scientific knowledge regarding forest ecosystems, watersheds and fisheries. It can be done, with insightful multi-agency and, indeed, congressional and presidential foresight, prioritization and direction.
However, the prevalence of lawsuits by well-meaning environmental action groups over the past 40 years has prevented this from happening by blocking post-fire, post-beetle kill and post-blowdown log reclamation long enough to make useable timber worthless – and forest management thereby fiscally improbable. Even old guard USDA FS workers have been hamstrung and frustrated with these legal attacks, unable to manage public forest lands using all appropriate means needed.
In light of years of worsening fires in part from resultant fuel buildups in our forests, combined with climate change and population growth bordering and into wildlands, such irresponsible, disruptive court cases need to stop to allow better, more timely forest management.
Alas, yet another legacy of Baby Boomers, who still won’t get out of the way or stop making the situation worse with their politics! Worse generation ever. Boomers screwed America.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree but apparently it falls farther down. This fixation of blaming a generation for the problems that have existed prior to their birth is just further proof of the contention that IQs have been dropping with each generation since the 1970s. “Instead, it suggests changes in lifestyle could be what’s behind these lower IQs, perhaps due to the way children are educated, the way they’re brought up, and the things they spend time doing more and less (the types of play they engage in, whether they read books, and so on).” https://www.sciencealert.com/iq-scores-falling-in-worrying-reversal-20th-century-intelligence-boom-flynn-effect-intelligence
So the reality is that post Boomer generation are simply less capable of thinking their way through problems and must therefore resort to blaming others. The problem is not that the world is screwed by Boomers as much as the decline in capabilities of subsequent generation . In other words, younger generations can’t find their way out of a bag opened at both ends.
Yeppers… The dumbing down of ‘Merica. Early on it was generations of TV and fetal alcohol syndrome, now it’s generations of the internet and fetal cannabis syndrome. Same Scenario, Different Dumbasses.
Yah, says the generation with absolutely no skills. No critical thinking, no preparedness and no future.
I agree. The main thing though is that we need to start being more aggressive with prescribed fires, even though some will run wild and burn what they shouldn’t burn. We have to accept that as part of the program. And even though Im a rabid environmentalist, I also believe we need to allow for the logging of dead and dying trees after a burn, while leaving behind sufficient numbers of snags and down fuel for habitat and soil recovery. The problem is that there has always been companies that will cut trees after a burn that would have come back and survived, and it is imperative these are left standing.
Yep, Researcher, selective and environmentally conscious.
One of the more shining moments in our public lands national history was when Teddy Roosevelt (Pres.), Gifford Pinchot (forest multi-use advocate), and John Muir (conservation forefather) got together in the woods and then worked together to initiate plans for managed public forests and the formation of Wilderness areas. It’s a sad commentary on the continuing de-evolution of our society how some followers of each side became so polarized over the decades that stagnation was the result.
And now everything is polarized. To be a part of a group you have to believe what others believe and tow the line. No more free thinking. I see it in every movement, others deciding what one should think instead of each individual looking at each issue separately and figuring what’s best.
“The problem is that there has always been companies that will cut trees after a burn that would have come back and survived, and it is imperative these are left standing.” Except in California where environmentalist have more control- ” Newsom didn’t admit it, but the outrageous cost to remove a few dead trees from private land is a consequence of California’s Byzantine environmental regulatory patchwork. This is California’s big secret: it’s not climate change that’s burning up the forests, killing people, and destroying hundreds of homes; it’s decades of environmental mismanagement that has created a tinderbox of unharvested timber, dead trees, and thick underbrush.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckdevore/2019/02/25/wildfires-caused-by-bad-environmental-policy-are-causing-california-forests-to-be-net-co2-emitters/#6e5d640b5e30
“The large amount of dead and downed fuels … create extreme weather and fire behavior,” he said. “The energy produced off that is extraordinary … large amounts of woody material burning simultaneously.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/ground-zero-for-dead-trees-how-california-mega-drought-turned-creek-fire-into-inferno/ar-BB18RBPw
So while environmentalist bemoan the effects of climate change, they simply prefer to act as if it doesn’t exist and want to let the forests recover “naturally” in a place where nature isn’t what it used to be.
I have to disagree. Environmental laws were established due to the original liquidation of the old growth forests. That was the first big mistake. Then we decided to stop the fires that this liquidation caused, pecker pole forests with massive amounts of understory brush and downed fuels that made prescribed fires too dangerous to do. Now we are trying to fight our way out of this quagmire.
Yet to this day we clear cut trees before they mature leaving us with little hope of returning our forests to a healthy old growth condition. We need to change how and with what we build structures. The day of wood framed houses is now obsolete, but we are locked into a system that refuses to change.
here is the latest image of the northern foothills. you can still get a firewood permit at Six Rivers headquarters by the mall.
Besides hopeful rain in the forecast, there’s definitely going to be a significant temperature drop that should be helpful later this week. 🙏
Plimsouls:
“I’m a million aaaaaacre fire, a million aaaaaacre fire, yeah, I’m a million aaaaaacre fire!!”
I remember when the Yellowstone fire went to a million acres and everyone said then (1988) that will never happen again. Oops.
Who said that?
It’s concerning that the objective is in part “keep the fire east of 101”. If it goes to 101 it’ll be a nightmare getting out.
Doc .You Nailed it.
2 million acres… Rod & the I-Deals..
maxxam…. government regulation.. Rod knew Babylon would fall..