[UPDATE Saturday Evening: New Evacuation Orders] Six Rivers Lightning Complex Grows, Threatening Homes and Forcing Evacuations

The Campbell Fire last night. [Photo from Mark Hodgson]

Evening Update: Six Rivers Lightning Complex Doubles in Size, 0% Containment

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Multiple homes in the tiny communities of Willow Creek and Salyer are once again threatened by wildfire after lightning battered the hills around them early yesterday morning. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department has issued evacuation orders and warnings. The Trinity County Sheriff’s Department has issued evacuation warnings.

The Trinity County Sheriff’s Office issued a new Evacuation order just before noon.

The Federal Forest Service has unified command over the lightning fires. The Six Rivers Lightning Complex, as the multiple fires are now called, is estimated to be a total of 521 acres (though that may be very conservative) and is considered 0% contained (even though individual fires may have been contained), according to the Northern California Geographic Coordination Center at 7:15 this morning.

The Center reports, and residents there tell us, there has been extreme fire behavior on these fires. Basho Watson Parks, the Executive Director of the Lower Trinity Prescribed Burn Association and Owner/Op at Adaptive Forestry Solutions, gave us quick and unofficial view of the fires. We combined that with information from Six National Forest below. (See overview map in Map section.)

The Waterman Fire (sometimes called the Boatman Fire) and Cedar Fire is creeping. The fuels in that area were greatly reduced last year by a program and that may be helping. The Waterman is about 75 to 80 acres.

The Bremer Fire was relatively calm overnight and is about 15 acres.

The Bravo Fire is burning up the Hutson Creek drainage and is very close to the Campbell Fire.

Campbell Ridge by Marja Alaniva

The Campbell Fire rolled over Campbell Ridge last night and expanded towards the Bravo Fire. Six Rivers National Forest says that it is approximately 100 acres.

Friday Ridge by Marja Alaniva

The Friday Fire took off and residents fled from the area. No acreage has been given on it.

The Charlie Fire is contained though still smoking.

The Oak Fire as seen yesterday [Filmed by Nicholas Holliday]

The Oak Knob Fire (AKA the Oak Fire) is burning hard and is believed to be approximately 200 acres.

The Prairie Fire is contained.

We’ve gathered the most important information about these Lightning Fires and organized it below for our readers.

The Weather:  

According the the National Weather Service, Willow Creek will be “Sunny, with a high near 93. Light north northwest wind becoming north 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.” Expect smoke and haze in the late morning and afternoon.

According to the Trinity County Office of Emergency Services,

The new fires around Willow Creek are beginning to affect the nearby communities; expect conditions to worsen. Smoke from the Yeti Fire in Western Siskiyou County are impacting the Klamath River drainage. Presently, very minor impacts from the McKinney Fire in Eastern Siskiyou County are expected in Weaverville and Trinity Center.

EPA’s Fire & Smoke Map – https://fire.airnow.gov/

NCUAQMD Smoke Advisory & website – https://www.ncuaqmd.org

The Roads:

Hwy 299 is still open. Visit QuickMap for the latest information on State Highways.

The following roads into evacuation zones have been closed. Residents may still use these roads to travel out of evacuation order zones:

• Horse Linto Creek Road at Saddle Lane
• Seeley McIntosh Road at Country Club Road
• Friday Ridge Road at Sandy Bar

The Maps:

A Firis Map with notations by Basho Parks.

Evacuation and Help Information Including Community Meetings:

For Humboldt County

Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services tweeted at 7:36 p.m.:

#EvacuationOrder is being issued for zones HUM-E056 and HUM-E057, N of Willow Creek. Residents in these zones should evacuate now. See map: tinyurl.com/2p87nzmj #SixRiversLightningComplexFire

Always check ZoneHaven for the latest information. If you are unsure what zone you are in, on the top left hand corner is a place to put your address.

Once an address is entered, click the arrow.

The Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services is not currently accepting donations. To volunteer or donate to assist our community, please contact:

Pay it Forward Humboldt

Phone: 707-499-2364

Email: [email protected]

For Trinity County:

Per the Trinity County Office of Emergency Services:

UPDATE 12:09 p.m.: The Trinity County Office of Emergency Services just issued a new order stating,

Per the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office an EVACUATION ORDER is being issued for the following areas; Salyer Loop down to the bridge at Highway 299, Salyer Heights, Orchard Lane, and Campbell Ridge Road. Please use caution while evacuating, safety personnel and vehicles will be in the area…Evacuation Center is at Trinity Valley Elementary School 730 N Highway 96 Willow Creek, CA 95573

Further Information:

Red zones are Evacuation Order zones. EVACUATION ORDER: Immediate threat to life. This is a lawful order to leave now. The area is lawfully closed to public access.

Yellow zones are Evacuation Warning zones. EVACUATION WARNING: Potential threat to life and/or property. Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now.

Blue zones are advisory zones. Be aware that wildfires are occurring in the area.

Earlier:

• Six Rivers NF Lists More Fires] Lightning Storm Peppers Northern Humboldt, Multiple Fires Reported
• Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services Issues an Advisory to Willow Creek Area After Multiple Fires
• Evacuation Orders Issued for Residents east of Willow Creek by HCSO and Evacuation Warnings Issued for Residents Near Salyer by TCSO
• Evacuation Orders and Warnings Expand as of 7:36 p.m. for Residents of the Willow Creek Area
• Over 500 Acres Burning Around Willow Creek This Evening as Latest Info on the Six Rivers Lightning Complex Released