Mendocino Complex day 13: Evacuation order for Hwy. 20 corridor lifted — Hwy. 20 opened in Lake Co. — Containment on Ranch Fire jumps to 46%, River Fire 81% (Updated 8:35 p.m.)

Editor’s note: This article is continually updated, as new information comes in, and is presented with the latest info at the top. Please, if you want to read more general or earlier news, or if you don’t see the info you need, scroll down.

UPDATE 8:35p.m.

The evening fire update from CalFire showed plenty of good news with the Ranch Fire growing only 2,000 acres, and the River Fire not growing at all. (Scroll down for more details on the fire). A local assistance center for people affected by the fires will be opening in Lucerne on Friday, here are the details:

A one-stop Local Assistance Center (LAC) for those impacted by the Mendocino/Lake Complex Fire will be opening this Friday, August 10th at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive, Lucerne, CA 95458. The LAC will be open from 10:00am-7:00pm, Friday, August 10th through Friday, August 17th.

A wide-ranging array of services and expertise will be available. Some of the organizations that will be present include: American Red Cross, North Coast Opportunities, Habitat for Humanity, United Methodist Church, Lake County Behavioral Health, Veteran’s Services, Lake County Departments of Environmental Health, Behavioral Health, Social Services, Public Services, Social Security Administration, Social Services, Habitat for Humanity, to name a few.

If you need food replacement, assistance accessing medical care, concerns about your animals, debris removal, replacement copies of vital records or driver’s licenses, or even insurance matters, there will be people on site at the LAC to help and answer your questions. All of these organizations will be there to help make profoundly complicated situations a little bit easier, and offer some of the first building blocks of successful long-term recovery.

For more information, contact the Department of Social Services, (707) 995-4260

The evening fire update from CalFire showed that growth of the Ranch Fire has slowed substantially and the fire line to the north of Hwy. 20 is holding well, which allowed for the re-population of communities in Lake County, from Upper Lake to Clearlake Oaks. As of this evening the Ranch Fire stands at 253,166 acres and 46% containment. The River Fire stands at 48,920 acres and 81% containment. The combined acreage is 302,086. Two firefighters were injured today, but the details are not currently know, and no one has been killed. The fire has destroyed 119 residences and 110 other structures.

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Here is the summary of today’s efforts and conditions from CalFire:

Today on the Ranch Fire, fire crews focused on tying together the south east corner near Indian Valley, successfully working towards holding the eastern section. Additionally, work progressed around Pine Mountain Project and towards the Snow Mountain Wilderness. Fire crews were successful eliminating potential fire threat and decreasing spotting potential in the southern section of the fire. The containment line holding north of SR20 allowed evacuation orders to be reduced. The River Fire saw no growth and crews continued to patrol the fire boundary.

UPDATE 12:25 p.m.

An already very unpleasant situation has become even worse with an outbreak of the norovirus stomach bug at the Lower Lake High School evacuation shelter. Here are the details from Lake County:

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Lake County Public Health, the Red Cross, and Konocti Unified School District are working together to help control a norovirus outbreak at the Lower Lake High School evacuation shelter. Norovirus is a very common cause of “stomach flu”. It is highly contagious and can spread quickly in settings where people come in close contact with each other, such as an evacuation shelter.

Norovirus causes irritation of the stomach and intestines. Common symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach cramps. While most people with norovirus do not need medical care and get better within 1 to 3 days, the virus can make a person feel extremely ill with vomiting and diarrhea many times a day.

The best way to stop the spread of norovirus is to avoid coming into contact with bodily fluids of sick people. Proper hand washing and cleaning of surfaces that might be contaminated are essential. Infected people should avoid caring for or preparing food for other people until at least 48 hours after symptoms have ended. Surfaces and objects in contact with vomit or diarrhea should be washed with soap and hot water, and disinfected with a bleach solution or washed in a washing machine with detergent. Wear gloves and wash hands carefully after any contact with contaminated objects.

The actions taken at the Lower Lake Shelter to prevent the spread of norovirus:
• People with symptoms have been grouped together away from people without symptoms and have been provided with separate bathroom facilities.
• People recovering from illness are being kept separate from people without symptoms.
• People with symptoms are being fed separately from people with symptoms.
• Signs have been posted asking people to wash hands frequently, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
• Outside company is being contracted for additional environmental cleaning and disinfection
• Additional handwashing stations have been set up next to the restrooms and food lines

For more information on norovirus, please visit the CDPH website or the CDC website. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Norovirus.aspx https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html

Public Health Phone: 707-263-1090

UPDATE 11:10 a.m.

The evacuation order for communities long the north shore of Clear Lake, including Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne, and Clearlake Oaks has been reduced to a warning, and residents can return home. Also, State Route 20 between Upper Lake and Clearlake Oaks has been re-opened. Here are the details from the Lake County Sheriffs Department:

The mandatory evacuations have been reduced to an evacuation advisory for the following areas: Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne, Glenhaven, and Clearlake Oaks. Residents in these areas can now return home. Hwy. 20 is now open to all traffic.

There are road closures at the following locations and areas beyond these closures are still under Mandatory Evacuation:
Upper Lake: 
• North of the Elk Mountain Rd./Middle Creek Rd. Intersection
• North of the Clover Valley Rd./Clover Drive Intersection

Nice/Lucerne: 
• Bartlett Spring north of the Hwy 20 intersection

Clearlake Oaks:
• North of the High Valley Rd/High Valley Ranch Rd intersection
• Old Long Valley Road at Hwy. 20
• New Long Valley Road at Hwy. 20

Containers for perishable food and freezer waste items ONLY for both customers and non-customers of LCWS are Located at:
• Upper Lake: Upper Lake Park
• Nice: Hammond Park
• Lucerne: Lucerne Harbor Park
• Clearlake Oaks: Intersection of Hwy 20 and Island Drive
• Clearlake Oaks: Moose Lodge

Safety Message
Debris and ash from residential and other structural fires may contain toxic substances due to the presence of synthetic and hazardous materials. Many building materials contain asbestos, and older buildings often contain lead. Household hazardous waste such as gasoline, cleaning products, pesticides, and other chemicals may have been stored in homes, garages, or sheds that may have burned in the fire. These materials can become concentrated in ash and soil following a fire. It is important not to expose yourself, your family or others to any of these materials. Exposures can occur by sifting through and/or moving ash and debris, causing ash to become airborne and inhaled or

UPDATE 10:25 a.m.

According to CalFire’s morning video update, fire officials believe that most of the Hwy. 20 corridor along the north short of Clear Lake, including the communities of Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne and Clearlake Oaks, may be re-populated this afternoon.

On the River Fire Operations Chief Charlie Blankenheim noted that most of the “interior islands” have burned out and added that, “We feel really good that the River Fire is just about a warp.”

In the Mendocino National Forest, substantial progress has been made in putting in dozer line south of Lake Pillsbury, between the lake and the fire. Dozer line is also beginning to be laid north of the fire in the National Forest.

Here is the video:

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And here are the basic facts about the fire in English and Spanish:

ORIGINAL

MENDOCINO Co., 8/8/18 — Containment on both fires of the Mendocino Complex has jumped up dramatically as of the official count this morning. According to CalFire, the Ranch Fire is now at 251,166 acres and containment has increased to 46%, while the River Fire is at 48,920 acres with a containment 81% — though fire officials are confidant that the River Fire will be completely tied in soon. The total acreage of the Mendocino Complex is now 300,086 acres.

Sadly, as the fires have subsided and CalFire teams have been able to go into the burned areas to do inspections, the count of structures destroyed has also jumped up. The current count puts the number of residences destroyed at 116 and that of other buildings at 105

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The progress of the River Fire has been stopped. On the southern and southeastern ends, firefighters have mostly kept the Ranch Fire from further encroaching into lake shore communities, holding the fire to the ridge above these towns. This is extremely steep and rugged land in many places, and fire fighters have had to “go direct” on the fire, hitting it with hand crews, and many retardant drops during the day.

The northern end of the Ranch Fire continues to progress steadily into the Mendocino National Forest, where the ruggedness and remoteness of the fire line is presenting seriously difficulties to firefighters’ efforts to build a containment line. Nonetheless a plan is now in place to surround the fire on the northern edge. But the distances between the planned line and the current position of the fire is substantial, meaning that it will likely continue to grow to the north for, potentially, several weeks.

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For a thorough listing of re-populations and evacuations see yesterday’s evening update:

Mendocino Complex day 12: Evening update — new re-populations, new evacs — substantial progress on River Fire, Ranch Fire keeps growing

Here is the this morning’s fact-sheet, which includes a map of the fire: