UPDATE 10 p.m. — The Burris Fire has reached 90% containment, according the the Cal Fire evening update, and “fire resources will be patrolling throughout the night to mitigate spotting, as well as working to strenghthen and hold existing containment lines.” All evacuation warnings were lifted this morning, and there are no structures currently threatened; no structures were ultimately damaged or destroyed in the fire’s 703 acre footprint. Here’s the full report.
MENDOCINO Co., 10/30/19 — There are almost one thousand people fighting the Burris Fire, and containment lines on the fire increased overnight to reach around 85% of the fire, despite the potential for high winds in the forecast. As a result, as of 10 a.m. this morning, all evacuation warnings have been lifted around the Burris Fire, meaning there is no longer an immediate potential for urgent evacuation.
The Burris Fire has been determined to be just over 700 acres in size, as of the most recent mapping undertaken by Cal Fire. The agency’s earlier reports have put the fire at 350 acres, without additional growth, for several days. This is likely the the result of improved mapping accuracy by Cal Fire rather than any growth in the size of the fire. Here’s the full morning report from Cal Fire on October 30.
Fire crews achieved more than 50% containment around the Burris Fire several days ago, but a red flag warning for increased fire risk has been in effect for much of interior Mendocino through this afternoon. The fire began early Sunday morning at the Cold Creek Compost facility in Potter Valley, and was initially thought to be quickly under control, but flared up again later on Sunday as winds increased in the area, resulting in the abrupt closure of State Route 20 in both Mendocino and Lake counties, and an immediate evacuation order for communities on both sides of the county line. However, at this time all road closures, evacuations orders and warnings have been lifted.
A number of agencies from around the state and even adjacent states have been assisting with the firefighting efforts on the Burris Fire, including fire teams sent from Oregon:
More than 270 Oregon firefighters are in California helping respond to the #BurrisFire in Mendocino County and #KincadeFire in Sonoma County. We’re proud of them, and grateful they are able to offer this help to Californians in need right now.https://t.co/ayYF8DBBnL
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) October 28, 2019
MENDOCINO Co., 10/29/19 — Although a number of people in the Potter Valley and Blue Lakes areas remain under an evacuation warning, the Burris Fire has reached 75% containment as of Tuesday evening and remains at 350 acres. No one is under an evacuation order.*
There had been some worry yesterday that with tonight’s wind event the fire might once again flare up, but as of 10:00 p.m. tonight there have been no flares ups and things look good.
Fire crews will continue to patrol the areas and deal with hot spots through the night to ensure that there are no flare ups. There are 962 firefighters personnel assigned to the fire.
*Correction: An earlier version of this article included a typo here.