Growing rapidly and getting close to affecting lots of people - and some vineyards.
Updates anyone?
Thanks.
No info on vineyards but this incident (Mendocino Complex Fire/River Fire) is blowing up. From the Russian River in Hopland East to LakePort and from East of Redwood Valley to Upper Lake. Over 30,000 acres in 3 days. Upper Lake, Nice, Lucerne and Lakeport under evacuation orders. Temps in Lakeport/Upper Lake remain in triple digits today with high 90°s forecast for the week ahead.
My wife is in charge of distribution for the SR Press Democrat and her distributor in Lake County cannot get to his home in Upper Lake and papers are only being delivered to the Lower Lake area. He says homes in Upper Lake are burning. Power is out in Ukiah for the 3rd time this weekend.
CalFire maps are showing active burn areas.
Press releases update evacuation zones. Tensions are high around here as this is just too soon after Tubbs, Nunns, Atlas Peak for our liking. Quikly coming to the realization that this is the new normal, rural wildfires encroaching urban areas. Seriously thinking metal roofing and fire retardent siding for the casa.
I wish we could send some of our rain in Chas.
~8.5" so far in July with another couple of inches on tap for today and tomorrow.
It’s heartbreaking to watch to photos and video of the fires.
Brian–you pay attention!
I took these one and two days ago. The plume was very active. Boiling. Oddly, no smoke smell but a layer of haze in the Healdsburg / Napa area.
I hope the judge gives him a big fine, and makes him do 100 hours of community service removing road trash.
Better yet, sentence him to work on the fire crews.
with the additional caveat that he can’t smoke AND he picks up cigarette butts in the typical community areas where people smoke
Some light smoke in the Anderson Valley this morning. Clearing now. The air was clear all weekend.
The smoke plume east of Hopland was huge on Saturday. Seems to have reduced the last two days (may just be heading east).
Fingers crossed that Cal Fire gains control over the next few days.
Weather pattern along the northern coast right now has been fairly “typical”, i.e., prevailing westerly breezes, keeping the coast and bay relatively cool, with heat inland. So smoke from the various fires tends to blow eastward. The forecast is for the same over the next several days, might start to change next weekend. Hoping they get a handle on most of the fires by then, but that may be asking a lot.
Unfortunately I agree that it’s asking a lot.
The Ferguson (Yosemite) fire has been going for 2.5 weeks and it’s only 30% contained. The Carr (Redding) fire is 20% contained (it’s a week old). The two Mendocino/Lake fires are only 5% contained.
Getting the Ferguson fire mostly contained by the weekend is reasonable. Seems that getting any reasonable containment on the others, esp from a smoke perspective, requires an act of weather…esp given how many big fires are out there and how spread thin the fire fighting resources are.
They have evacuated where our vineyards are but it seems fire is passing south and west. It seems to be true that vineyards can be a fire break. We haven’t reached veraison which afterward can be the most sensitive to smoke taint. Speaking of: is there info out there regarding how long under the presence of smoke at certain stages of grape development that equals smoke Taint?
Evacuations lifted for Kelseyville and Finley area. This is good news because they are most populated
On Clear Lake looking towards Lakeport
Brian, did you take that on your route?
About an hour ago a fire was reported in Kelseyville with lines down. Fire knocked down pretty quickly.
This afternoon, CalFire maps showed the fire at the north end of Clear Lake had started to move eastward and southward back towards Clear Lake. Crazy wind shifts.
Seems appropriate about now:
No, a customer of mine lives in Nice and took the shot today.
Ferguson fire is now 39% contained. Carr is 35%. River fire (one of the two big Mendo fires) is 38%. Ranch fire (the other big Mendo fire) is 15%. Maybe we can get most of these under control this weekend…that’d be great.
Hoping so, Eric and others. Thanks everyone for keeping us updated. that picture, Rat—terrible beauty. Almost brings you right there.
Mike