Elkhorn

Elkhorn, previously reported in the Butte/Tehama/Glenn Complex and the August Complex. This fire consists of the Elkhorn, Vinegar, Hopkins and Willow Basin fires.  California Type 1 IMT, Team 5 has been assigned.

September 11, 2020 at 8:51 AM

As of today, September 11, 2020, the fires known as the Elkhorn, Hopkins, Willow, Vinegar and the August Complex will now collectively be known as the August Complex. These fires have all burned together. The August Complex will be split into three zones: North, South and West. The intent is to simplify the coordination of effort, ordering and timely release of accurate information.

The August Complex will be managed under unified incident command between California Interagency Incident Management Team-Young (North Zone), Great Basin Team-DeMasters (South Zone) and CAL FIRE Team-Parkes (West Zone).

The California fire siege which began on August 15, 2020 has burned more than 2.5 million acres with firefighters responding to 7,657 fires. The collective August Complex alone has burned more than 726,000 acres. The fire is actively burning in the Shasta-Trinity, Mendocino, and Six Rivers National Forests and continues to threaten homes and communities within Humboldt, Mendocino, and Lake counties. Monitor your local news outlets, fire department, forest and county social media outlets for current updates and evacuation notices.

September 10, 2020 at 2:34 PM

Firefighters worked last night to secure the line on the northern perimeter along the 35 Road (Shasta-Trinity National Forest), utilizing firing operations to remove vegetation and widen the containment along the dozer line. On the west and north west perimeter of the fire (Six Rivers National Forest), crews continue to provide protection for structures in the Ruth area. The goal is to try and push the fire north towards Horse Ridge and Soldier Basin, keeping it out of the valley. The east perimeter of the fire is in mop-up and patrol status. Today, while the weather has stabilized, we will continue to experience active fire behavior due to low relative humidity, steep terrain and very dry conditions in the forest.

Weather: High pressure will build back into the area causing an inversion which will keep smoke and haze over the fire area. The shading caused by the smoke inversion will keep temperatures lower and winds light. Relative humidity will be in the 11-13% range.

September 9, 2020 at 8:40 PM

The Elkhorn, Hopkins, Vinegar Peak and Willow Basin Fires have merged and now will be known as the Elkhorn Fire. The Elkhorn Fire is burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests. The reported increase in acreage and the reduction in percent contained are the result of the consolidation of all fires merging into one. The fire was very active again today with considerable fire growth on the west and southwest side of the fire. The fire is well established in the area around Island Mountain. Crews used existing fire lines and dozers to protect the area near Ruth as the active portion of the fire pushed north towards Horse Ridge and Soldier Basin. Firefighters also continued to work along the 35 Road, on the north perimeter near Murphy’s Glade, utilizing firing operations (burning out vegetation to widen the containment line) when conditions permit. The east perimeter of the fire is in mop-up and patrol status. Firefighters will continue to look for and extinguish all hot spots. Weather: Winds were very light across the fire area through the day with gusts less than 10 mph as dense smoke kept temperatures considerably lower. Relative humidity remained very low hovering in the 7-15% range.

Evacuation Orders and Warnings Mendocino, Humboldt, Tehama and Trinity Counties Mendocino County Evacuation Orders

Zone S – South of County Line, East of Bell Springs Rd, North of Bell Springs Creek and West of the North Fork of the Eel River.
Zone Q – South of the County Line, West and North of the North Fork of the Eel River and North and East of Bald Mountain Rd.

Evacuation Warnings

Zone U – South of the County Line, East and North of the East Branch of the South Fork of the Eel River, West of Bell Springs Rd.
Zone T – South of Bell Springs Cekk, East of Bell Springs Rd, North of Iron Pek and Simmerly Rd, West of the Eel River
Zone R – West of south of Mina Rd, South of the North Fork of Eel River, East of the Eel River
Zone P – South of the County Line, East of the Mina Rd, North of Hulls Valley Rd and West of Hulls Creek
Zone O – South of the County Line, East of Hulls Creek, North of Mendocino Pass Rd, and West of Williams Creek

Evacuation Point: Covelo High School, 76280 High School Street, Covelo, CA Animal and Livestock Care: Covelo Rodeo Grounds, South Airport Road, Covelo, CA

Trinity County Evacuation Orders

Ruth, Zenia, Kettenpom, Hettenshaw Valley

Evacuation Warnings

Ruth Lake, Mad River, Forest Glen and Post Mountain

Evacuation Point: Southern Trinity High School located at 600 Van Duzen Road, Mad River, CA Humboldt County Evacuation Orders

Areas south of Highway 36 in Bridgeville, and all communities along Alderpoint Road down to the Mendocino/Trinity County Line.

Evacuation Warnings

Areas west of Bell Springs Road to Highway 101 spanning from Alderpoint Road to the Mendocino/Trinity County Line (including Garberville).

Alderpoint, Palo Verde, Island Mountain and Harris

Tehama County Evacuation Orders

Zone A: All areas south of Pettyjohn Rd. to the Mendocino National Forest boundary, east of the Mendocino National Forest boundary to Mary Ellen Place, north to Cobb Flat and south to the Mendocino National Forest Boundary
Zone C-1: All areas north of Pettyjohn Road to Wells Creek, east of the Shasta Trinity National Forest Boundary and west of Weemasoul Road/Halley Grade
Zone Q: All areas north of Raglin Ridge Road/Forest Road 23N27, west of the Mendocino National Forest Boundary, east of the Zone B boundary and south of Forest Road 25N01/ Forest Road M22.

Evacuation Warnings

Zone B: All areas south of Lanyan Trail to Brown Place, west to the Mendocino National Forest boundary, north to Mary Ellen Page and east to Bluedoor Flat/Red Bank Road/County Rd. 80.
Zone C-2: The evacuation order has been reduced to an evacuation warning for all areas north of Wells Creek to Hwy 36, east of the Shasta Trinity National Forest boundary and west of Weemasoul Road/Halley Grade.
Smoke Outlook: Strong winds will disperse some smoke and generally move it south, but unhealthy levels will persist in most of the region. Air quality is expected to be Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups to Unhealthy in much of the Northern Central Valley. As we transition back to a southwest flow and lighter winds, we will likely see periods of Unhealthy and Very Unhealthy conditions return.

Forest Closures: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Mendocino National Forest and Six Rivers National Forest. Due to unprecedented and historic fire conditions throughout the state, the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region has closed all 18 national forests in California. This includes the Mendocino, Shasta Trinity and Six Rivers National Forest. It is critical that all national forest visitors follow these important closures and restrictions for their own safety and the safety of our firefighters. If you have specific questions about forest closures, please call your local Forest Service office.

Cooperating Agencies: California Conservation Corps, Tehama County Sheriff’s Office, Glenn County Sheriff’s Office, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, National Weather Service, Butte County Public Health Department, Tehama County Public Health, Glenn County Public Health, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California State Parks, BLM, Cal OES, Butte County OES, Glenn County OES and Tehama County OES.