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Cal Fire had estimated the Oasis Fire would be contained on Friday, but the fire – located in wilderness areas in Lake and Colusa counties south of Highway 20 and six miles west of Highway 16 – wasn't yet fully contained by day's end.
The fire broke out on Monday evening, and is burning on Bureau of Land Management Land as well as the jurisdiction of the Northshore Fire Protection District, whose staff has been on scene all week, as Lake County News has reported.
The new containment date given by Cal Fire is Sunday, Sept. 13.
Four firefighters have been injured in the week-long firefighter effort, Cal Fire reported.
The cause still remains under investigation.
On Friday, a total of 940 firefighters – 920 from Cal Fire – were on scene, along with 32 engines, 39 fire crews, six helicopters, five bulldozers and three water tenders, Cal Fire reported.
Cal Fire, Northshore Fire, Williams Fire Department, BLM, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Highway Patrol have been involved in the effort.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
A report from sheriff's Lt. Tim Marsh said deputies responded to a remote area east of Hopland near the Lake/Mendocino county line at 2 a.m. Friday on the report of an alleged assault and battery.
When deputies arrived they located the assault victim lying on the ground in a marijuana garden, according to Marsh's report.
The victim was later pronounced dead by the fire department at the scene, he said.
Marsh said the preliminary investigation indicates that the victim was engaged in a argument with other persons over marijuana cultivation and water usage prior to his death.
The victim's name wasn't released Friday pending the notification of next of kin.
Marsh said the investigation is in the initial stages and continuing.
The removal of Indians from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in 1863 is one of the many forced relocations following the establishment of reservations in northern California in the 1850s.
On Saturday, the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico will sponsor a potluck gathering at 4:30 p.m. at Wildwood Park in Bidwell Park to commemorate the 146th anniversary of the Nome Cult Trail, which was the forced relocation of Indians from Chico across what is now the Mendocino National Forest to Round Valley in 1863.
The next week, Saturday, Sept. 19, in the afternoon, the Round Valley Indian Tribes will sponsor a gathering at the Round Valley Reservation in Covelo to mark the completion of the 14th annual retracing of the original 100-mile trek.
The theme for the walk and gatherings is “Honor Their Memory … A Path Not Forgotten.”
From Sept. 13 through 19, walkers will retrace the original trail, camping out each night along the way.
Descendants of Indians who took part in the original relocation and other supporters will walk from Chico to Covelo starting Sunday, Sept. 13, descending down into Round Valley on Sept. 19.
The walkers will begin at Bidwell River Road at 7 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13. They will walk west on State Highway 32 and camp at the Buckhorn Campground at Black Butte Lake the first night.
For the remainder of the week they will walk across the Mendocino National Forest, following the Nome Cult Trail.
Their planned schedule is:
Monday, Sept. 14, Orland to Newville Cemetery, camp at Grindstone, Buckhorn Campground or Paskenta;
Tuesday, Sept. 15, Newville Cemetery to camp at Black Bear Campground;
Wednesday, Sept. 16, Black Bear Campground to camp at Log Springs;
Thursday, Sept. 17, Log Springs to camp at Wells Cabin;
Friday, September 18, Wells Cabin to camp at Eel River Ranger Station Saturday, September 19, walk into Round Valley.
Several different tribes were moved to the Nome Cult Reservation after it was established in Round Valley in 1856.
In September 1863, 461 Indians were marched under guard from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation nearly 100 miles across the Sacramento Valley and rugged North Coast Ranges.
Only 277 Indians completed the journey. Some were killed, a few escaped and others were left behind, too sick to go on.
Although the path itself has disappeared, this route is now called the Nome Cult Trail. The most grueling part of the trail passed through what is now the Mendocino National Forest.
The Forest Service has placed interpretive signs along the route to mark places where the Indians and their military escorts camped.
A free brochure and trail map produced by the Forest Service is available from Mendocino National Forest offices for those interested in the route.
The Mendocino National Forest asks that people traveling on Forest roads along the trail route be aware of the event and careful of the walkers to ensure their safety.
For further information on the Sept. 12 Chico event, please contact Sandra Knight, Chico Mechoopda Tribe, at 530-899-8922, Extension 213.
For further information on the walk and the Sept. 19 Covelo event, please contact Albert Azbill, Round Valley Indian Tribes at 707-983-6126, Extension 11.
The Oasis Fire, which broke out on Monday, has burned 1,400 acres on Bureau of Land Management land in the Cache Creek Wilderness Area and in the Northshore Fire Protection District. It's located south of Highway 20 and six miles west of Highway 16.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Cal Fire report suppression costs to date have totaled $2.4 million.
Late Thursday the fire was reported to be 80-percent contained. Cal Fire officials said containment efforts, along with and mop up and patrol of the fire, are continuing.
Air tankers and helicopters, as well as bulldozers, have played a major role in the fire suppression effort this week, as road access to the fire area was limited, according to reports from the scene.
On Thursday evening, reports indicated that the remaining aircraft that were being used to fight the fire would be released on Friday morning.
Resources from Cal Fire, Northshore Fire, Williams Fire Department, BLM and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation totaled 1,114 firefighters – of which 1,059 were with Cal Fire – and 40 engines, 43 fire crews, eight helicopters, 15 bulldozers and 14 water tenders.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
Clouds overnight Wednesday helped to mitigate overnight lows. Daytime temperatures rose higher on Thursday, and will continue throughout the day Friday, the National Weather Service in Sacramento (NWS) predicted.
The NWS has issued both a hazardous weather outlook and a special weather statement for Lake County Friday, with high temperatures close to the century mark.
A strong ridge of high pressure, which is resulting in higher-than-average temperatures, will reach a crescendo today with highs in the upper-90s to near 100 degrees, according to the NWS.
Temperatures in the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills may break records for this date later Friday, the NWS predicted.
Relief from the daytime temperatures should come as the high pressure system moves out on Saturday and temperatures return closer to average, the NWS stated, with highs in the mid-80s.
By Sunday, decreasing daytime temperatures will continue, with The Weather Channel forecasting a chance of rain.
Overnight temperatures will only drop down to the 60s Friday and tomorrow, with lows reaching near 50 by Sunday morning according to the NWS.
High daytime temperatures on Sunday will be much lower, only reaching in to the mid-70s according to the NWS.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
At 6 p.m. Wednesday divers recovered the body of a young man who had been reported missing two and a half hours earlier by the lake's south boat ramp, according to a Thursday report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
Just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday deputies responded to a call regarding a possible missing person, Smallcomb said.
Arriving at the scene, they learned that several persons were recreational swimming in the area just south of Lake Mendocino south boat ramp when one of their friends was seen struggling in the water, and then disappeared from sight. Smallcomb said the friends made several immediate attempts to locate the missing swimmer with negative results.
The Sheriff's Office Volunteer Search and Rescue Dive Team was called to the scene, Smallcomb said. Several members of the dive team's black water unit arrived within and hour and began to search.
At approximately 6 p.m. divers located the missing male in about 15 feet of water in the area where he was last seen swimming with friends, according to Smallcomb's report.
Foul play isn't believed to be involved, and drugs and alcohol do not seem to have contributed to the drowning, Smallcomb said.
Next of kin contact was pending on Thursday, said Smallcomb. Also on Thursday, an autopsy was scheduled.
