LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Gusting winds that have blown across Lake County in recent days are believed to have contributed to conditions that led to several fires late Thursday and during the day on Friday.

As much of the Northshore and Clearlake areas dealt with the damage from this week's windstorm, on Friday firefighters dealt with several wildland fires along the Northshore.

A fire that began Thursday night near Paradise Cove was fully contained at 15 acres on Friday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli, who had been at the scene of the blaze Thursday night, told Lake County News that despite the rain earlier this week, “With these winds, it's overriding any moisture we had.”

Early Friday afternoon, firefighters responded to a wildland fire on Bruner Drive in the Kono Tayee subdivision near Lucerne.

Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown said the fire was between 20 and 25 acres Friday night.

An in-county strike team that included personnel from Northshore, Kelseyville, Lake County and Lakeport Fire protection districts, along with Cal Fire, responded, with a total of six engines and a water tender on scene, Brown said.

The fire, pushed by 30- to 40-mile-per-hour winds, damaged four homes, he said.

As for the cause, “It's related to a power issue,” Brown said.

While firefighters were working the Bruner incident, a driver stopped to look at the fire and was rear-ended, Brown said. A juvenile was injured and transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital with what were believed to be minor injuries.

Later on Friday afternoon, firefighters also responded to a small wildland fire in the area of Clover Valley Road in Upper Lake. Brown estimated it was contained at close to five acres, with three engines and a water tender on scene.

Brown said Cal Fire was continuing to monitor the scenes at the Paradise Cove and Bruner incidents because of the windy, dry conditions.

Later in the evening, a small vegetation fire was reported on Elliott Street in Upper Lake after downed power lines caught trees and grass on fire, according to radio reports.

In neighboring Sonoma County, a fire that broke out early Friday morning in The Geysers geothermal steamfield had burned an estimated 2,500 acres by nightfall, with containment at 10 percent, according to Cal Fire.

Although it's fall, the county is still experiencing dry conditions on par with the summer months, according to Bertelli.

“Everything is burning like it's August or September,” he said.

Cal Fire hasn't yet declared an end to fire season in its Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit. The 2012 fire season closed Nov. 5.

“We're still on heightened alert,” Bertelli said. “We haven't fully downstaffed as we normally would because of the weather.”

He asked that county residents continue to use caution and be fire safe.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.