How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A combination of quick response and movement of resources from a large wildland fire in the region helped contain a Sunday fire in Clearlake before it could do much more serious damage.
The Dam fire, which broke out at around 4 p.m. Sunday, burned a total of 10 acres, according to
Suzanne Blankenship of Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
Blankenship told Lake County News that the fire was fully contained at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, but resources remained on the scene overnight and into early Monday morning, mopping up.
Lake County Fire and Cal Fire had led the incident response, with fire agencies from around the county sending resources to the scene, officials said.
Blankenship said the damage estimate has remained at one destroyed mobile home on Dam Road and minor damage to the Cache Creek Apartments, behind which the fire had started.
The incident had the potential to quickly become a conflagration, with dry vegetation and high, erratic winds fanning it, according to reports from fire officials.
“It was pretty intense at the beginning,” she said, noting there was the potential for the fire to blow up.
However, Blankenship explained that a number of factors contributed to the incident not being worse.
For one, the fire engines coming to the scene had four firefighters instead of three, which Blankenship said made for an easier division of labor when evacuations of nearby apartments and homes started.
Those evacuations had begun at around 4:30 p.m., according to radio reports.
Cal Fire also diverted aircraft from the 6,500-acre Wragg fire in Napa and Solano counties, Blankenship said.
“There was a lot more air on it right away,” said Blankenship.
Those diverted air resources included Chinook helicopters that assisted with water drops, according to reports from the scene.
As for what sparked the blaze, Blankenship noted, “The fire still is under investigation.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at
