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LAKE COUNTY – Firefighters continue to try to contain the Walker Fire near the Double Eagle Ranch, as well as fires caused by lightning in the Mendocino National Forest.
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The Walker Fire continues to burn in remote wildlands east of Clearlake Oaks, Cal Fire reported Tuesday afternoon.
The estimated size of the fire – which a Cal Fire official told Lake County News Monday was 10,000 acres Monday night – was rolled back to about 9,000 acres. It is 5-percent contained.
The incident command was moved from the Oasis road house to Konocti Conservation Camp, where a total of 134 personnel – including 62 from Cal Fire – were staging, Cal Fire reported.
On scene are a total of 17 engines, a helicopter and 10 bulldozers, including local and state resources, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire reported that voluntary evacuations remained in place on Double Eagle Ranch, Bear Valley ranch land and Wilbur Hot Springs.
The California Highway Patrol's Ukiah Dispatch Center said Tuesday afternoon that Highway 20 remained open. Fire officials have warned that a shift in the winds could carry the fire toward the highway and necessitate a closure.
In the Mendocino National Forest, a report from spokesperson Phebe Brown there have been a total of 57 fires burning 2,800 acres in Lake, Mendocino and Tehama counties. Twenty-one of the fires are contained.
Brown reported that 389 firefighters – including nine fire crews – are on scene. Smoke jumpers also have been ordered.
“We have three large fires that we’re trying to gain the upper hand on,” said Brown.
They include the Back (southwest of Lake Pillsbury, 1,800 acres, 40-percent contained); Big (west of Lake Pillsbury, 850 acres, 0-percent contained); Monkey Rock (in the Yuki Wilderness, 50 acres, has a low rate of spread).
On Tuesday the county Department of Public Works reported that Elk Mountain Road, between Bear Creek Road and Soda Creek, had been closed to all traffic except emergency personnel.
Still closed is Walker Ridge Road, and Bartlett Springs Road is open on an “enter at your own risk” condition, according to Public Works.
Cal Fire said there are currently 842 fires burning around California, many of which are believed to have been caused by lightning strikes last weekend.
For information on the fire the public may call Cal Fire at 707-967-1456.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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WALKER RIDGE – A wildland fire burning in a remote part of the county nearly tripled in size Monday, with winds causing the blaze to jump fire lines as it continued on its path toward dozens of homes.
The Walker Fire had burned 10,000 acres with zero containment by 7 p.m. Monday, according to Frank Kemper, a Cal Fire spokesman at the incident command center at the Oasis road house along Highway 20.
The fire was continuing to burn over the ridge toward the Double Eagle Ranch subdivision, which is located about 14 miles east of Clearlake Oaks.
Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins said the fire was heading for the Lake/Colusa County line and the Bear Valley area, where area ranches might need to be evacuated.
Sixty-two personnel and 13 engines from all county fire districts and Cal Fire were on scene Monday, fighting what has become one of the largest uncontained wildland fire burning in the state, according to Cal Fire statistics.
Thirty-five structures were reported threatened, with one older hunting cabin in Benmore Canyon destroyed, said Robbins.
There also is the very real possibility that, if winds shift and the fire change directions, it could head toward Spring Valley, necessitating evacuations, Robbins said.
Jeffrey Tunnell, a fire mitigation and education specialist with the Bureau of Land Management, said the fire was burning a mix of private property and BLM-managed wildlands.
A BLM ranger spotted the fire in the remote Benmore Canyon area on Sunday, said Tunnell.
No injuries have been reported, said Robbins. “That's our main objective – to keep everyone as safe as possible.”
Robbins said Cal Fire took over as the lead agency on the fire Sunday.
Needing more help
Local fire officials were hoping that Cal Fire would be able to bring in more resources to help in the effort. “All the local staff are really, really stretched thin,” said Robbins.
Because of the fire's size, Kemper said it has moved up the priority list. Although they're getting resources from many different parts of the state, Kemper said Cal Fire is in an unusual situation, having to find resources while hundreds of wildfires burn around California.
“We're looking at conditions we might expect to find in August and September, and here it is June,” said Kemper.
Lack of resources, winds and dry brush appeared to contribute to the fire's significant growth.
At the start of the day Monday, the fire had been reported by Cal Fire to have scorched about 3,500 acres.
Fire officials had feared that the fire could be pushed toward Spring Valley overnight if valley winds kicked up.
However, Robbins said the fire actually seemed to die down overnight, as firefighters continued their efforts to suppress it.
The weary crews finally got to rest on Monday, said Robbins. “We got them to bed down early this morning because we knew it was going to be a long day.”
More bulldozers arrived around 2 a.m. from Vacaville, said Robbins, and worked to build fire lines in the Wilbur Springs area to cut the fire off should it reach there.
Fire kicks into high gear
The fire stayed fairly calm until about noon, said Kemper.
Then the winds returned, with Robbins reporting gusts of up to 18 miles per hour from the northwest.
“Once the winds came up it just took off,” said Kemper.
Efforts to cut firebreaks with bulldozers to contain the fire were frustrated as the fire simply went over them.
“It jumped a bunch of lines all day,” said Keith Leffler, a firefighter specialist with Northshore Fire who also works as a Cal Fire bulldozer operator.
Leffler did dozer work around some of the houses to get rid of brush and debris that might burn. Other firefighters stationed at homes in the subdivision also did prep and cleanup work to help protect the residences.
In response to the fire's flare up, fire officials brought in aircraft, including a DC-10 air tanker which made several fire retardant drops, said Robbins.
A mix of Cal Fire and hired aircraft – including Chinook and Sikorsky helicopters – pounded the fire with water and retardant throughout the afternoon and into the evening in the Red Rocks region east of Benmore Canyon and west of the Double Eagle.
“We're just hoping it's going to hold it,” said Robbins.
About 5:30 p.m., as the winds picked up, dark black smoke began curling up over the ridges, with the fire experiencing another flare up. The aircraft continued drops on the fire, which seemed to knock back its strength.
However, smoke created a serious visibility problem for aircraft, which included tactical units and spotters, several of them flying over the fire at once. Shortly before 7 p.m., Cal Fire began to call in the aircraft due to the low visibility, which created a dangerous situation for pilots.
Fighting fire with fire
Along Meriann Drive in the Double Eagle Ranch, a horse pasture had been bulldozed to create a safety zone where firefighters can retreat if the fire gets worse, said Robbins.
He met with Northshore Battalion Chief Pat Brown and an engine of weary firefighters just down the road from the safety zone Monday evening, where they discussed strategy moving forward.
Brown said he intended to stay on scene overnight to do a burning operation, in which he planned to set a fire and send it in a northerly direction in an attempt to try to stop the bigger fire.
He said he needed the Walker Fire to calm down overnight, and have a southerly breeze, in order to carry out the plan.
“We will save the houses,” said Brown.
Cal Fire also reported it planned to do a burn from the remote Four Corners area – where four roads, including Walker Ridge and Bartlett Springs road, meet – and have it burn toward Bear Valley Road in one direction and Bartlett Springs in the other, which should run parallel to Walker Ridge, said Robbins.
Emergency resources at hand
Many local emergency resources were on hand to assist firefighters and area residents.
Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Basor was at the command center in his capacity as the county's Office of Emergency Services coordinator.
On Sunday night Robbins put in a call for the mobile operations unit, a large trailer purchased with Homeland Security funds, featuring radios, laptops, a meeting room and other amenities for command leadership. Basor said this is the trailer's maiden voyage on a serious incident.
A Red Cross emergency shelter was set up at the Clearlake Oaks Fire Station under the direction of Pam Plank, the county's Red Cross disaster coordinator.
More than two dozen Double Eagle Ranch residents – plus some livestock and pets – were evacuated Sunday, as Lake County News has reported.
Campers at Indian Valley Reservoir also had been urged to leave, said Robbins.
As of Monday evening, the shelter had not been needed for any of the Double Eagle evacuees, so Plank and her cadre of volunteers – who had stayed at the shelter throughout the night to watch for anyone who needed help – were planning on closing the shelter.
Lake County Animal Care and Control has also been working to make sure animals were rescued from area homes.
On Monday they found a dog and a bird at a home in the Double Eagle and took them to safety, said staffer Sara Schramm.
Schramm said that no more livestock has been evacuated since Sunday, when four horses and about a dozen goats were removed to safety.
She and other Animal Care and Control staff got back to the shelter in Lakeport close to 11:30 p.m. Sunday after being on call most of the evening, she said.
There were concerns, however, that Double Eagle residents were trying to return to their homes as the fire's approach continued.
Robbins said they couldn't take the chance right now of letting residents back in.
Barricades and a California Highway Patrol cruiser were stationed at the entrance late Monday in an effort to discourage reentry into the subdivision.
Basor said it was for the residents' own safety that they had been asked to leave. If the winds were to shift the fire could move through the subdivision quickly, he said.
The county Department of Public Works reported Monday afternoon that it had closed Walker Ridge Road to all traffic with the exception of emergency personnel due to the fire.
Bartlett Springs Road is “enter at your own risk,” with no passage through to Indian Valley Reservoir, Public Works reported. Robbins said it's best of the public stays away from those areas for now.
In addition, he said there were still concerns that the fire could still burn down to Highway 20, forcing a closure.
The incident command post is expected to be moved to the Konocti Conservation Camp along Highway 29 on Tuesday afternoon, said Kemper.
That location will provide a larger facility for staging more firefighters – as many as a few thousand – and equipment should the fire grow larger, said Robbins.
Officials have stated that they believe the fire was caused by a lightning strike. Robbins said his units found the origin of the fire in Benmore Canyon on Sunday. Cal Fire investigators were reportedly investigating the scene Monday in order to make an official determination.
Area residents who have fire-related stories and experiences they wish to share are welcome to e-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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William Michael Viley of Clearlake died last Friday following a crash the previous day, on what was his 58th birthday, according to the Sonoma County Coroner's Office.
Viley was injured in a Thursday crash on Highway 53 at the Olympic Drive turnoff, according to Clearlake Police Chief Allan McClain.
Police officials told Lake County News last week that the crash – which involved a Hey, Taxi minivan that turned into the path of an oncoming vehicle while turning onto Olympic Drive – had resulted in only minor injuries.
McClain explained Monday that the report was based on information police had received from Redbud Community Hospital, where Viley and others involved in the collision were taken for treatment.
Viley had been one of five people in the van, said McClain. He and two other people were being transported to the DaVita Dialysis Center on Olympic Drive.
Unbeknownst to police, Viley was airlifted later on Thursday to Santa Rosa for treatment of head injuries, McClain said.
While undergoing brain surgery just after midnight on Friday morning, Viley died, said McClain.
Clearlake Police received a call later on Friday from a Sonoma County Sheriff's detective informing them of Viley's death, he added.
McClain said the Sonoma County Coroner's Office is investigating Viley's death to pinpoint the cause.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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LAKEPORT – Sgt. James Rayburn is home on leave after serving nine months there in Iraq.
The US Army veteran has only 18 short days at home before he returns to Iraq to serve another six months and complete his tour of duty. When he is not deployed, James and his wife and children live in Kentucky where his duty station is Fort Campbell.
Rayburn is originally from Middletown and still thinks of Lake County as home.
Several months ago his name and address were given to Operation Tango Mike, along with a request to send care packages to bolster the soldier’s morale. The request came from a teenager in Middletown, who attends the same church as the Rayburn family members that remain in Lake County. That young man, Tyler O’Brien, has supported Operation Tango Mike through participation via the Interact Club at Middletown High School.
Rayburn asked his local family members early last week to contact someone from Operation Tango Mike to make arrangements to meet. The soldier wanted to thank his supporters and share his thoughts and true stories of how care packages and contact from home have helped him throughout his deployment.
The sergeant and his family arrived at Umpqua Bank in Lakeport on Friday morning to a warm welcome and a cake decorated in the style of an American flag. The soldier was presented with gifts and greeting cards and was showered with thanks, hugs and handshakes.
He spoke of how difficult time away from home can be in a war zone. He then added that every card, letter and care package make it bearable.
Rayburn said the first time he received a care package from Operation Tango Mike was a truly exciting experience. Although every mail call is uplifting when your name is called, that first package was very moving. The soldier said he examined the package, saw a Lake County return address, and thought, “This is from home!”
He expressed his gratitude for the care packages and support he has received. Moreover, he repeatedly spoke of “what a great thing it is Lake County is doing” in sending care packages. The soldier said he knows with certainty there are many others deployed far from home that benefit from the support.
Operation Tango Mike will continue to send care packages and support to Sgt. Rayburn throughout his deployment.
Approximately 80 to 100 care packages are prepared and shipped monthly. Donations of goods for the care packages and financial contributions for shipping costs are always needed. Checks can be mailed to 5216 Piner Court, Kelseyville, CA 95451.
The next packing party will be June 26 at 6 p.m. at Umpqua Bank on 11th Street in Lakeport.
Volunteers are welcome and should contact Ginny Craven at (707) 349-2838 or
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