Yesterday, firefighters fought several challenging battles against the August Complex. The fire forced new evacuations to the northeast in the Forest Glen area along Hwy 36. And new evacuations to the southwest in the Eden Valley area of Mendocino County.
The massive behemoth of a fire is now 755,603 acres and 30% contained. All of that containment though is on the eastern side of the fire and away from Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino Counties.
Winds pushed the fire north yesterday. The northern part of the fire had spotting that were a mile to a mile and a half in front of the fire.
Areas to watch today are the Ruth Lake to Forest Glen area, the Zenia and Kettenpom area, and down in the southwest toe of the fire burning in Mendocino County, the Eden Valley area.
A bit of good news is that firefighters are hopeful that the area around Covelo may be the first area on the west side of the fire to get a black containment line. The fire continues to stay east of the Main Stem of the Eel River and out of Humboldt County.
The Plan:
Below is this morning’s briefing in Ukiah which looks from north to south on the west side of the August Fire.
The Weather:
In Mendocino County the temperatures could reach 90 degrees but mostly the temperature in the areas of the fire, from the top to the bottom, will be low seventies to low eighties. Winds could gust as high as 17 mph over parts of the fire. Mostly the wind will be coming from the south and southwest so in general the fire will move to the north and northeast.
The Smoke:
Less smoke today which is good for lungs and allows aircraft to fight the fire but it allows sun to heat the vegetation and makes the fire grow faster.
The Images:
Soliders in the US Army working on the August Complex.
The Roads:
Here is the latest information: Information on Highways Closed Due to Fires
The Maps:
- Public Information Map
- Operations Map –to see details either zoom or click on the map and download a pdf.
- KMZ Map–Zoom for detail or for 3D imagery, click on the map and download a file that connects with your Google Earth program. [Click the photo for the North KMZ files. Click here for the South KMZ files.]
Evacuation Area information:
- Trinity County: See interactive map
- Mendocino County: See map
- Humboldt County: See interactive map
USEFUL Information:
- Evacuation for animals Humboldt: “If you have a need to evacuate animals please contact the Humboldt County Fairgrounds to arrange for drop off. HCF is also arranging for trailers if needed to transport animals. Please call 707-496-8841.”
- Evacuations for animals Mendocino:
- The Laytonville rodeo grounds are open for livestock. They are located at Harwood Road Laytonville, call ahead at 707-984-8100
- Covelo Rodeo Grounds for small/large animals/livestock (22830 S. Airport Road in Covelo)
- Evacuation place for Trinity residents:
- Humboldt Fairgrounds in Ferndale.
- Evacuation place for Humboldt residents:
- The Mateel Community Center located at 59 Rusk Lane is an evacuation shelter. “Small pets are welcome with leashes outside the hall, no pets are allowed inside the hall due to potential allergy reactions for some individuals. For more information about the ongoing fire evacuation center located at the Mateel visit mateel.org.
- The Humboldt County Fairgrounds has been designated as an Office of Emergency Services County-wide Evacuation Center for both human and livestock fire evacuees. Because of COVID, human evacuees need to have trailers and RV’s and/or tent campers. See more here.
- Redwood Acres is preparing to take in fire evacuees, both livestock and those who have an RV or are willing to camp.
- Fire Evacuation Information Line at 707-268-2500 for questions regarding current county evacuations and resources.
- You can listen to Trinity County Scanner by clicking here Trinity County Public Safety
- You can listen to Southern Humboldt County Scanner by clicking here Humboldt County Law, Fire and EMS – Eureka and South
- You can listen to Mendocino County Scanner by clicking here Mendocino County Sheriff, Fire, EMS, Cal Fire and CHP
- Good fire and smoke info here: Click here. (Please remember the info here isn’t always up to date. If you are given an evacuation order, leave–no matter what this says.)
- Good Social Media Site–FIRE EVACUEE INFO – Humboldt/Northern Mendo/Trinity Fires: Click here
- Water Station Open for Fire Evacuees at Rio Dell City Hall
- The Humboldt Transit Authority is currently offering regular services to Southern Humboldt County.
- Wildfire Evacuation Checklist
- Number to call for information on evacuation in Humboldt County=707-268-2500
Reprinted with the permission of Kym Kemp’s Redheaded Blackbelt
