A new fire broke out at approximately 3 p.m. today in the Lake County community of Nice prompting evacuation orders.
The fire, which initially covered half an acre near the 6800 block of Hammond Avenue, rapidly expanded, drawing resources away from the ongoing Scotts Fire, which started around 2:20 p.m. north of Clear Lake. The Incident Commander emphasized the urgency, stating, “There is no threat of an evacuation on Scotts Valley; there will be on Hammond.”
The evacuation orders at this point apply to zone NIC-E047 between Lakeshore Boulevard, Collier Avenue, and the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff Road.
As of 3:18 p.m., the fire had grown to approximately one acre with a moderate rate of spread, according to updates from the Incident Commander over the scanner. One structure has already begun to catch fire, and additional resources have been requested to manage the situation.
UPDATE 3:48 p.m.: Lake County Sheriff sent the following,
“Lake County Sheriffs Office has issued an EVACUATION ORDER for Zones: NIC-E047 due to a Wildland Fire.
There is an IMMEDIATE threat to life and property to anyone in the impacted zones. Gather household members, pets and essential items (including medication), lock your home and leave now. Dial 9-1-1 if you have a life-threatening emergency ONLY; not for information. Check your Zone Number (LINK) and view additional details at https://protect.genasys.com. “
UPDATE 4:45 p.m.: The forward progression of the Ham Fire has been halted, according to Incident Command.
Evacuation zone NIC-047 has been divided into two subzones, A and B. Subzone NIC-047 B has been downgraded from an evacuation order to a warning, while subzone NIC-047 A remains under an evacuation order.
UPDATE 5:48 p.m.: The following information was posted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office:
Temporary Evacuation Point: Upper Lake High School
Evacuation Order for Zone NIC-E047A
South of Hwy. 20
West of Collier
East of Hammond Ave
Warning for zones
NIC-E047B
West of Hammond Ave
East of the cutoff
South of Hwy 20
North of the Lake
NIC-E042
North of Hwy 20
South of Hyde
East of Pyle
West of Klein
UPDATE 7:03 p.m.: The evacuation order for Zone NIC-047-A has been downgraded to an evacuation warning. Evacuation warnings for Zones NIC-047-B and NIC-042 have been lifted, according to the Genasys evacuation map
Please remember that this story is unfolding. Information is being reported as we gather it. However, some of the information coming from witnesses and initial official reports could be wrong. We will do our best to get the facts but, in the case that something is inaccurate, we will update with correct information as soon as we can.
Something very suspicious about all these fires breaking out in such close proximity & time frame. 1st hopland now nice & blue lakes…worrisome