Aug. 18 -- Firefighters were making progress on extending containment lines on the largest wildfire in California history, though smoky conditions and 90-degree temperatures will challenge crews through the weekend, fire officials said Saturday.
The Mendocino Complex, comprising the Ranch Fire and River Fire, grew slightly overnight on the northern portion of the fire and reached 331,770 acres and was 77 percent contained by Saturday, according to the the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
Crews have been mopping up and constructing containment lines on the northern portion of the fire, officials said.
“On the southern portion of the fire, suppression repair efforts will continue throughout the day,” Cal Fire said in a statement. “Firing operations will continue as weather conditions and fuel moistures allow.”
A high pressure system over the blaze is creating smoky and hazy conditions for crews on the ground and in the air, said Idamis Del Valle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“It’s still going to be warm and dry for crews at the Mendocino Complex fire,” Del Valle said. “Smoke and haze will increase today because of that system, but there won’t be any strong, gusty winds.”
Cal Fire officials said heavy smoke is making it impossible for fixed-wing aircraft to navigate, but Del Valle said another weather system is expected to push through Sunday afternoon and last into next week, which she said should clear out the smoke and haze.
In the meantime, crews are planning to take advantage of an inversion layer of smoke that clears mid-afternoon to fly aircraft over the blaze and drop retardant.
Roughly 3,470 fire personnel are working to extinguish the Mendocino Complex, which is expected to be fully contained by September 1. Officials say 200 engines, 89 water tenders, 21 helicopters and 62 bulldozers are responding to the fire.
Two people have been injured and one Utah firefighter, Matthew Burchett, was killed fighting the Mendocino Complex.
Firefighters in Redding worked to construct containment lines through the night on the Carr Fire, which has burned 224,099 acres since it sparked from a mechanical vehicle failure on July 23. The blaze was 79 percent contained by Saturday, officials said.
The blaze has killed three firefighters, including Redding fire inspector Jeremiah “Jeremy” Stoke, who was killed by a catastrophic fire tornado. Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her two great-grandchildren, James Roberts Jr., 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, also died in the blaze. Jairus Ayeta, an apprentice lineman with PG&E, was the seventh fatality related to the Carr Fire.
It is not known when the blaze will be fully contained.
Near Yosemite, the Ferguson Fire grew slightly to 96,824 acres with 87 percent containment by Saturday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
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