California: Crews gain on wildfires in Sonoma and Lake counties

(PD) - Winds that fanned a wildfire in northeastern Sonoma County's Geysers geothermal area finally died down Sunday, creating weather conditions that helped fire crews gain major ground against the three-day blaze, Cal Fire officials said.

The McCabe fire had ballooned to 3,300 acres since it was first reported early Friday but was 65 percent contained as of 6 p.m. Sunday, Cal Fire officials said.

“A wind-driven fire is a very challenging fire to aggressively fight, because conditions can change so drastically,” said Suzie Blankenship, fire prevention specialist for CalFire.

Cal Fire officials said they expected to have the McCabe fire contained by Tuesday. Yet starting today they expect to begin releasing many of the 1,684 firefighting personnel to their original jurisdictions.

North Coast firefighers have been battling wildfires across the region, left parched by a combination of subpar winter rainfall over several years and recent strong winds. Recent rainfall did little to increase moisture levels in area vegetation.

In Lake County, fire crews had reached just 5 percent containment of a 350-acre fire raging in the Mendocino National Forest in Lake County that was first reported just after midnight on Saturday morning. Persistent dry weather and recent high winds haven't helped the situation, said Tamara Schmidt, spokeswoman with the fire service.

“This is pretty unique in terms of the timing, to have a fire this late in the season,” Schmidt said. “Typically our fire crews are on until late October, so the seasonal can be laid off until spring. It's a little bit of a surprise.”

The McCabe Fire in Sonoma County destroyed a cooling tower run by Calpine Corp, the principal operator of the Geysers geothermal field that spans the Sonoma-Lake County border, and forced evacuations of 12 residents in the area, most of whom work for the company.