Containment grows on Lucas Fire near California’s Mendocino National Forest

By Tim Fang

Firefighters in Northern California continued to increase containment on the Lucas Fire burning near the Mendocino National Forest, as evacuations remained in effect Sunday.

According to an update from Cal Fire, the fire burned 4,008 acres as of 7 a.m., with containment at 20%. The fire started Thursday afternoon near the Lake County – Mendocino County line southeast of Potter Valley.

“Fire crews made good progress overnight and were able to strengthen containment lines in several areas,” officials said in a statement. “Crews continued working to extinguish hot spots and make sure the fire stays within established containment lines.”

Officials added the focus for firefighters on Sunday was to further strengthen containment lines, putting out hot spots, monitoring areas near homes and monitoring spot fires and changing fire conditions. A Red Flag Warning that was in effect for Lake County ended at 2 a.m.

Evacuation orders were in effect for the following areas:
Lake County
• MNF-E016
• MNF-E018
• MNF-E019
• UPP-E023
• UPP-E025
• UPP-E026
• UPP-E027
• UPP-E030

Mendocino County
• MEN-2POT08-B

Meanwhile, these areas are under evacuation warnings:
Lake County
• MNF-E012
• MNF-E013
• MNF-E015
• MNF-E017
• MNF-E021
• UPP-E028
• UPP-E031
• UPP-E032
• UPP-E035
• UPP-E038

Mendocino County
• MEN-2POT08-A
• MEN-2UKV28

The cause of the fire is under investigation.