MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST — A forest fire 19 miles southeast of Covelo in the Mendocino National Forest that has burned since July 23 is expected to be fully contained by Wednesday, according to a spokesman for the Arizona Central West Zone Incident firefighting team.
As of Monday, the blaze, which is being called the “Hunter Fire,” had burned 8,804 acres and was 60-percent contained, said information officer Wendell Peacock.
“We”re making a dent in it,” said Peacock, as fire crews and bulldozers continued to improve contingency lines in the areas of the M1 and M61 roads, which are closed to traffic.
“What it”s going to take is the continued very dedicated and hard work of the firefighters on land and in the air. We expected it to be a lot larger fire than it is. If the wind doesn”t blow it far out, we will probably be able to say his thing is pretty well contained in the next couple of days.”
Peacock said that the number of personnel and the amount of firefighting equipment on scene varies every day. On Monday, there were 653 personnel, including 15 firefighting crews, 22 engines, 25 water tenders and six bulldozers. Until Sunday, four helicopters involved in fighting the fire switched back and forth from the nearby Kingsley Fire west of Willows, depending, said Peacock, “on who needed them most.”
The Kingsley Fire, which started two days earlier than the Hunter Fire, was fully contained on Sunday after destroying what the U.S. Forest Service reported as 6,807 acres. There were five minor injuries among personnel who fought the Kingsley Fire.
Lightning has been given as the cause for both fires.
Contact John Lindblom at jlwordsmith@mchsi.com.
