CLEARLAKE OAKS >> In the world of the Rocky Fire, the ill-winds of change can turn the blaze from a calm, slow-moving brush fire in the wee hours of the morning to an inferno of smoke, flame and ash only a few hours later when dawn breaks.
This is what happened Saturday when the fire exploded during the day along Highway 20 between the Colusa County line and New Long Valley Road, only to quiet itself late at night and mostly lay low to the ground with slow forward movement.
Then on Sunday after daybreak, the docile flames came roaring to life as the winds increased, the temperatures rose dramatically and the humidity fell.
After changing directions several times, the winds drove the fire into two “fingers” on it’s Highway 20 front, one taking aim at Spring Valley and the other at the Ogulin Canyon Road area in Clearlake, where a number of businesses are located, including the Clear Lake Kennels, along with residences.
Around 3 p.m. Saturday, several Cal Fire “spotters” were stationed on Walker Ridge Road with a panoramic view of the northeast end of the fire, watching a giant cloud of light grey smoke.
About an hour later, three plumes of smoke — one black and two medium grey — appeared behind several ridge lines to the south of Highway 20. Over the next 20 minutes, the plumes grow in width and height and took on a more ominous look.
At approximately 5:30 p.m., the spotters on Walker Ridge watched an orange glow quickly increase in intensity on the far side of the furthest ridge before a line of flames crested the ridge top.
Fire crews in several staging area along Highway 20 near Walker Ridge Road begin to move out, heading east to the main finger of the blaze, 10-12 miles east of New Long valley Road in Spring Valley.
Several hours later, down on Hwy. 20, strike teams of fire engines, bulldozer transports and hand crews line the sides of the roadway, many of the crews clearing thick brush and cutting down trees that line the roadside.
Firefighters along a particular spot on Hwy. 20 were readying to attack the flames as they came down a gully, funneled by gusty winds. But the flames were at a crawl and it appeared the brush clearance crew was in for a long night.
One of the firefighters said there was a “good chance” of stopping the fire at Hwy. 20 if the winds stay calm. “But you know how that goes,” he added.
A few minutes later, the wind starts gusting and the smoldering fire flares up into heavy brush and explodes when it reaches a grove of oak trees, sending flames 30 feet above the treetops.
The Marin County strike team’s sole job at the moment is to not let the fire cross the highway. Strike team members stand by their fire trucks, talking in hushed tones, or sit in their vehicles, trying to catch some rest. Several are sleeping on the ground or dry grass off the roadside. Most have been working for 12 hours or longer with little rest.
By 11 p.m. Saturday, the fire is a little closer to the highway but still about a quarter-mile away. The firefighters wait and watch.
A half-hour later, the gusty winds have died down as has the fire. During that time, several dozen fire trucks have raced by heading east towards the Colusa County line.
One strike team of five fire engines went past the Marin strike team so fast, several Marin firefighters waved and yelled at them to slow down. With nearly 20 miles of roadway lined with fire personnel, the last thing the fire crews want is a vehicle accident.
By midnight, the fire remains calm, hugging the low brush close to the ground. Hot embers rain down on firefighters, hot enough to sting the neck but not so hot as to start a spot fire. The blaze is moving at a crawl, still about a quarter-mile from Hwy. 20 moving from the west to the southeast.
It’s still calm at 12:30 a.m. Sunday and firefighters about a mile further east on Hwy. 20 are resting. Most are in their trucks are standing around in groups of two or three talking about anything but the fire. One firefighter stands off the road alone, silently watching the glowing, smoking hills in front of him.
The fire continues it slow pace until it reaches a grove of pine trees and then explodes up and out, sending flames 60 feet in the air. As the trees ignite, one by one, huge clouds as ash, embers and smoke shoot skyward. It looks like a giant bonfire or maybe Burning Man, surreal in the way the flickering orange and yellow glow lights up the already scorched walls of the canyon.
Once the trees are burned, the flames subside as they go back to eating the low-lying brush and grasses.
At 1 a.m. it’s still quiet — eerily so with the only sound being the crackling of burning wood and brush. A half-hour later, the situation is unchanged except that the fire has crept to about 300 yards of the highway but did not cross it.
For one tired and hungry news reporter, it’s time to call it a night and head home to hot food and a comfortable bed.
For the firefighters working on the front lines of a seemingly endless battle against, for now, an uncontrollable foe, they know with daylight the winds are forecast to pick up and the fire will spring back to life, threatening more wildland, wildlife, structures and people.
