All around the fire lines on Tuesday evening one could sense an unexpressed sense that the situation had turned in favor of the crews battling against California’s largest blaze.
After several days when the prolific wildfire had advanced almost at will, firefighters appeared to have stalled the inferno. As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, they had stabilized 20 percent of the line — up from 12 at the beginning of the day — with 67,000 acres consumed.
“The weather has helped, and they’ve been working hard,” said Cal Fire Public Information Officer Dominic Polito. “That’s due to the humidity — and twice as many personnel.”
Temperatures across Lake County dropped into the mid-80s on Tuesday, with cloud cover and occasional drops of rain. Meanwhile, another 300 firefighters arrived on the scene, bringing the total number engaged in the fight against Rocky close to 3,500.
The most intense battle of the day continued along Highway 20. On Monday flames jumped the road in several locations and defied attempts to block the spreading blaze with a defensive backfire. At the same time, resources were diverted to protect residents ignoring an evacuation order for Spring Valley, as well as concerns over evacuees camped at the Moose Lodge, located at the intersection of Highways 53 and 20.
Early Tuesday morning a team of bulldozers carved a containment line some 70-feet wide near the Benmore Canyon, hoping to keep New Long Valley Road open and prevent the fire from advancing on the housing district.
Cal Fire pointed out in an update that “structure loss assessment numbers may rise” as teams scour the damaged areas. On Tuesday evening authorities added 15 homes to the number destroyed by Rocky, but could not confirm their location.
According to Cal Fire reports, 6959 homes remain under threat. Road closures and evacuation orders — both mandatory and advisory — remain in place.
Crews continued to work aggressively in all areas to redouble control lines and slow what had been a rapidly expanding beast. They also struggled — usually in vain — against those who defied evacuation notices.
The latter caused Cal Fire to issue a boldface statement on Tuesday urging that residents “stay vigilant and adhere to any changes in evacuations and road closures.”
On Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officers chased down several complaints of trespassers attempting to enter the Spring Valley area, adding extra patrols. At the same time, Cal Fire warned residents that the fire could easily change direction.
Forecasts call for warmer, drier conditions today, with wind gusts possible.
Still, the good news outweighed the bad on Tuesday. Rocky had flexed its muscles each night since it erupted on Wednesday afternoon last week, doubling in size in some instances. Monday night and Tuesday morning it consumed just 3,000 acres — a comparative crawl. And it gained only 2,000 more during the day on Tuesday, thanks in part to good visibility, which allowed air crews to operate throughout the day.
This confidence allowed PG&E crews to prepare to start restoring power to the Morgan Valley area.
“It’s real quiet,” Polito said Tuesday night, referring to commands from across the fire line. Again, he repeated the day’s successes: “More guys, better weather.”
