@activenorcal: It took less than 24 hours for a 10-acre grass fire near Potter Valley to become a 1,099-acre wildfire with evacuation orders stretching across two counties. The Lucas Fire ignited around 9:18 a.m. Thursday right where Mendocino and Lake counties meet, then rode dry winds into a fast afternoon run. By 4 p.m. it had reached 400 acres with long-range spotting confirmed in the Elk Mountain area. By Friday morning, Cal Fire put the fire at 1,099 acres and 5 percent containment, with the cause still under investigation. Most of the evacuation orders fall on the Lake County side, covering Elk Mountain, Bear Peak, Hog Point and Hells Peak, while Mendocino County has warnings in place for two Potter Valley zones. Residents with livestock have been pointed to the Lake County Fairgrounds at 401 Martin Street in Lakeport, which is accepting animals. The fire is burning inside the footprint of the 2018 Ranch Fire, which remains the largest wildfire in California history at more than 410,000 acres. Eight years of regrowth in that scar is exactly the kind of fuel that carries flame quickly under wind. Two very large air tankers, a C-130 and a DC-10, worked the fire Thursday, and air attack requested Chinook helicopters certified for nighttime water drops. Strike teams from Cal Fire units across the region were also en route.

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Friday 11 September 2026 17:46:07 GMT