By John Driscoll
Eureka Times Standard (California)
Copyright 2006 Times - Standard
All Rights Reserved
Lightning storms ignited a spate of fires on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, keeping firefighters occupied with snuffing new fires while others continued to work to contain a blaze near Denny.
There was some rain with the storms, which helped that effort near Denny and which kept flames mild on a fire outside Orleans.
The costs of fighting the seven major fires in Northern California is quickly climbing, and has now topped $37 million.
The Bar Complex near Denny is now 10,650 acres and 25 percent contained. Firefighters have made significant progress toward protecting homes in the Miller Ranch area in the southwest corner of the blaze, said Judith Downing, information officer on the fire.
“It was a big challenge,” Downing said. “It’s not easy country to work in.”
A crew from Los Angeles is being sent to work on the east edge of the fire.
Lightning Monday night started 49 new fires on the forest, but Downing said most of those were quickly suppressed. Crews had to be pulled off the larger fire because it was unsafe to work during the storm, she said.
At the Orleans Complex outside Orleans, the storms brought mainly rain. Fire information officer Kristin Garrison said that temperatures were rising again Tuesday afternoon.
Crews are still in place to protect structures, she said.
The fire burned gently on Tuesday, Garrison said, and smoke from the fire had cleared up compared to this weekend.
The rain also caused more debris to roll onto State Route 96 in the area, causing occasional traffic hazards.
The Orleans Complex has now burned 6,039 acres.
* The Uncles Complex on the Klamath National Forest is 20 percent contained at 10,250 acres.
* The Happy Camp Complex is now 3,757 acres and 30 percent contained. The fire has prompted trail closures in the Marble Mountains Wilderness.
No further information was available regarding the crash of a Sikorsky Type I heavy helicopter into the Klamath River near Happy Camp on Friday. Two pilots were killed in the wreck. Phone calls to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident, were not returned.
* Crews are still keeping watch on the 904-acre Panther Fire on the Six Rivers National Forest. That fire is fully contained.