Fire crews hit milestone with 51 percent containment of Mendocino Complex blaze

Crews battling the largest wildfire in California history reached a milestone overnight, achieving 51 percent containment of the Mendocino Complex Fire as of 7 a.m. Thursday.

Growth of the 304,402-acre fire slowed as crews improved conditions around the Pine Mountain Project near Lake Pillsbury in Mendocino National Forest with overnight burn operations, a Cal Fire incident update said.

The complex fire, which started 14 days ago and consists of two blazes in mainly mountainous terrain near Clear Lake, has burned in three counties: Mendocino, Lake and Colusa.

The massive Ranch Fire has grown to 255,482 acres and was 48 percent contained as of Thursday morning. The northern flank of the fire continued to have moderate fire activity overnight, Cal Fire said.

The River Fire remained at its current size for the second day in a row, and crews have reached 84 percent containment. Cal Fire said day crews will focus on patrolling and mopping up the remaining blaze.

The number of residential structures destroyed grew to 119, Cal Fire said.

The agency estimates that full containment won’t be reached until Sept. 1.

Evacuation orders and advisories as well as road closures remain in place throughout Lake, Mendocino and Colusa counties. The latest updates are available on the Cal Fire incident information page at www.fire.ca.gov.

This story was originally published August 9, 2018 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Fire crews hit milestone with 51 percent containment of Mendocino Complex blaze."