Update: LNU Complex grows to become second largest wildfire in California history
The massive and still largely uncontrolled LNU Lightning Complex, which has killed at least five people and destroyed close to 500 structures, became the second-largest California wildfire in state history Friday when it surpassed 300,000 acres burned in the North Bay area.
Flames from the series of fires continued to threaten tens of thousands of homes Friday night, according to an incident update from Cal Fire. The fires in the LNU Complex had burned 302,388 acres as of 7 p.m. Friday. Firefighters had 15% of the LNU Fire contained, an increase from 7% on Friday morning.
The LNU Complex includes the Hennessey Fire burning in Napa and Sonoma County. The Hennessey Fire, which merged on Thursday with the Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Spanish Morgan and Round fires, had increased in size by 60,000 acres since Friday morning. It was now reported at 256,102 acres, Cal Fire said.
The LNU Complex also includes the Walbridge Fire in Sonoma County, which merged on Thursday with the Stewarts Fire, had doubled in size since the morning and was reported at 43,286 acres Friday night. The Meyer Fire, also burning in Sonoma County, had burned 3,000 acres, Cal Fire said.
The LNU Complex is only second to the largest wildfire in California history, the Mendocino Complex Fire in July 2018 when flames burned 459,123 acres in Mendocino, Colusa, Lake and Glenn counties. The third-largest California wildfire is now the December 2017 Thomas Fire that burned 281, 893 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
But, for the first time in days, fire officials expressed optimism that they are beginning to get their arms around the blaze. Officials said they expect more air support and ground crews on Friday, and hope to increase containment of the fire.
By afternoon, they had started letting some evacuees back into their homes in Vacaville.
The fire, which raced to the edges of Vacaville and Fairfield Wednesday is now burning actively in mountainous areas a few miles north of Fairfield, as well as around Lake Berryessa and in coastal mountains in Sonoma County, where officials issued new evacuation orders in the Russian River area Friday.
Solano County Sheriff’s spokesman Le’Ron Cummings said getting as many of the thousands of local evacuees back into their homes today is a priority. “It is all going to depend on safety in various areas.”
He said residents should check the Solano County Sheriff Facebook page and the Solano County OES Facebook page throughout the day for the latest announcements of when residents can head home
Five deaths have been linked to the fire complex — three residents in Napa County and one in Solano County, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit said in a Thursday evening incident update. PG&E also confirmed early Thursday that one of its employees, a Vacaville-based troubleman working to identify the source of fire-related power outages, was killed in the LNU Complex.
The cluster of lightning-sparked wildfires started Monday morning in Napa County during a freakish thunderstorm, then exploded in size beginning late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, raging east toward Vacaville and at one point jumping Interstate 80 near Fairfield, prompting evacuation of non-mission critical personnel to leave Travis Air Force Base.
As of Friday morning, Cal Fire said 480 structures were destroyed, 125 more were damaged and 30,500 more remain threatened.
The LNU Complex and other major wildfires burning throughout California have significantly worsened air quality most of this week.
Here was Friday’s developments, as they happened through the day:
5 p.m. More than 100 Solano County homes destroyed
Solano County Undersheriff Brad DeWall said flames from the LNU Complex Fire have destroyed 119 homes in Solano County. The update from DeWall about 4:30 p.m. in Facebook Live video came after another day of assessing damage.
Teams of deputies, building inspectors, Cal Fire officials and hazardous material experts began examining the charred remains of home Thursday, when authorities discovered the body of one man who died. He remains the only fatality from the wildfire reported in Solano County, DeWall said.
Authorities have only been able to assess the damage in a small percentage of the areas impacted by the fire. DeWall said these assessment teams, so far, have been focused on the areas of Pleasants Valley Road and English Hills.
In Solano County alone, sheriff’s officials have evacuated at least 14,000 people from about 5,250 homes, DeWall said. Out of the nearly 220,000 acres the LNU Fire has burned, the flames have burned about 50,000 acres in Solano County, he said.
1:05 p.m. Vacaville residents cleared to return
All evacuation orders for the city of Vacaville were lifted, allowing residents to return to the homes many of them were forced to evacuate Wednesday.
“We are happy to report ALL evacuation orders for the city of Vacaville now have been lifted,” the Vacaville Police Department said on social media. “This means there are no active evacuation orders within the Vacaville city limits and all residents are clear to return to their homes.”
A few hours earlier, the last evacuation order in Fairfield at Travis Air Force Base was also lifted. After evacuating non-essential personnel Wednesday, 60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Col. Corey Simmons lifted the evacuation order allowing people to return to base housing and dormitories.
“Aircraft should return to the base over the next few days,” base officials said. “The base remains in a mission-essential personnel status to allow families time to safely return to their homes.”
For ranchers and farmers still under evacuation orders in Solano County, the county’s Department of Agriculture is now issuing permits for agricultural activities such as harvest, irrigation and feeding livestock.
“Access to evacuation areas for these purposes may change as access is dependent on fire conditions,” the Solano County Sheriff’s Office said.
Permits can be obtained at the agriculture department in Dixon, or evacuation command posts in Vacaville, Fairfield or Winters.
11 a.m.: Governor calls for help
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Cal Fire officials provided updates Friday from the incident command of the LNU Lightning Complex, which has grown to 219,000 acres and continues to swell north, threatening homes and properties and prompting new evacuations.
Newsom again faced questions of whether the state’s fire force was prepared for this week’s onslaught, prompted by lightning strikes that caused 560 wildfires, 20 of which are major blazes, burning across the state.
Two of them, the LNU complex in five North Bay Area counties, and the SCU Lightning Complex, in five south bay counties, including Stanislaus, have quickly become two of the 10 largest wildfires in terms of acreage in state history, Newsom said. By evening, the SCU Complex had become fourth-largest of all time.
Newsom said the state hired seasonal firefighters recently to prepare for this season.
“We simply haven’t seen anything like this in many, many years,” he said, although the state has been hit with similarly large and destructive fires repeatedly in the last few years. “We are moving aggressively to get mutual aide systems up and running from out of state.”
Newsom said he’s asked 10 states, reaching out as far as the East Coast, for more resources to aid in the firefighting efforts, which are now affecting northern California disproportionately.
The state has already used 96 percent of mutual aid to fight the fire, hired more than 800 temporary firefighter personnel, and has even taken equipment that was for sale off the market to use in firefighting efforts.
“We’re putting everything we have on this,” Newsom said.
As one of the state’s largest fire continued into its fourth day, Cal Fire officials said the various fires had burned more than 771,000 acres, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
Cal Fire officials said Friday fire crews had gained containment along the southern edge of the LNU fire, and resources were being diverted to the northern front where the communities of Guerneville and Pope Valley are now under threat.
Firefighters are working to build containment lines to halt the flames along Highway 16, Cal Fire said.
New evacuations orders are in effect in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties and officials stressed that residents living in the evacuation zones should not hesitate to leave if asked to do so.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said one Cal Fire unit chief. “Help us, help you.”
9 a.m.: Cal Fire getting air reinforcements
Cal Fire officials expressed more optimism Friday, and said they are pleased that they will be getting additional aircraft fire support today after several days of fighting the blaze shorthanded.
Firefighter numbers were less than 600 early on at the fire, “which is nothing if you look at the acres,” Cal Fire information officer Scott Ross said.
As of Friday morning, officials do not anticipate needing to call for any more evacuations, but said there is still a lot of work to do in the Vacaville and Fairfield areas before many of the thousands of evacuated residents will be able to return to homes.
Many power lines have been destroyed west of the two cities and will need to be repaired. And firefighters are still working on hot spots, and setting up containment lines.
“It is looking better,” Ross said Friday. “Seven percent containment doesn’t sound like a lot, but given the past few days that is pretty good.
“We’re getting a little break in temperatures and the wind, so that will help a lot. Most of the evacuations are complete.”
Ross said more aircraft should be up today. “We feel lucky to get any at all the last few days.”
7 a.m.: LNU Complex mapped at 219,000 acres, one of state’s biggest ever
Cal Fire in a Friday morning report said the LNU Complex reached 219,067 acres, or about 342 square miles.
It is now 7% contained. The complex was reported at 0% containment in all prior Cal Fire updates.
The Hennessey Fire, which makes up the majority of the lightning complex, has been mapped at just under 195,000 acres and is 7% contained.
The other fires in the complex, including the Walbridge Fire and Meyers Fire centered in Sonoma County, remain 0% contained, Cal Fire said.
The LNU Complex is already one of the largest wildfires ever recorded by Cal Fire in state history, currently No. 8 according to the agency’s records.
Most of the larger blazes on that list burned for weeks before crews halted progress and gained containment. Only one wildfire in California history, the Mendocino Complex that burned nearly 460,000 acres between late July and September of 2018, has grown past 300,000 acres.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 7:18 AM.
