Firefighters Make Progress on California's Largest Wildfire
By Associated Press and NBC Bay Area staff ••
The fires all grew explosively in the past two weeks as winds whipped the flames through forest and rural areas full of timber and brush that is bone-dry from years of drought and a summer of record-breaking heat.
Firefighters are making progress against the largest California wildfire ever recorded although thousands of homes and buildings remain under threat.
State fire officials Wednesday night say the Mendocino Complex — twin fires that are being fought together — has destroyed 119 homes and 480 square miles of brush and timber north of San Francisco.
The complex is 60 percent contained. However, the smaller of the two blazes, River Fire, actually is 87 percent surrounded. Fire crews have kept the southern edge from spreading and authorities lifted mandatory evacuation orders for most communities near the resort of Clear Lake.
Senator Kamala Harris met with firefighters and Mendocino Complex Fire evacuees in Middletown Thursday to see and hear first-hand what firefighters and fire victims need.
She plans to head back to Washington and fight for more funding to help communities rebuild and for fire agencies to fight and prevent future fires.
"What we want is resources dedicated to active fire and resources for prevention as opposed to dipping into one fund to do both," Harris said.
A record 1,400 firefighters are deployed including some from across the country and New Zealand and Australia.
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Forest burns in the Carr Fire on July 30, 2018 west of Redding, California. (Photo by Terray Sylvester/Getty Images)
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Firefighters with CalFire's Shasta-Trinity Unit extinguish flames near State Highway 299 while battling the Carr Fire on July 30, 2018 near Redding, California. (Photo by Terray Sylvester/Getty Images)
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Forest burns in the Carr Fire on July 30, 2018 west of Redding, California. (Photo by Terray Sylvester/Getty Images)
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A Los Angeles city firefighter walks through a charred field as he looks for hot spots after the Carr Fire burned through the area on July 29, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Burned trees rest in a field after the Carr Fire burned through the area on July 29, 2018 in Whiskeytown, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A Cal Fire firefighter mops up hot spots after the Carr Fire moved through the area on July 28, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A bus and a vanity sit in the rubble of a home destroyed by the Carr Fire on July 28, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A firefighter walks near flames from the Carr Fire in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
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A firefighter battling the Carr Fire observes nearby flames in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
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A turtle statue is seen amidst the charred remains of a home after the Carr fire passed through the area of Lake Keswick Estates near Redding, California on July 28, 2018. - The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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A destroyed car is seen among the ruins of a burned neighborhood after the Carr fire passed through the area of Lake Keswick Estates near Redding, California on July 28, 2018. - The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people and destroyed hundreds of buildings. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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Deer graze along a road covered in fire retardant as the Carr Fire burns near Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018.
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A view of homes that were destroyed by the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A view of homes that were destroyed by the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A burned out boat sits next to a fire damged dock at Whiskeytown Lake after the Carr Fire moved through the area on July 27, 2018 near Whiskeytown, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A motorcycle sits next to a home that was destroyed by the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018 in Redding, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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California Highway Patrol officer Gavin Graham surveys homes leveled by the Carr Fire in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018.
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Homes leveled by the Carr Fire line the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018.
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Cars scorched by the Carr Fire rest at a residence in Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. The fire rapidly expanded Thursday when erratic flames swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then cast the Sacramento River in an orange glow as they jumped the banks into Redding.
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Mark Peterson, whose home burned down, tends to his surviving goats during the Carr fire near Redding, California on July 27, 2018. - Two firefighters have died and more than 100 homes have burned as wind-whipped flames tore through the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)
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In this Thursday, July 26, 2018 file photo, a structure burns as the Carr fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire.
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Sherry Bledsoe, left, cries next to her sister, Carla, outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherry's children, James and Emily, and grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif.
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Carla Bledsoe, facing camera, hugs her sister Sherry outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherri's children James, 4, and Emily 5, and grandmother were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif.
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Residents of the Northern California city of Redding fled their homes Friday morning as towering flames from an out-of-control wildfire swept into the western city limits and destroyed residences. (Photo courtesy of Jeremiah Caudill)
Image courtesy @kpwillard83 via Instagram
A user photo shows smoke in the sky as the Carr fire devastates Northern California.
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A user photo shows smoke in the sky as the Carr fire devastates Northern California.
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A real estate sign is seen in front of a burning home during the Carr fire in Redding, California, on July 27, 2018. One firefighter has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region.
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A burning home is reflected in a pool during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27, 2018. - One firefighter has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region.
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Firefighters discuss plans while battling the Carr Fire in Shasta, California, on Thursday, July 26, 2018.
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A car passes through flames on Highway 299 as the Carr fire burns through Shasta, California, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building.
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A view of the Carr Fire from Mercy Medical Center in Redding. The hospital is not under evacution orders, but announced late Thursday that it had relocated five babies out out of the area because of the time and intense resources needed to relocate them.
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Firefighters regroup while battling the Carr Fire in Shasta, California, on Thursday, July 26, 2018.
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A house burns during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27, 2018.
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A home burns along Sunflower Road during the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018, in Redding, California. A firefighter was killed battling the fast moving Carr Fire which has burned over 28,000 acres and destroyed dozens of homes. The fire is reportedly only 6 percent contained.
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A home burns along Sunflower Road during the Carr Fire on July 27, 2018 in Redding, California.
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Firefighters monitor a backfire during the Carr fire in Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.
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Flames race across a hillside as firefighters monitor a backfire during the Carr fire in Redding, California, on July 27, 2018.
Residents in Redding, California, who hadn't been under evacuation orders were caught off guard by the fast-moving fire and had to flee with little notice, causing miles-long traffic jams as flames turned the skies orange.
Carr Fire after it jumped the Sacramento River and entered west Redding.
Meanwhile, the Carr fire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes in and around Redding in Northern California remains 47 percent surrounded.
A Cal Fire Heavy Equipment Mechanic Andrew Brake from the Butte Unit assigned to the Carr Fire died while on his way to work Thursday, Cal Fire said.
The 40-year-old, a six-year Cal Fire veteran, was killed in a traffic accident on Hwy. 99 in Tehama County.
"Anne and I offer our condolences to the family and loved ones of Andrew Brake, who passed away in a vehicle accident on his way to work this morning," said Governor Jerry Brown in a statement. "On behalf of all Californians, we honor Andrew and the many other brave firefighters and emergency responders who have risked their lives to protect others."
Brake grew up in Chico and is survived by a wife and two daughters.
