Wind-driven Ridge Fire forces evacuations in Lake, Colusa counties; 2,300 acres burned

LAKE COUNTY – Evacuations are underway as a wind-driven fire has burned about 2,300 acres near the Lake and Colusa county line on Saturday afternoon, officials say.

The Ridge Fire is burning off Walker Ridge Road and Highway 20 and is heading east into Colusa County, firefighters said.

Evacuations

An evacuation order was issued for Wilbur Hot Springs.

The Colusa County Sheriff's Office issued evacuations for Leesville Road to Leeeville, Bear Valley Road to Highway 20, WiIber Springs Road and Walker Ridge Road.

In Lake County, evacuation orders were issued for several zones, including CLO-E083, CLO-E089 and CLO-E070. A warning was issued for CLO-E104.  All evacuations in Lake County can be found online .

Cal Fire says 50 structures are threatened, with 30 being in Lake County and the other 20 in Colusa County. Despite the threats to structures, crews have said there have been no reports of damaged or destroyed structures.

Road closures

Eastbound Highway 20 is closed east of Clearlake Oaks at Route 53 in Lake County. Westbound Highway 20 is closed at E Street. It's unknown when it will reopen.

Brim Road and Bear Valley Road are also closed.

Leesville Road at King Road, Lodoga Road at Bear Valley Road and Highway 16 from Books are closed.

Fire conditions

Cal Fire said at about 7 p.m. that the fire was pushing northeast and was approaching Bear Valley Road. But crews said they are expecting winds to shift from the north when the sun goes down.

The Cal OES FIRIS reported there were numerous spot fires and the main fire was spreading at a rapid rate of spread.

By about 9:30 p.m., crews said better mapping determined the fire was 2,304 acres and 10% contained.

Crews will prioritize holding the fire west of Bear Valley Road, south of Brim Road and at Highway 20 on the south side on Saturday night. They will have three helicopters dropping water throughout the night.

Crews have 29 engines responding, along with six crews, seven dozers, seven fixed-wing aircraft and five helicopters.

What sparked the fire is unknown at this point.