Wildfire Shuts Down Two Wildlife Areas Around Clear Lake
Above photo of Rocky Fire water drop courtesy of Sgt. Jason Beal of the California National Guard.
The massive Rocky Fire continues to wreak havoc throughout Clear Lake and adjacent counties. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has now ordered two closures in the area:
One is the Knoxville Wildlife Area:
From CDFW:
Because of the Rocky Fire in neighboring Lake County, Knoxville Wildlife Area is closed to all public use until further notice to allow safe access for emergency vehicles. The closure affects Knoxville-Berryessa Road north of Pope Canyon Road.
It is unknown when the wildlife area will be safe to reopen.
“We are hopeful that the wildlife area will reopen before the Saturday deer opener, but it’s impossible to say at this time,” said Conrad Jones, a senior environmental scientist at Knoxville. “Safety is our first priority, and we are cooperating with emergency responders who are working hard to get this fire under control.”
Interested members of the public can call (707) 944-5547 for updates on the closure. The message will be revised as more information becomes available.
The public can also monitor the status of the fire atwww.fire.ca.gov/general/firemaps.php. Please note that on the webpage, Knoxville-Berryessa Road is referred to as Morgan Valley Road in the road closure section.
Today. CDFW announced the closure of the Cache Creek Natural Area:
The Cache Creek Natural Area is closed to all public use and access until further notice due to the Rocky Fire burning in Lake, Yolo and Colusa counties. This closure affects state lands managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), including the Cache Creek Wildlife Area, and public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including the Cache Creek Wilderness Area within the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Additional closures are in effect at the Knoxville Wildlife Area managed by CDFW and the Knoxville Recreation Area managed by BLM.
Road closures are also in effect. The Highway 20 corridor is closed from Highway 53 to Highway 16, both directions of Ogulin County Road, and Highway 16 is closed from Highway 20 to County Road 41. Jerusalem Valley Road is closed to all traffic at Spruce Grove Road. CAL FIRE is urging motorists to stay vigilant and adhere to frequently changing evacuations and road closures. Due to significant fire activity, it is unknown when the areas will be safe to reopen.
“Safety is our first priority and we are cooperating with emergency responders who are working hard to get this fire under control,” said Garry Kelley, an environmental program manager with CDFW’s North Central Region. “It is highly unlikely that the Cache Creek Natural Area will open before the Saturday deer hunting opener, and not yet determined if it will open before the season closes on Sept. 20.”
Here’s an update on the fire from ABC-7 in San Francisco:
Fire officials massive Rocky Fire in Northern California’s Lake County — which is burning in Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties — has spread to 65,000 acres and is still just 12 percent contained.
And now it’s causing new problems. The Middletown Unified School District is delaying the opening of school and preschool for one week because some schools are being used for evacuation centers and the Red Cross Command Center and more may be put into use. School will now start on Tuesday, August 18.
About 13,000 people have been evacuated and some are hanging out at Middletown High School. And then there are others who refuse to leave.
