Fire Size (All Zones): 1,032,157   Containment: 91%  

RED FLAG FIRE WEATHER WARNING - Today will be sunny and warmer, with high temperatures ranging from 82 to 92 degrees across the fire area. Minimum humidity levels will be in the teens at lower elevations and between 8 to 12 percent at ridge tops. Winds will be from the north – northeast and will be mild on lower slopes and valleys. At higher elevations, winds will be 20 mph with gusts to 30. 

 
On the west side, from the Mendocino County line to Kettenpom, the perimeter is contained and is being patrolled from the air. In the Double Gate Ridge - Bradburn Creek area, interior pockets of unburned fuels continue to be consumed. When this burning is complete, it will create a significant barrier to prevent the fire from escaping. Moving north, the fire line is in patrol and mop-up status up to a point just below the West Fork of the Van Duzen River. 

Where the West Fork of the Van Duzen River intersects the fire, an area of uncontained control line is being worked by a large contingent of firefighters and equipment. Good progress is being made in suppressing the fire along this section. Crews want to hold this area through this week's wind event before considering the line contained. 

Along the Ruth Lake corridor, members of the Suppression Repair Group are working with Forest Resource Advisors to repair containment lines in the municipal watershed. Additional crews continue to mop-up and patrol around structures. A night shift will patrol the area to protect residences in case of a flare-up. 

At the northern end of the fire, above Highway 36, fire crews are working on completing contingency lines along Road 12 and 24. This contingency line will give firefighters defensive options in the event the fire were to push north. Today's north – northeast winds will push the fire back onto itself, which will help crews to improve containment in this area. 

Moving south along the fire's edge, control lines are in patrol and mop-up status down to the Beegan Thumb. On the Beegan Thumb, two areas of uncontained line remain. Crews are taking advantage of favorable winds to continue suppression work. Further south around the thumb, the fire had burned into the old Buck Fire scar. Fuels are sparse in the burn scar, and the fire has not moved. Crews will monitor the fire but do not expect this section to advance further. From the Buck Fire scar south to Road 356, the fire is contained and is in patrol status. 

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.  

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ . 

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery 

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: HumboldtCoSheriff . 

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.  

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here: 

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders  

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices  

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices  

Weather:  

A fire weather watch will go into effect this evening and extend through Friday morning, October 23. A fire weather watch is one level below a warning. The conditions contributing to this watch include low relative humidity, strong winds, and extremely dry fuels. This morning the winds will be calm but will gradually increase, and relative humidity will decrease throughout the daylight hours. By early evening wind, humidity, temperature, and fuel conditions will reach a critical point, and the fire weather watch will be in effect.  

Operations: 

Great Basin Team 1 has been managing the Northwest Zone of the August Complex, while Great Basin Team 2 has been managing on the Northeast Zone. At 8:00 pm on October 20, 2020, Great Basin Team 1 assumed command of the Northeast Zone.  

The majority of the fire perimeter is now contained. Where the fire perimeter is deemed contained, lines have been secured and mopped up, meaning no significant heat sources remain near the fire’s edge. In some cases, this buffer zone extends as much as 300-feet into the fire area. The fire is contained inside the perimeter and does not have adequate fuel in the buffer zone to escape containment.  

Crews continue to backhaul equipment used during suppression operations. Gas-powered water pumps and many miles of fire hose are being collected and returned to base camps around the fire. Here the hoses are checked for damage, cleaned, and rolled. Pumps are inspected and prepared for storage. All these items will be returned to supply caches to be available for use on a future fire. 

There are still a few small areas with uncontained fire line. One is the Kettenpom Area, where interior pockets of unburned fuels continue to be consumed. Firefighters are pleased with progress in securing this area. Further north, near Coffee Pot Road, crews completed a successful burning operation to strengthen the containment line. At the northernmost point of the August Complex, the fire at Irish Mountain has not grown in several days. Yesterday, helicopters dropped over 8,000 gallons of fire retardant along the fire perimeter in this area to ensure that the fire remains within its current boundary. Crews working on the Beegen Thumb report minimal fire activity in the area and are making good progress in completing fire control features.  

Work continues along Highway 36, where Caltrans have been assessing and removing fire weakened trees that could threaten motorists. In the Ruth Lake Corridor, firefighters will continue to assist property owners in identifying and eliminating hazards trees. The area will be carefully patrolled to ensure that no concealed heat sources remain that might threaten the community.  

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.  

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ . 

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery 

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: HumboldtCoSheriff . 

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.  

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here: 

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders  

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices  

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices  

Northwest Zone – Yesterday, resources working on the last remaining uncontained fire line near Bradburn Creek and the Coffee Pot area benefited from higher humidity levels and calm winds. These conditions resulted in moderated fire behavior and allowed crews to make substantial progress in securing containment line in the Ruth Lake area firefighters patrolled around structures to ensure that any concealed heat sources were located and extinguished. They worked directly with homeowners to access fire weakened trees. 

A team of experts accessed damage on Six Rivers National Forest from the air. One was a hydrologist, a scientist who studies the physical properties of surface water, and the other a resource advisor. Resource advisors specialize in a variety of backgrounds and are experts in fire suppression rehabilitation. The team surveyed the portion of the fire on the Six Rivers National Forest to develop a long-term rehabilitation plan. 

Crews will continue to patrol and mop up hotspots to improve containment lines. Along the 502 Road from the Hettenshaw Valley to Zenia, and the lower portions of the Van Duzen Road, operations will continue to focus on making roads safe by removing fire weakened hazard trees. In areas where fire line is secure, crews will repair hand and dozer lines, staging areas, and drop points used during fire suppression efforts, so the upcoming seasonal runoff is not channeled into burnt areas causing soil erosion. 

Northeast Zone – Yesterday fire crews mopped up hot spots near the fire perimeter in Beegum Creek and by Irish Mountain and Progeny. Increased containment was achieved in both areas due to the continued focused work by firefighters. Backhaul of excess equipment, pumps and fire hose continued across all divisions.  

This afternoon higher wind speeds and drier air will move over the fire.  Fire activity in interior islands of unburned fuel will again increase and produce visible smoke.  These areas of active fire are well interior to the existing fire perimeter and pose no threat to containment lines.  Firefighters will mop up along the fire edge, addressing hot spots to further secure and contain fireline.  The fire remains in its current footprint and no growth is expected.  Preparations continue for Great Basin Team 2 (DeMasters) to transition management of the Northeast Zone to Great Basin Team 1 (Kuo).  Transition between Teams will occur at 8 p.m. this evening with Great Basin Team 1 then managing the suppression response for the entire northern zone of the August Complex.  Suppression resources will be further rightsized on the fire and excess resources and aircraft will be made available to other emerging large fires across the west.   

Weather: Weather will be warmer and drier today. N- NE winds are expected to gradually increase beginning tomorrow evening and into Thursday with the main impact being on ridges and some of the higher elevation, south facing aspects. Max temperatures will range from the upper 80’s in the valleys, and 85-90’s along ridges and midslope aspects.

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ .

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: https://humboldtgov.org/187/Sheriffs-Office .

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here:

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices

Update: August Complex (South Zone)

August Complex:

Per the Trinity County Sheriff's Office and the Trinity County Office of Emergency Services on 10/19/2020 at 10:00 am the following effective changes to the Evacuation Orders and Warnings will go into effect.

The residents living in the communities of Kettenpom and  Zenia that reside in the area south of the Zenia Bluffs Road and West of the Zenia Lake Mountain Road, south to the Mendocino County Boarder will be lifted out of an Evacuation Warning.

The community of Mad River, north of the Ruth Lake Dam, north of mile marker 7 on the Van Duzen Road and west of the Mad River Road at the intersection of Highway 36, will be taken out of an Evacuation Warning.

The area of Friend Mountain will be reduced from an Evacuation Order to an Evacuation Warning. The area of Bear Wallow will remain in an Evacuation Order.

All other Evacuation Orders and Warnings remain in place.

Road Closure Changes:

A road closure is in place at  the Ruth Zenia Road starting at the intersection of the Van Duzen Road to restrict southbound traffic down the Ruth Zenia Road. Another closure will remain in effect on the Ruth Zenia Road at the intersection with the Zenia Lake Mountain Road to restrict northbound traffic on the Ruth Zenia Road. This is due to the fire activity and amount of fire traffic in the area.

Highway 36 will remain closed from the South Fork Mountain Summit to the Highway 3 intersection. The Highway will be open to controlled traffic twice a day, 7:00 AM and 5:30 PM.

Once a wildfire has burned through an area, many dangers may still remain. There may still be smoke in the respective areas as firefighters continue their suppression operations. When driving into the affected areas always be aware of potential hazards. Also be aware of emergency vehicles and personnel still in the areas.

Weather: Weather today will be similar as yesterday with seasonably warm temperatures ranging from the upper 70’s to lower 90’s over the entire fire area. Humidity levels, especially on the west side of the fire, are beginning to rise and will range from 15 to 35 percent across the fire.  Winds are expected to be mild from the north-northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Please join both zones for a virtual community meeting tonight at 7PM, streaming live on @ShastaTrintyNF and @SixRiversNF Facebook pages.

Northwest Zone – Yesterday on the west side of the fire, there was an increase in humidity resulting in decreased fire activity. In the Bradburn creek area, crews were able to improve containment lines while firing operations took place near Coffee Pot to strengthen lines. All other areas of the fire are contained and are being patrolled and mopped up by fire resources.

Today, firefighters will continue to secure the uncontained fire perimeters northwest of Kettenpom and in the West Fork Van Duzen (Coffee Pot) area. Hazardous trees and debris will continue to be removed from the 502 and 511 roads. Crews around Ruth Lake will continue mopping up around homes and performing suppression repair activities.

As suppression activities diminish, firefighters have been pulling hoses and hauling them back to fire camp. Once at the Meadows fire camp, the California Conservation Crew (CCC) examines the hoses for damage, cleans and then rolls them for reuse on other fires. Yesterday, California Conservation Crew members estimated they organized over 20 miles of hose.

Northeast Zone – Record heat remained over the fire area yesterday contributing to increased smoke production as interior islands of unburned fuel continued to burnout, especially near Progeny and the 2017 Buck Fire area. These areas of active fire are well interior to the existing fire perimeter and pose no threat to containment lines. Additional firelines were contained in Beegum Creek, north of Forest Glen along the 14 Road and in the East Fork South Fork Trinity River. Backhaul of excess equipment, pumps and fire hose continued across all divisions. 

Today the Mad River Hotshots will mop up and secure fireline in the South Fork Trinity River north of Hwy 36. In other areas, firefighters will patrol contained firelines, backhaul equipment and continue suppression repair work as appropriate. Great Basin Team 2 is preparing to transition the Northeast Zone of the fire to Great Basin Team 1, which is currently managing the Northwest Zone. Suppression resources will be rightsized on the zone and excess resources and aircraft will be made available to other emerging large fires across the west. The fire remains in its current footprint and no growth is expected. 

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ .

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: HumboldtCoSheriff .

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here:

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices

Update: August Complex (South Zone)

Start Date: 8/17/2020                                   Location: Shasta-Trinity NF; Six Rivers NF; Mendocino NF               Cause: Lightning

Fire Size (All Zones): 1,032,264                  Containment: 86%          Personnel (All Zones): 2,508

Weather: Weather today will be similar as yesterday with seasonably warm temperatures in the upper 70’s and low 80’s over the fire area. Overnight relative humidity recovery was again low and relative humidity values today are expected to be in the upper teens.  Winds are expected to be mild from the north-northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Northwest Zone – In the Kettenpom area, firefighters worked to improve containment lines near the Double Gate Ridge. In areas where the containment lines have been completed, crews backhauled portable pumps, hose line, and other equipment. Suppression repair is underway; firefighters are working to return hand and dozer line back to its natural state. 

Fire crews are patrolling and improving control lines from Zenia up to Summit Flat. Saw teams continue to identify and remove hazard trees along the 502 and 511 roads and fire personnel will continue to strengthen the containment lines at Coffee Pot. Resources will be mopping up around structures, backhauling equipment, and carrying out suppression repair work in Ruth Lake areas.  

Helicopters with PG&E are flying from Ruth Lake to replace damaged power poles and stretch electric lines to restore power to affected communities.  

Northeast Zone – Yesterday unseasonably high temperatures contributed to increased fire behavior in interior unburned islands of fuel near Pony Buck Creek, Texas Chow Creek, south of Rattlesnake Creek and near Progeny.  These areas of active fire are well interior to the existing fire perimeter and pose no threat to containment lines. Increased containment was achieved in Beegum Creek, east of Pony Buck Peak and along Hwy 36 east of Forest Glen.  Firefighters patrolled and mopped up remaining hot spots along near Irish Mountain and the fire remained within its existing footprint. Helicopters supported firefighters here with targeted bucket drops of retardant on ridgelines to further secure firelines. Backhaul of equipment and fire hose continued across all divisions.

Today will be the last operational day on the fireline for the 230 Marines from the 7th Engineer Support Battalion 1st Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Pendleton. Firefighters will continue to secure and fortify fire lines near Progeny and Bear Wallow Mountain. Suppression repair is being implemented on the eastern side of the fire 10 miles south of Patina and Beegum. Cal Trans is working on replacement and repair of guardrail and removal of over 2000 identified hazardous trees along State Route 36.

Evacuations and Closures – For current information on evacuation status by county please refer to the websites below or at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6983/.  Hwy 36 remains closed from Southfork Summit Mountain east to the Hwy 3 intersection. Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the closure by at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Cal Trans is asking motorists to take alternate routes. Hunting and recreation are prohibited within the August Complex Fire Closure areas.

Trinity County evacuation Information, contact: 530-276-8034 or https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCoOES/ .

Trinity County Private Property Damage Assessment Info., contact: 530-623-8223 or https://www.trinitycounty.org/recovery

Humboldt County evacuation Information, contact: 707-268-2500 or visit: HumboldtCoSheriff .

Road Closures: For updated Road Closure information, visit Caltrans at https://roads.dot.ca.gov/.

Forest Closures are still in effect and can be found here:

• Shasta-Trinity National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/stnf/forestorders

• Mendocino National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/mendocino/alerts-notices

• Six Rivers National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/srnf/alerts-notices

Update: August Complex (South Zone)

Eastbound and westbound traffic are currently being escorted through the State Route 36 closure from the August Complex at 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. daily. Eastbound and westbound traffic must be in line at these times to pass through the area. Closure points are currently for westbound traffic at the junction with State Route 3 and for eastbound traffic at South Fork Mountain Summit in Trinity County. This schedule is subject to change at any time.
Caltrans District 2 and contractor J.F. Shea Co. Inc. have begun installing metal beam guardrail and removing over 2,000 hazard trees along the State Route 36 corridor. This work may not be complete until the end of November. Many agencies continue to work in the closure area.
More single time openings are currently anticipated in the area upcoming. Motorists are asked to travel in the area only if necessary and through-traffic should consider alternate routes at this time.Please contact the Caltrans Public Information Office at 530-225-3426 or D2PIO@dot.ca.gov with questions.