Rugged terrain delays full containment of Holy fire
Full containment of the 15-day-old Holy fire will be longer than expected because flames have begun burning into remote areas, officials said Tuesday.
“Some of the area that is burning is kind of hard to access and a little harder to get in,” said Kevin Ferris, a U.S. Forest Service public affairs employee.
Over 500 firefighters are battling the blaze and officials initially anticipated that full containment would occur on Tuesday. That estimate has been pushed back to Sunday, however.
As of Tuesday, the Holy fire, which has been burning in Orange and Riverside counties, has scorched 22,986 acres and is 91% contained, according to officials.
Authorities have concluded that the fire was the result of arson.
Meanwhile the Mendocino Complex fire — the largest recorded in California history — continues to burn since it broke out nearly a month ago.
The blaze, made up of the Ranch and River fires, has burned a total of 404,532 acres. The River fire is 100% contained, according to Cal Fire, while the Ranch fire continues to threaten around 1,000 structures and is 74% contained.
The fire continued to burn through steep terrain overnight after new evacuations were ordered Sunday in Lake County, Mendocino County, Colusa County and Glenn County.
Over 600 firefighters are also battling a new fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in the Los Padres National Forest in the Santa Maria area.
The Front fire has burned 900 acres and is 29% contained, according to Inciweb. The cause of that fire is still under investigation.
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