Lucas Fire surpasses 1,000 acres at Mendocino-Lake County line as evacuations remain, tell me about this news in (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/lucas-fire-surpasses-1-000-acres-at-mendocino-lake-county-line-as-evacuations-remain/ar-AA2bZpnH?ocid=BingNewsVerp)
11-09-2026
The Lucas Fire broke out on the morning of Thursday, September 10, near the border of Mendocino and Lake counties in Northern California, specifically in the Potter Valley area northeast of Ukiah.Here are the key details of the incident:
- Size and Spread: After sparking around 9:18 a.m., the wildfire rapidly expanded from an initial 15–40 acres to over 1,000 acres by Thursday night (mapped at approximately 1,099 acres). Containment was reported at around 5%.
- Terrain and Fire Behavior: The fire burned aggressively through steep, remote terrain composed of grass, brush, and oak woodlands, partially within an older burn scar. Strong spotting carried flames across ridgelines and drainages, pushing the blaze toward the Mendocino National Forest.
- Evacuations:
- Mandatory evacuation orders were issued by local authorities for multiple zones in Lake County (including zones MNF-E016, MNF-E018, MNF-E019, UPP-E023, UPP-E025, UPP-E026, UPP-E027, and UPP-E030), instructing residents to leave immediately.
- Evacuation warnings were placed on surrounding areas in both Lake and Mendocino counties, advising residents in the Potter Valley vicinity to be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
- Firefighting Response: CAL FIRE and cooperating local agencies deployed extensive ground crews alongside heavy air supportincluding air tankers and water-dropping helicoptersto combat the flames despite the difficult, rugged access.