Page 11 - Smith River Complex News Today

For a second week, the Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California has had to rely on a generator after nearby wildfires knocked out the facility’s electricity.

The Smith River Complex, covering more than 75,000 acres, has closed roads, forced power outages and delayed the start of school for thousands of students.

The Smith River complex has now grown to 83,974 acres in Del Norte County and southern Oregon. Following a gusty 24 hours, firefighting efforts will be aided by some higher humidity and forecasted rain on the complex in the coming days, which is made up of at least 12 fires sparked by lightning over two weeks ago. The complex is 8% contained.

After days of living in the dark, much of Del Norte County has light.

SWIMT2 takes command of Smith River Complex South

The Golden Fire, which was sparked Sunday along Highway 101 between Ukiah and Willits, is expected to be fully contained by Friday, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.

Strong northerly winds could push smoke from wildfires burning near the California-Oregon border into the Sacramento Valley this week, impacting air quality.

Today Pacific Power received permission from the Joint Incident Management Team on the Smith River Complex fires to access the Gasquet area and begin planning for re-energization of that community.

The following information is from the U.S. Forest Service as of Aug. 29.

Pacific Power received permission today to start the process of bringing power back to the Gasquet area in the wake of the Smith River Complex.