LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Firefighters continued their work overnight on two wildland fires that burned in Lower Lake beginning on Tuesday evening, resulting in evacuations and power outages.
The Kugelman and Canyon fires were reported minutes apart shortly before 5:30 p.m., as Lake County News has reported.
Firefighters first responded to the Kugelman fire at Kugelman Street and Highway 53, with the Canyon fire occurring in the area of Seigler Canyon Road at Highway 29.
Cal Fire issued a late Tuesday night report putting the Kugelman's size at 45 acres with 70 percent containment. The Canyon burned 14 acres and was fully contained by about 9:30 p.m.
Each of the fires burned one structure, according to Cal Fire.
When firefighters first arrived at the scene of the Kugelman incident, they found it was rapidly spreading and threatening structures, resulting in evacuations for Morgan Valley Road to Bonham Road. The nearby Lake County Social Services building also was evacuated, based on reports from the scene.
In addition, firefighters reported lines down, with power later shut off at the request of incident command.
At the peak of the outages, Pacific Gas and Electric reported that nearly 9,100 customers were without power in the fire areas.
Cal Fire and the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that, as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, the mandatory evacuation orders had been lifted.
Road closures also had been lifted, except for one-lane traffic remaining in effect on Seigler Canyon Road late Tuesday, Cal Fire said.
In addition to Cal Fire and Lake County Fire, agencies involved in responding to the incidents included Lakeport Fire, Kelseyville Fire, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol and Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection.
Resources assigned to the incidents late Tuesday included 15 engine companies, five volunteer companies, four water tenders, four fire crews, two bulldozers and 150 personnel, including 10 overhead personnel, Cal Fire said. Air resources had been utilized on Tuesday evening.
Cal Fire said firefighters would remain assigned to both incidents through the night and into Wednesday. On the Kugelman fire, firefighters were working to establish containment lines and extinguish interior hot spots, while mop up was taking place on the Canyon incident.
The causes of both fires remain under investigation, Cal Fire said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.