- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Firefighters knock down 'Goose,' 'Bear' fires on Monday
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Monday firefighters contained two small fires in different parts of the county before the blazes could turn into big incidents.
The “Goose” fire burned near Clearlake early Monday while the “Bear” fire occurred in the Cobb area Monday afternoon.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta said the Goose fire was dispatched shortly after 1 a.m. in the area between Carter Lane and Parkview Drive, off of San Joaquin Avenue.
It's an area in the hills above Clearlake that has seen fires previous over the last several years, he said.
Lake County Fire and Cal Fire responded, sending a total five engines, a water tender and a medic unit, with Sapeta and a Cal Fire battalion chief responding, he said.
Altogether about six acres burned, with no structures threatened, Sapeta said.
He said firefighters remained on scene until about 5 a.m. Monday, then went back out to the fire area later in the day to retrieve hose and put out some burning snags.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Sapeta.
The Bear fire was first dispatched at about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 14000 block of Bottle Rock Road near Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Campground, according to radio reports.
Firefighters at the scene reported arriving to find a small vegetation fire with a nearby structure on fire. It was later reported that the building – which a witness described as a cabin – had a fire in the attic.
The fire was reported to be contained at around 5 p.m., with about three hours of mop up expected at that point.
“Everything's looking good up there now,” Cal Fire Division Chief Greg Bertelli told Lake County News shortly after he left the scene early Monday evening.
In addition to the damaged structure, Bertelli said the fire burned just over half an acre. There were no injuries.
Cal Fire and South Lake County Fire sent a full wildland response that included several engines plus air attack, with Bertelli adding that Lake County Fire also sent a water tender in response to a request for the equipment.
Bertelli said the cause is under investigation.
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