Yuba-Sutter crews help converge on Colusa, Glenn fires

Hot spots flaring in front of the main fire have created new problems for firefighters trying to get a grip on the blaze in Mendocino National Forest.

The Mill Fire has spread from Colusa County into Glenn County, consuming at the last official report Tuesday afternoon, more than 13,000 acres.

Officials, however believe that total has grown, possibly doubled.

Glenn County sheriff's personnel and other emergency crews are monitoring the fire from areas to report any change of direction.

Those shifts can happen quickly as firefighters learned Sunday.

Forest officials said the blaze "blew right through a containment line" as swirling winds wreak havoc on efforts to get the fire under control.

More than 900 firefighters are assigned to battle the blaze, which started near the Mill Valley Campground in the Mendocino National Forest and spread into the Rail Canyon area of Glenn County on Monday.

Exactly how many acres are involved in Glenn County specifically is uncertain, US Department of Forestry officials said.

Crews from Glenn County are assigned to the fire.

Two firefighters have sustained what were described as minor injuries.

And while as many as 50 homes have been threatened, the only structure lost has been an outbuilding in the early stages of the fire, officials said.

The communities of Letts Lake, Bonnie View and Board Camp Springs in western Colusa County have been evacuated, and the fringe areas of Stonyford and Fouts Springs are under voluntary evacuation because of the blaze.

Adrienne Freeman, a spokeswoman for the Forest Department, said about 100 homes have been evacuated from the mandatory areas, but the number of people who may have left the voluntary zones is unknown.

A second fire — which has divided into three branches — also burns in western Colusa County.

The Sites Fire, which sparked about 2 p.m. Sunday, has burned nearly 4,000 acres, but officials are saying unofficially, they have all but contained the blaze.

Officially, only 50 percent of the fire is contained.

The causes of the fires are unknown, but investigators were already on scene at the Sites Fire trying to determine what sparked the blaze.

Five outbuildings are threatened by the Sites Fire, but no homes, and there have been no injuries reported.