Lake County Wildfire Prompts Evacuations; 1 Home Burned

TWIN LAKES / Lake County (CBS 13) — A 300+ acre wildfire that started Thursday off Highway 29 south of Lower Lake is now 30 percent contained.  Mandatory evacuations for for the Mercy Spring area are still in place but evacuations have been lifted in the Twin Lakes subdivisions.

CalFire officials said more than 300 firefighters are battling the blaze.

Crews were attacking the flames from the ground and air and said they had managed to halt the fire's forward progress.

The blaze, named the 29 Fire because of it's proximity to the highway, broke out around 2:45 p.m. and prompted Highway 29′s closure south of Highway 53.

Firefighters reported that the fire, being aided by wind gusts of 20 miles-per-hour, quickly spread in grass and brush. The flames had burned at least one home, a barn and outbuildings, along with 10 cars by Thursday night.

The cause of the fire was unknown and no injuries were immediately reported.