UPDATE, 8/16: This morning Calfire provided an update on progress made over the night on the Clayton Fire. According to statistics provided on the agency’s website at 8:15 a.m. this morning the fire is now 20 percent contained.
“Firefighters made considerable progress over night constructing control lines and mopping up hot spots,” Calfire officials said. “Expected changes in wind speed and direction continue to challenge control efforts.”
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UPDATE, 9 p.m.: Law enforcement has arrested 40-year-old Damin Pashilk, a construction worker and Clearlake resident, of purposefully setting the Clayton Fire and “numerous” others. Pashilk faces 17 counts of arson and is currently being held in county jail, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. His bail has been set at $5.1 million.
The LA Times has more.
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The fast-moving Clayton Fire has now destroyed nearly 200 structures in and around the Lake County town of Lower Lake (pop. 1,294). Thousands have been forced to evacuate the area as firefighters struggle to slow the wind-aided wildfire as it feeds on dry, heavy brush. Lake County news outlets report that the fire has reached Main Street, Lower Lake, burning the post office, a winery, a local Habitat for Humanity office as well as other downtown businesses.
According to the latest available information released by Calfire Monday afternoon, the blaze burned aggressively through the night, is now around 4,000 acres and is only 5 percent contained. 1,500 more structures are listed threatened. Additional resources are en route to area where there are already more than 1,600 fire personnel.
Lower Lake downtown- Lake St. #ClaytonFire @KTVU pic.twitter.com/6qRajuWuLz
— Leigh Martinez (@LeighMartinezTV) August 15, 2016
Above: Lake Street in downtown Lower Lake
“The fire behavior remains intense,” a release on Calfire’s website states.
Lake County News has a post providing information for people hoping to make monetary donations to aid those affected by the fire.
Street signs blackened. House leveled. #ClaytonFire @KTVU pic.twitter.com/4GniD0eWTL
— Leigh Martinez (@LeighMartinezTV) August 15, 2016
Above: Photographer Matthew Henderson has been adding numerous Clayton Fire photos to his Facebook page.