800 Rocky Fire Evacuees Return Home With Warnings Of More Danger Possible
LAKE COUNTY (CBS13) — As firefighters gain greater containment on the Rocky Fire, about 800 evacuees returned to their homes amid blackened hillsides.
Flames surrounded Richard Sutton's home, but he credits defensible space for saving it.
"The fire burned right through rock and all the way around," he said.
Not everyone is as fortunate. Some of his neighbors lost everything; their homes now a pile of rubble.
Although they're returning home, many in the Lower Lake community haven't been given the all-clear yet.
"Our concern is we don't want the public to go back to an area that's dangerous," said Cal Fire Capt. Steve Kaufmann.
The focus has shifted from fast-spreading flames to hidden hazards, including blowing embers capable of starting new fires and hot spots capable of burning people.
"It's common that our firefighters have stepped into those on accident when doing mop-up operations," he said.
Another concern is downed power lines. A team of PG&E workers is on the front lines, removing charred telephone poles and replacing them on the spot.