[UPDATE 9:08 p.m.: Contained] New Fire in Mendocino County Has High Rate of Spread
FlightRadar shows aircraft circling over the fire about 5:40 p.m.
A new fire broke out in the Ridgewood area of Mendocino County west of Hwy 101 roughly halfway between Ukiah and Willits about 5:23 p.m.
According to the scanner, the fire is spreading at a high rate of speed. However, it is not affecting Hwy 101 at this time.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 5:44 p.m.: According to a report over the scanner from a first responder at the scene, the fire is about five acres and spreading. It will likely jump the railroad tracks.
UPDATE 5:54 p.m.: The scanner indicates the fire is now 10 acres with potential for several hundred acres.
UPDATE 6 p.m.: Scanner traffic also reports that the Highway 101 is now shut down at mile marker 37.
Scanner traffic indicates an evacuation warning is being considered for the Bakers Creek subdivision. Fire personnel are requesting the dispatcher prep an advisory or warning for evacuation.
UPDATE 6:13 p.m.: The Red Fire is now estimated to be 12 acres, according to an estimate by fire personnel. Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall reports that Hwy 101 will be reopened possibly with an escort soon.
UPDATE 6:17 p.m.: Sheriff Kendall provided these photos from the scene.
Smoke from the Red Fire. [Photo from Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall]
![Smoke from the Red Fire. [Photo from Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/117892361_3573786662652090_6581118664065335281_n.jpg)
A tanker drops retardant on the Red Fire. [Photo from Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall]
UPDATE 7:02 p.m.: The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department tweeted, “#RedFire in Redwood Valley appears to be contained at this time and law enforcement resources have been released.”
UPDATE 9:08 p.m.: Local photographer Kim Sallaway sent us these photos of the fire.
[Photo by Kim Sallaway to see more of his work, click here]
[Photo by Kim Sallaway]
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This is just crazy! Be safe fire fighters, heroes. Let’s pray it doesn’t get anymore worse than it already is! Feels like the entire state is burning.
Well yeah, and it’s only August!
Is this near Reeves Canyon Road?
Why yes it is, Dan. I thought you knew how to read maps!
And what map was it I was supposed to read? My Dad had a ranch off of Reeves Canyon in the 70’s and 80’s…just wondering if his old place was going to burn
The area west of the highway (and probably east of the highway) used to be the ranch where Sea Biscuit lived. The Church of the Golden Rule owned most of the area and they are still there but they sold off most of the land in the late 70’s/early 80’s. My Dad owned ~450 acres and built a beautiful off-grid house. He sold it in the early 90’s and last I saw it looked like Reeves Canyon Road filled in with vineyards…predictable but sad fate for the stream that flows through that valley, which had summer steelhead in it when I was a kid. Great memories from my youth down there building fences in the hot Mendocino summer heat. Tons of turkeys and there were herds of white deer that I was told were brought there from China.
North of reeves canyon on the east side of the freeway. Over where all that construction is.
Looks like its west of the Rancheria, north of Laughlin, and south of the Ridge.
move the map around and you will find it.
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/news/interactive-map-shows-names-locations-of-fires-across-the-north-bay/?ref=recent
more info here
Live updates: Multiple fires in Sonoma County, North Bay continue to rage with little containment
Sounds like it’s within spitting distance from copter 101. If their not busy elsewhere.
I live in redwood valley. The fire is on the east side of 101 up on the ridgewood grade. It is currently contained at 12 acres.
I’m glad they got containment. Thanks for all the updates. I think you need to fix the current headline though, because while it certainly feels like 67:02 it probably isn’t. Thanks Kym.
seems like that spot burns every year or so.
I wonder if Gavin added any pay for firefighters or equipment in his Budget or if he just let the prison volunteers out of jail instead? Isn’t this 8 years of fires and we’re still not prepared?
Nancy did it make it into your covid bill?
Seems like all I’ve heard in recent years is closing down stations, and reduced ambulance services.
It sure is odd to me what Ca. can and cannot afford.
An Extraordinary mis allocation of resources.
As a side note I wonder how much weed is going up in smoke??
As of about 7:00pm Highway 101 was open and the fire was contained. They soon after released most firefighters and have a mop-up crew watching it overnight. It was an incredible effort by Calfire ground and air crews, Redwood Valley Fire, Willits Fire, and Ridgewood Ranch Volunteers who caught this thing before it got away and went over the hill into Redwood Valley. In times like this when there’s big fires all around and resources are stretched thin, the local volunteer departments really step up and defend the home ground. Please support them in every way you can. I love Kim Sallaway’s fire photos, that man knows light!
One down, hundreds to go. We need a rare summer rain.
There is a silver lining to these forest fires. In alot of the sizeable fires we’ve had over the years, it’s not uncommon to see that a major portion of the burned area burned in a positive way, low to medium intensity, taking out the understory but leaving most of the bigger trees. The amount of acres that suffered serious damage with a high intensity burn, (called a stand replacing fire) is usually less than the acres that experienced a healthy burn.
When you add up all the acres in these fires that burned in a prescribed fire kind of way it would have taken years and years and years for forest managers to accomplish the same thing through prescribed fires or fuel reduction projects, if it could even be done.
Unfortunately, global warming is changing the playing field and the high intensity burns within a fire may be growing percentage wise, but that doesn’t negate the fact that there are still thousands of acres from wildland fires that are healthy burns.
I know this is hard to swallow when an area you love is torched with a high intensity burn, but knowing the difference in types of burn in any given fire helps me to get past the pain of losing something beautiful like Big Basin Redwoods Park ( which hopefully will not be stand replacing when all is done).
True, I totally agree and have been thinking the exact same thing.
I agree also and thank you for the positive insight. We all have collective PTSD from “ the new norm” but there are just so many areas I see and altho I try not to say it out loud my brain always thinks “ there is only one way to clean up THIS mess” much left over from old old logging operations.
its just begun…………..sacromento will be next bucke up every one