A full wildland fire response has been dispatched to a vegetation fire burning near Redwood Valley’s Broiler Steakhouse on 8500 Uva Drive.
A reverse 911 is being issued to nearby residents and the Incident Commander said nearby structures are threatened.
The California Highway Patrol Incident Information Page says the fire is currently 15 acres and growing.
Uva Drive is going to be blocked off from traffic for public safety reasons.
Air and land resources are rushing towards the incident as the AlertFire webcam shows the smoke plume grows in the skies above Redwood Valley.
UPDATE 3:17 p.m.: Starting evacuations for the trailer park off of Uva Drive , according to a firefighter speaking over the scanner.
According to radio guy, UPD is evac’ing by patrol car by hand/PA in the immediate area
UPDATE 3:28 p.m.: Per Redwood Valley Fire Department, “There are structures burning.”
UPDATE 3:40 p.m.: The Incident Commander has just called for a third alarm indicating the seriousness of the situation.
UPDATE 4:10 p.m.: The fire is now reported over the scanner to be about 50 acres. The Air Attack commander put a “no divert” on two tankers and two helicopters due to life threat and structures involved. 10 additional engines were also ordered.
UPDATE 5:10 p.m.: Matt LaFever spoke to Incident Commander Jeff Schlafer. Schlafer told him the fire is currently 57 acres and 0% contained. He said that forward progress had been stopped, however, evacuations were still in place. More resources, firefighters and equipment, are still coming to help. Schlafer said this will be a “multiple day event.” Schlafer said that the fire was already a half acre when firefighters were notified. The wind blowing pushed the fire. He said that the fire spotted all around the firefighters making it difficult to contain. He confirmed the loss of structures and said that the fire was under investigation.
UPDATE 5:30 p.m.: Two strike teams are entering Mendocino County, one from HUU–the Humboldt/Del Norte Division–and LNU–the Lake County Division. A unified command is being coordinated.
Please remember that this story is unfolding. Information is being reported as we gather it. However, some of the information coming from witnesses and initial official reports could be wrong. We will do our best to get the facts but, in the case that something is inaccurate, we will update with correct information as soon as we can.
What does “no divert” mean?