This afternoon both CALFIRE and Hopland Volunteer Fire Department responded to the 10000 block of Old River Road near Hopland after a piece of equipment sparked a grass fire. Hopland Fire Chief Mitch Franklin told us the fire “burned very well” growing to two acres before firefighters stopped the flames’ forward progress.
Chief Franklin said a CALFIRE helicopter provided overhead visuals of the incident, but was not utilized to squelch the flames.
Assessing the state of the vegetation that burned, Chief Franklin told us “it was very dry” and the fire burned “like it is July.”
Mendocino CALFIRE Chief Luke Kendall told us the overall moisture of the county’s vegetation is six to eight weeks ahead of schedule than earlier years.
Mendocino County, as per the National Weather Service, is once again in a year of “extreme drought” creating a higher risk of fast-spreading wildfires.
Chief Kendall asks the community that the use of power equipment in dry grass happen before 10:00 a.m. and to always be mindful and prepared with a bucket of water a shovel if a small fire begins.
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Break out the marshmellows kids cause there’s smorse to come. That’s dry humor if you did not catch the joke.