UPDATE 12:34 p.m. — The fires in north county appear to be controlled, at least one of them has been contained for some time. The 101 is now open. No word on the cause, though authorities were looking for a brown Isuzu, possibly a Trooper earlier tonight.
UPDATE 11:55 p.m. — The fire in Covelo is controlled and possibly already extinguished.
UPDATE 11:20 p.m. — This situation continues to be some what confusing. What we know now is that there are apparently two fires near the Mendo Humboldt county line, one burning nears Cooks Valley, called the Cooks Incident, and one burning nearer to Piercy called the Pepperwood Incident. According to the CHP incident page, the fires are not currently affecting Hwy. 101, though one or more lanes of the highway might remains closed.
What’s more a car has caught fire in Covelo, on the Henderson Rd. That incident is being called the Henderson Incident. The vehicle is fully engulfed in flames, and there may be some flame spreading into nearby brush.
We will continue to update, and hopefully the situation becomes clearer.
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UPDATE 10:55 p.m. — The situation is developing quickly. It now appears that there are two fires in the vicinity of Piercy, one is burning in Piercy near the post office, where there is a potential for a threat to structures. The other is burning at mile marker 19 on Hwy. 271.
The smaller fire has been contained at less than a quarter of an acre, while the larger one might now be at about 2 acres, and is likely to be contained in the near future.
Fire crews from Leggett, Howard Forest CalFire station, Humboldt, and other local departments are on the scene responding. Crews may be in the road on both Highway 101 and 271, so please take caution in the area.
Authorities are also looking for a brown Isuzu, possibly a Trooper or similar make, which might be connected to the multiple fires. Another fire was reported just before these two in the vicinity of Bell Spring Road on Highway 101.
ORIGINAL:
MENDOCINO CO., 8/27/18 — A vegetation fire has broken out along U.S. Route 101 at the Humboldt Mendocino county line, near the community of cooks valley. According to the California Highway Patrol incident page the fire has reached at least half an acre and has some potential to grow. It appears that Hwy. 101 will be closed, if it has not already been closed, and CalTrans has been called to aid with the closure. The fire is burning on both sides of the highway.
Multiple fire agencies are responding, including Leggett Fire and Piercy Fire from Mendocino, as well as CalFire.
Earlier a very small spot fire started and was quickly extinguished on the side of Highway 101 north just north of Bell Springs Road, north of the town of Laytonville. A UPS truck driver reported the fire at about 9:40 p.m. and by about 10:05 p.m. crews had arrived but it was already extinguished and had not even reach 100 square feet.