THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – State, local and federal firefighters responded on Wednesday evening to a wildland fire in the Indian Valley area of Lake County.
Firefighters were dispatched to a smoke check east of Bartlett Springs and near the north shore of Indian Valley Reservoir at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A column of black smoke could be seen in the area, according to radio reports.
Cal Fire sent a full wildland fire response and a helicopter, with Northshore Fire and U.S. Forest Service units responding as well, radio reports indicated.
Early reports from firefighters arriving on scene after 6 p.m. indicated the fire was about three and a half acres, burning uphill in brush, with access off a nearby U.S. Forest Service road.
A few hours later it had reached about five acres in timber, with a spot fire about a half-mile away down a canyon, according to reports from the scene.
Air tankers and a helicopter did repeated drops on the fire to suppress it, according to radio traffic. The aircraft were released from the incident shortly after 8:30 p.m.
The fire was eventually determined to have been burning on the Mendocino National Forest. Forest officials couldn’t be reached late Wednesday night for an update on the fire’s size or containment.
Officials at the scene put in orders for additional resources to return to the scene on Thursday morning.
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