NORTH COAST, Calif. – Firefighters from around the region are working to control a wildland fire that began in Redwood Valley on Sunday afternoon and grew rapidly throughout the day.
The Grade fire was first reported just before 3 p.m. Sunday on Highway 101 five miles north of Redwood Valley, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire’s reports indicate the fire has grown steadily. Shortly before 9 p.m. Cal Fire said the fire had burned 1,000 acres and was 10-percent contained, rolling the size estimate back to 900 acres about a half hour later.
Radio reports indicated forward progress was slowing by nightfall.
Controlled traffic is in effect on Highway 101, and evacuations are in place for Baker Creek Subdivision. There is an evacuation advisory for above the valley floor, north of Redwood Valley, according to Cal Fire.
Witnesses at the scene reported that the Grade fire began when a pickup pulling a motorhome on Highway 101 burst into flames, catching a nearby hillside on fire.
The fire quickly put up a large plume of smoke that by about 45 minutes after it began could be seen from the Mount Konocti lookout tower, according to radio reports.
Air tankers from around Northern California have worked the incident, along with Copter 104 from Cal Fire’s Boggs Mountain Helitack base. More air resources are being tapped to respond on Monday morning, according to radio reports.
Just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday Cal Fire reported an immediate request for a strike team of its Lake County units, which were instructed to respond to assist with the fire.
The Grade fire is sending heavy amounts of drift smoke into the Lake County air basin, which has led to numerous smoke checks by Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters throughout the afternoon and evening, according to radio reports.
Residents from parts of the county including the Northshore, Hidden Valley Lake, Lakeport and the Kelseyville areas also reported on Sunday that they could see and smell the smoke from the fire in their areas.
Northshore Fire checked reports of smoke visible from Upper Lake to Spring Valley, with all of those checks resulting in firefighters confirming that it was smoke from the Grade fire.
There was a smoke check in the Jerusalem Grade area near Lower Lake at around 9 p.m. that also was attributed to drift smoke from the Grade fire, according to scanner reports.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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REGIONAL: Grade fire burns in Redwood Valley, sends large amounts of smoke to Lake County
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On