UPDATE 9:19 p.m. — Cal Fire is cancelling resources that were on their way to the fire, saying that the resources on scene can handle. So, though we have no heard them say this, it does appear that firefighters were able to get access to the property and are getting the fire under-control.
It appears that the small extension into the neighboring wildland was less than a quarter acre, and that other residents in the area were taking action to put out the fire, before firefighters got access.
ORIGINAL
WILLITS, 5/8/19 —Firefighters are staging outside a fire in Brooktrails right now, as of 8:45 p.m., but have been denied access to the property by the presumed homeowner, who has locked the gate to the property. The residence is on Eagle Court off Timber Road in Brooktrails, and the fire is being described as a residential structure fire with a possible spread into nearby brush, according to scanner traffic. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has been called, and initially it was believed that there may have been a weapon involved, but as as of 8:54 p.m. scanner chatter had stated “negative weapon.”
The fire appears to be an unpermitted debris burn, conducted after-hours, that got out of control. With initial estimates placing it at between a quarter and half an acre, but we have not confirmed that.
Initial reports indicate that the homeowner may have had a weapon and was preventing them access by locking the gate, based on scanner reports, which may reflect incomplete information in a rapidly evolving situation. As of the time of publication, however, there is no weapon confirmed to be involved, and there may be four people on the property.
The fire departments are currently staging near Timber Rd. and Sherwood Rd. waiting for the MCSO to arrive. As of 9:00 p.m. deputies had not arrived, but they were on their way and close.
