UPDATE 9:45 p.m. — The fire topped out at 11.5 acres and firefighters will be staying overnight.
UPDATE 6:25 p.m. — All aircraft that were fighting the fire have returned to base, and it appears that there is retardant laid all around the fire, and that the fire has moved into a mop up phase — though there is as yet no official word on containment. The fact that the fire started along the highway allowed for quick access, and Cal Fire sent quite a few aircraft against it early on.
UPDATE 5:25 p.m. — Cal Fire reports that the fire has reached 10 acres but is holding steady at that size.
UPDATE 4:57 p.m. — Cal Fire tweeted out this information about the fire, confirming the size at 5 acres. The fire is being called the “Wilson Fire.”
WILLITS, 10/4/19 — A wildfire has broken out along U.S. Route 101, south of Laytonville, roughly at the entrance to the Long Valley. According to scanner chatter the fire has quickly blown up to five acres, though they are also reporting low potential for additional spread. The California Highway Patrol reports receiving word of the fire at 3:58 p.m.
The fire began as a roadside fire and appears to have spread towards the east up the nearby hills. As of time of publication it appeared that the northbound #2 lane of the 101 was closed, likely for fire engines to stage.
Laytonville fire has responded with an engine, water tender, and two utilities, with eight firefighters on the blaze. Cal Fire has responded with engines, dozers, and fire crews.
Cal Fire has two air tankers on the scene, and two more on the way, as well as the air attack plane (which is a smaller plane that does air traffic control) and the 101 Copter. They also have five engines, as well as dozers, several crew, and additional resources are on the way.
We’ll continue to update.
