UPDATE 10:40 a.m. — The 101 is now open at Frog Woman Rock in both the northbound and southbound directions. CHP has also confirmed a fatality in the crash.
UPDATE 8:55 a.m. — The CHP is saying that the northbound lanes of the 101 in the vicinity of Frog Woman Rock are now open, but traffic is still moving very slowly.
ORIGINAL
WILLITS, 6/15/21 — U.S. Route 101 is closed at around Frog Woman Rock, between Hopland and Cloverdale, near the Mendo-Sonoma line, in both directions due to a head-on collision. Based on the California Highway Patrol’s traffic information page, it appears that the accident led to at least one fatality.
The accident occurred before 7:30 a.m. this morning and the highway has been closed since around that time. According to the incident page the crash looks to have involved two large vehicles, one a tractor-trailer which went over the embankment, presumably sliding towards the Russian River. Environmental Health has been called. In such situations a ruptured diesel tank from a truck can spill into a river, which can be environmentally devastating. A special team from Mendocino Environmental Health responds to such calls to safely remove the fuel and clean up. This is especially important when the fuel might spill into a vital waterway like the Russian.
Except continued delays, we’ll be updating.
