MENDOCINO Co., 8/18/21 — The Bell Fire on Bell Springs Road and Foster Creek Road roughly five miles east Laytonville is 95 percent contained at 50 acres, according to a statement from Cal Fire this morning, with no injuries reported and no structures lost. The fire is still active, however, and an anticipated date of full containment has not yet been announced, The cause of ignition remains under investigation.
Fire crews initially responded to two incidents in that vicinity on Saturday, Aug. 14, including a smaller fire associated with an excavator on Twin Pines Road. The smaller blaze was quickly contained but the Bell Fire spread and prompted evacuations around 3:15 p.m. Steep hills and difficult terrain frustrated firefighter’s efforts, which included support from aircraft, but forward progress was stopped by 6 p.m. and some nearby residents were allowed to return home. All roads had reopened by 9:30 p.m.
That was four days ago, however, and the fire continues to burn amid an ongoing Red Flag Warning due to hot, dry and windy conditions. According to the National Weather Service in Eureka these conditions are forecast to continue until at least Thursday morning. Residents in the area have also been hit with service outages due to Pacific Gas and Electric’s Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).
You can find out more about the Bell Fire on Cal Fire’s incident page at https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/8/14/bell-fire