UPDATE 7:30 p.m. — Containment on the Hopkins Fire has reached 30% this evening, according to the recent Cal Fire incident report this evening, and fire activity stayed relatively uneventful through the afternoon, with the fire staying within established containment lines and holding at 257 acres. According to a 5 p.m. update from Sheriff Kendall, some road closures and evacuations are expected to remain in place this evening as different agencies continue to extinguish hot spots, build containment lines, and clear trees and other vegetation. However, “significant progress” is being made on the fire, CalFire’s Chief George Gonzalez said in a video update.
The evening summary states: “Firefighters continued to hold and improve control lines throughout the day. Potential still exists for spots to become established outside of the control line, due to wind and dry conditions. Firefighters will remain at scene to strengthen depth on containment lines, extinguish any interior hot spots and mitigate hazard trees.” There are currently 309 personnel on the fire this evening, a slight increase from the staffing on scene this morning.
Several mandatory evacuation orders and road closures remain in place, and the most current information is being updated at MendoReady.org. The shelter for evacuees located at the Mendocino County of Education offices on Old River Road remains open. The Sheriff’s Office has also been announcing updates to evacuation orders and road closures on social media, most often via Twitter. A public information line for the fire has also been established by Cal Fire: 707-972-3838.
Here’s the most recent video update from MCSO from 5 p.m., and the CalFire evening update below. Our coverage from earlier today can be found by scrolling down the article.
Here’s the evening update:
MEU-CAL-FIRE-Hopkins-Fire-Update-9-13-21-PMUPDATE 1 p.m. — Firefighters have made good progress overnight and this morning, but “we’re not out of danger yet,” due to the possibility for increased fire activity this afternoon, CalFire Mendocino Unit’s Public Information Officer Tricia Austin told The Mendocino Voice. Mendocino Cal Fire Unit Chief George Gonzalez and Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall also put out a video update this morning, noting that the road closures and evacuations remain in place as emergency responders work to make sure the interior parts of the fire do not remain active and are safe enough for residents to return, and so road closures may remain in place today.
Cal Fire and other agencies providing mutual aid on the Hopkins Fire have spent the morning increasing containment lines to at least 100 feet wide, removing debris and other vegetation that could cause fire to jump containment lines, putting out hot spots, and patrolling and monitoring structures for any possible fires in preparation for an increase in winds that could lead to additional fire activity as temperatures increase over the day, Austin explained. “It’s so hot and so dry,” she noted, saying that firefighters are focusing on ensuring the fire does not increase in size today if activity picks up. Some 200 structures remain threatened, and some evacuation orders remain in place.
In addition to firefighters, staff from PG&E and Comcast are also at the scene, repairing downed power lines and other communications infrastructure that was damaged as the fire grew rapidly.
Cal Fire has requested a damage inspection team, which can asses the extent of the structure damage on the fire, but that team has not yet arrived in Mendocino County. Until the assessment has been completed, official information as to the number and types of structures will not be available. The next mapping and incident update from CalFire will be released this evening, typically around 7 p.m. This morning’s update is available in our earlier coverage, below.
MENDOCINO Co., 9/13/21 — Containment on the Hopkins Fire rose to 20% overnight after fire crews were able to place additional containment lines around the fire and the fire did not grow in size, according to this morning’s CalFire incident report. “Good progress” was made due to increased humidity and overnight tempatures, the report notes. Some evacuations remain in place, as do some road closures, and 262 personnel will continue working on the fire today.
Shelters are currently in place at the Mendocino County Office of Education building on Old River Road, and animals are being sheltered at the animal shelter on Plant Road or for larger animals, at the fairgrounds on North State Street. Details on specific evacuations and road closures are being updated by Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services at MendoReady.org. There are 200 structures that remain threatened by the fire, according to CalFire.
The fire also led to downed power lines and some reports of cell phone outages in the area, and as of now, at least 388 PG&E customers remain without power, with an estimated time of restoration around 5:30 p.m. today (see outage map here).
The Hopkins Fire began Sunday afternoon in Capella, quickly grew to almost 300 acres over the course of the afternoon, resulting in destruction to a number of structures and power outages in the area, with reports of portions of the fire reaching the west side of Lake Mendocino. As of this morning, no official information about the number or kind of structures that have been damaged or destroyed has been confirmed by CalFire, although some reports put the number into the double digits. Cal Fire’s will be using a damage inspection team in order to assess the specific damage to structures in the area beginning today — read more about that process here.
The most recent Nixle update from MCSO this morning states:
“Hopkins Fire update 09/13/2021 at 0800 hours: The following area remain under evacuation order: Eastside Calpella Road from Milani Drive north to Highway 20, Moore Street, Marina Drive, Black Oak Drive, Rubicon Court, Cortina Place, and all of Lake Ridge Road. All other evacuation warnings for the Calpella area remain and will not change today. There are currently roadblocks in the following areas: . 1. Lake Mendocino Drive at Lake Ridge Road. 2. East Side Calpella Road at Milani Drive. 3. Moore Street at North State Street. 4. East Road at Road 144 (near McCarty’s Bar). 5. Highway 20 at Marina Drive. Continue to use situational awareness in the evacuation areas and avoid Calpella area if possible. Fire personnel are actively fighting the fire in the evacuation areas and it is not safe for people to repopulate at this time. Please visit MendoReady.org for additional information to include the updated map for evacuation orders and warnings.”
Assisting fire departments include: “Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Caltrans, California Conservation Corp, Hopland Fire Department, Ukiah Valley Fire Authority, Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department, Redwood Coast Fire Department, Brooktrails Fire Department, Potter Valley Fire Department, Little Lake Valley Fire Department, MedStar Ambulance, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, California National Guard, Brooktrails Fire Department, Laytonville Fire Department.”
Here’s the full report from this morning, and our coverage from yesterday: