Update 5:00 p.m. – Brooktrails Township Fire Department has confirmed there were no injuries in the fire. The cause of the “Keys Fire” is under investigation.
Update 1:00 p.m. – Fire crews are being released from the incident after suppressing the structure fire. The Red Cross American Red Cross of the North Bay has been requested to support to the displaced family.
Update 12:18 p.m. – Both the CAL FIRE helicopter and airplane have been released from the scene.
Mendocino Co. 9/7/22 – Brooktrails Township Fire Department and Little Lake Fire Department are responding to a structure fire that has spread to the vegetation in Sherwood Valley Rancheria north of Willits. The “Keys Fire” was first reported at 11:32 a.m. as a structure on fire in the 33000 block of Bertha Keys Way.
Crews arrived at the scene at 11:47 a.m. to a fully engulfed double wide trailer on fire with minor spread to the vegetation. All residents in the structure were evacuated. The arriving ground crews were supported by three CAL FIRE airplanes and a helicopter. At 12:00 p.m., two of the airplanes were released, with the remaining helicopter and airplane providing oversight and observational data to ground crews.
MCSO issued a Nixle alert asking for situational awareness for people in the area; please avoid the area if possible:
Situational Awareness: Structure Fire in the Willits area, near 33445 Bertha Keys Way, No further action needed at this time, Use caution and avoid the area. We will publish updates to mendoready.org as more information becomes available.
As of 12:06 p.m., crews had contained the spread to the vegetation. Residents and visitors to the Rancheria are being asked to avoid Bertha Keys Way, with traffic controls in place. The remaining CAL FIRE airplane was released.
Please travel carefully in the area and allow all first responder vehicles to pass.
This is a developing situation and information may change. We’ll update this article as more information becomes available. The most recent information will be updated at the top of the article, with the earlier reports below.