Vehicle plummets off cliff near Hopland; one injured

A vehicle drove off a cliff Tuesday on a steep, winding route through the mountains bordering Mendocino and Lake counties, plummeting several hundred feet into a ravine and catching fire, Cal Fire officials said.

One person was reported injured in the 12:50 p.m. collision on Highway 175, about eight miles east of the road’s junction with Highway 101 in Hopland and about one mile from Lake County, Cal Fire officials said. The person was rescued from the ravine by a CHP helicopter with a hoist device and then taken by medical ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Cal Fire Capt. Shepley Schroth-Cary said.

Further details on the person and his or her condition weren’t available Tuesday.

A witness saw the vehicle drive off the cliff and called 911 at 12:51 p.m. The vehicle caught fire and ammunition in the vehicle started exploding, according to the CHP log. Early reports indicated two people may have been in the vehicle.

The collision and its emergency response shut down the road until one-way traffic was allowed to pass about 2:45 p.m. The road was cleared by about 5 p.m.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.