Eel fire in Mendocino County burns 1,000 acres

A fire that struck Tuesday afternoon in Mendocino County continued to burn unchecked Wednesday morning, estimated at 1,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The fire was burning in federal forest land and a handful of residents in the area were warned Tuesday night to evacuate, said Mendocino County sheriff's Lt. Shannon Barney.

Dubbed the Eel fire, it started about 3:30 p.m. in the Black Butte River Ranch area. Several roads in the area remained closed.

While much larger fires burn to the south, in Mendocino and Lake counties, and firefighting resources are stretched, Cal Fire crews filling in for peers at the other fires responded, along with federal firefighting resources, said George Gonzalez, Cal Fire's unit chief for Mendocino County.

“We had a lot of equipment on it last night,” Gonzalez said.

Tuesday it was 104 degrees in Covelo when the fire was reported, coupled with extremely low, eight percent humidity, “which is absolutely explosive (for) fire growth,” Gonzalez said.

Covelo is a highly rural area in northern Mendocino County, east of Highway 101.

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You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@rossmannreport.