Broiler fire near Ukiah burns about 80 acres, forces 250 to evacuate

Firefighters stopped the forward progress of an 80-acre fire in Mendocino County Wednesday evening, though not before it forced the evacuation of an estimated 250 homes and burned several buildings, officials said.

Called the Broiler fire, the Redwood Valley vegetation blaze was first reported at about 2:45 p.m. near the Broiler Steak House on Uva Drive, Cal Fire Capt. Eric Campbell said.

It had jumped to 20 acres just over an hour later, prompting the evacuations from roughly south of the steakhouse to Central Avenue on the west side of Highway 101, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies and other local law enforcement officers who volunteered to help evacuate roughly 200-250 homes in the area, Mendocino County Sheriff Matthew Kendall estimated.

Firefighters stopped the fire from gaining new ground later in the afternoon and by 6:30 p.m. Cal Fire was reporting the blaze at 20% containment.

Most evacuations and road closures were lifted about two hours later, except for the burn areas of West School Way at Uva Drive and Uva Drive at Forsythe Lane, the Sheriff’s Office said. A shelter at the Mendocino College Dance Studio in Ukiah was closed and displaced families were directed to the American Red Cross.

Cal Fire confirmed one home was destroyed as of Wednesday evening, though damage inspections were still ongoing, Campbell said.

Firefighting crews, which totaled 135 people as of 6:30 p.m., would work on increasing containment of the blaze overnight, he added.

The cause of the fire – there have been no injuries or fatalities reported – was still under investigation as of Wednesday evening, Campbell said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.