Crews fully contain 1-acre vegetation fire near Monte Rio

Firefighters contained a 1-acre vegetation fire Friday at noon, 15 hours after it ignited in a densely wooded area near Monte Rio Thursday night, officials said.

Crews will continue to mop up the blaze throughout the day and some engines will remain at the scene Saturday to monitor it, said Stephane Lunsford, a public information officer for Cal Fire.

The fire was reported around 9 p.m. in the area of Bohemian Highway. By Friday morning, crews had created a fire line around 85% of the blaze, Lunsford said.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Henry 1 maneuvered over the area Thursday night to help ground crews locate the blaze, which was in a steep, densely wooded area north of Monte Rio and west of Sebastopol.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

With low humidity expected to accompany the unusually high temperatures this week, “fire weather concerns (are) becoming very real,” weather service officials said Thursday.

Fire officials said Sonoma County residents should be extra cautious when doing activities that could potentially spark a wildfire, such as weed trimming, mowing and pile burning.

Thursday’s high was reported as 79 degrees at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport north of Santa Rosa, unofficially tying a record for the date. A high of 78 degrees was predicted for Friday at the airport.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.