36-acre Owens fire near Point Arena 60% contained; power restored

Cal Fire reported Saturday evening that 60% of the Owens fire that burned 36 acres south of Point Arena in Mendocino County has been contained.

Though firefighters continued to hold the lines throughout the day, a report issued by Cal Fire said “potential still exists for spots to become established outside of the control lines, due to wind and dry conditions.”

Firefighters are remaining at the scene to strengthen the depth of the containment lines and extinguish any interior hot spots as well as mitigate trees that could pose a hazard, the report said.

Power has been restored to all Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers in the area, and both lanes of Highway 1 have been reopened as of 8 p.m. Saturday, according to Mendocino County Cal Fire Capt. Leah Simmons-Davis.

Firefighters are still investigating the cause of the blaze that forced evacuations for several hours Friday, she said. No injuries have been reported.

The Owens fire was reported just after 3 p.m. Friday and burned east of Highway 1 in an area 50 miles north of Bodega Bay, according to Cal Fire. Its forward progression stopped by 8 p.m.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuations along Bill Owens and Schooner Gulch roads, which are parallel to each other east of Highway 1.

Evacuations were lifted around 9 p.m. and there was no damage to property.

The evacuation area stretched just under 3 miles east of the shore and residents were advised to evacuate to Ten Mile Cutoff Road.

Shortly after the fire sparked, satellites from the National Weather Service’s Eureka office showed smoke moving south above the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s kind of faint at this point, but you can see it,” said Matthew Kidwell, a meteorologist with the Eureka office.

Just after 6:30 p.m., the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office advised that smoke had entered the region and urged residents not to dial 911 unless they saw flames.

Staff Writer Kathleen Coates contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.