20-acre fire off Highway 29 forces evacuations in Lake County

A 15- to 20-acre grass fire that sparked along Highway 29 prompted mandatory evacuations in parts of Lake County on Thursday night, fire officials said.

The fire, which started at 8:16 p.m., forced residents north of Spruce Grove Road and south of Noble Ranch Road in the Hidden Valley Lake community to evacuate, said Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers. Officials closed the highway in the area because of the blaze, which has been named the Grove fire.

All evacuation orders were lifted just before 10 p.m., the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said. The fire was still ongoing north of the Hidden Valley Lake community, but Cal Fire said that it had been reduced to 7-10 acres as of 10 p.m.

Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli called the wind a “wild card” for this fire. He said winds threatened to blow flames toward the Hidden Valley Lake community. National Weather Service meteorologist Anna Schneider said the winds in the Noble Ranch Road area were blowing from the west and northwest at 4 mph, with gusts up to 9 mph as of 9:20 p.m.

Powers said at 9 p.m. there were no reports of any structures damaged or any injuries caused by the fire.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337.