Grove fire in Lake County burns 25 acres

Fire investigators on Friday were looking into what sparked a 25-acre blaze along Highway 29 in Lake County the night before, forcing hundreds of nearby residents to flee their homes, Cal Fire said.

No one was injured and no homes or buildings were damaged in the Grove fire, first reported to dispatchers about 8:16 p.m. near Highway 29 and Spruce Grove Road, Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers said. A portion of the highway was immediately blocked in both directions to make way for droves of engines from Cal Fire and nearby stations that rushed to the blaze, Powers said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuation orders for roughly 300 residents in the nearby Hidden Valley Lake community about four minutes after the fire was reported, Lake County Sheriff’s Lt. Corey Paulich said. Deputies used hi-lo sirens from patrol cars, a county emergency notification system and knocked on doors to relay the orders, Paulich added. Residents were allowed to return home just before 10 p.m.

“Once the fire was reevaluated and the concern to the residents was not there anymore, they lifted that evacuation,” Powers said.

The fire was fully contained sometime overnight and Highway 29 was reopened in both directions by 1 a.m., Powers said. A handful of Cal Fire crews remained at the site throughout the day to extinguish the remaining embers, he said.

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