LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Cal Fire officials reported that a wildland fire on Saturday burned a total of 70 acres near the Rodman Slough.

The fire broke out shortly before 4 p.m. Saturday near a pile of trash on the side of Westlake Road near the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff, as Lake County News has reported.

On Monday, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Linda Green, the incident commander, said the final mapping of the fire put it at at total of 70 acres, double the original estimate given at the fire scene Saturday.

The fire scorched a large pasture and burned toward the Rodman Preserve before the wind shifted, Green said.

It got to the side of the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff, where it burned blackberry bushes and ran up a hill on the other side of the road. The California Highway Patrol had the road shut down for several hours as firefighters worked in the area.

About an hour into the incident, a second fire – sparked by embers given off by the main blaze – began in a nearby vineyard. Cal Fire air tankers and a helicopter responded, helping keep the fire from homes and other structures.

Cal Fire, U.S. Forest Service firefighters from the Mendocino National Forest, Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire, Kelseyville Fire, Lake County Fire and South Lake County Fire all sent resources to fight the fire.

As for the fire’s cause, Green said it remains under investigation.

“I talked to the investigator earlier today and they’re still following up on witness statements,” she said.

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