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HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Despite heavy winds and dry conditions, firefighters who quickly got on the scene of a Thursday night fire near Hidden Valley Lake were able to contain it before it damaged nearby homes.
Sheriff Brian Martin said late Thursday that there were no injuries reported or structures lost in the Grove fire, which was first dispatched just after 8 p.m. Thursday in the area of Spruce Grove Road South at Highway 29, as Lake County News has reported.
Authorities quickly shut down a portion of Highway 29 in the fire area and Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta, who initially served as incident commander, called for evacuations in the area of Conestoga, Eagle Rock and Deer Hill in Hidden Valley Lake.
He later told Lake County News that the evacuations were called because of the potential for the fast-moving fire to reach those areas.
Altogether, the evacuations were in effect about an hour – they were lifted shortly before 9:45 p.m. – with an evacuation center briefly established at Twin Pine Casino.
There was a good wind on the fire, Sapeta said.
In fact, there had been heavy winds around Middletown much of Thursday. On Thursday night, Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White, who responded to assist with evacuations, said he could feel the wind as he drove to the fire.
White said the fire was moving fast, but firefighters moved quickly to contain it.
He said he and three of his Clearlake Police officers, along with a Fish and Wildlife warden, responded to assist with evacuations.
Sheriff Brian Martin said his deputies, the California Highway Patrol and Hidden Valley Lake officials also assisted with the evacuation response.
Martin reported shortly after 10:30 p.m. Thursday that forward progress on the fire had been stopped.
Sapeta said the last size estimate he had on the fire was between five and 10 acres.
“We just really got lucky and had a lot of resources on scene,” Sapeta said.
Fire agencies that were involved included Cal Fire, Lake County Fire and Northshore Fire, with Sapeta noting that the fire is in the State Responsibility Area, which puts it under Cal Fire’s jurisdiction.
Sapeta said he didn’t have any idea what started the fire, with Cal Fire sending a prevention officers to investigate the cause and origin.
Sheriff Martin said one-way traffic control on Highway 29 in the fire area was expected to be in place until 11 p.m., with a full opening expected Friday morning.
At about 1:15 a.m. Friday, officials reported over the radio that Highway 29 was being fully reopened.
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