Cal Fire has put the size of the fire burning near Covelo in Mendocino County at 262 acres. The Medicine Fire is now 40 percent contained. The latest Facebook post from the Mendocino Unit says crews at the scene, North of Hopper Lane and West of Mina Road, are working to strengthen perimeter control lines and put out hot spots. All evacuation orders in that area have been lifted. A red flag warning is in effect there until tonight, but the fire weather watch for parts of the Lake-Sonoma Napa Unity has been lifted. As Cal_fire deals with the fire in Mendocino County, several more are burning to the north in Trinity, Shasta, and Siskiyou Counties. Evacuation orders are in place for the Butler fire, which covers more than 21,000 acres of rugged wilderness, and is less than 40 percent contained. You can get the most current information on all fires at the very useful website watchduty.org, and through the Mendocino County Sheriff’s office.
An unusual mystery in Willits. The Willits PD says someone turned in a metal cowboy hat found in the creek bed in the 100 block of Main Street. Investigators THINK the unique topper was part of a statue, but has some felt on the bottom to rest on a flat surface. If you know who it belongs to or think it is yours and can prove it, you can call the Willits PD. Otherwise, the department will get rid of it after 90 days.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors will take up housing in the county at its next meeting. The Board is holding a special session tomorrow to look over the country’s Housing and Action Plan, known as HAIP. The plan looks at the problem and solutions, especially in unincorporated parts of the county and in Clearlake and Lakeport. The authors say the biggest challenge is finding enough residential developers and the money to pay for affordable housing. They say the situation has been made worse by the wildfires that have burned across the county over the past few years. Also on the meeting agenda, a request for more money for the ongoing Cobb Area Road Rehabilitation project. Supervisors will discuss how they can come up with an additional million dollars that may be needed to finish the work. Some people in that area have expressed concerns about the quality of work done so far on that 5.1 million dollar project. County Staff is suggesting several options about what’s next and how to pay for it. You can see the full agenda on the county website. The meeting starts at 9 AM on Tuesday at the Board Chambers in Lakeport.
What’s old is new again at the Ridgewood Ranch in Willits. An original Wells Fargo stagecoach from the 18’00 is back at the ranch after more than 100 years. The stage was once owned by Charles Howard, the owner of the legendary horse Seabiscuit. His estate sold it, and it changed hands several times–even setting screen time as a prop in several westerns in the 1960s to the 1990s. Now the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation has raised the money to buy it, and it will be on permanent display at the Ranch. The foundation says the old stage has a rich history of hauling people and valuables across the real old west–and was likely robbed by bandits like the legendary Black Bart in the late 19th century.
