(SEE UPDATE BELOW)

Caltrans reports that Highway 299 will be closed just east of the Humboldt/Trinity county line at Del Loma (between Burnt Ranch and Big Bar) at some point today. The closure comes at the request of the US Forest Service who continue to battle the enormous nearby River Complex wildfire — Monday morning’s update has the fire at 53,967 acres with only 24 percent containment.

At this point it is unclear when exactly the road will be closed and for how long, but you can always check the Caltrans QuickMap in times of need.

# # # 

UPDATE, 1:20 p.m.: The Outpost was contacted by a PIO from Caltrans District 1 who told us that whoever is running the Caltrans District 2 Facebook page and Twitter account is wrong — Highway 299 will not be closing today. We attempted to call the District 2 office but no one answered the phone. 

Here is what District 1 has to say to District 2: 

TRAFFIC ADVISORY: ROUTE 299 IS NOT FACING AN IMMINENT CLOSURE.Caltrans personnel on-site - in concurrence with Forest…

Posted by Caltrans District 1 on Monday, August 24, 2015