As of Wednesday morning, the Hill Fire burning near Willow Creek is 10 percent contained and its size has been revised to 6,623 acres, according to an update from Incident Command.
Crews will continue to monitor containment lines along the western and northern edges of the fire. Air resources will focus directly on a spot fire on Sugarloaf Mountain.
“Spotting was observed on Sugarloaf Mountain, prompting firefighters to strategically reposition resources to work on containment,” according to Incident Command. “Crews are working the spot fire from the north and south, with the support of aircraft, and actively engaging the fire directly to achieve containment.”
The Incident Command team will host a community meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Willow Creek Bible Church — 39 Brannon Mountain Road in Willow Creek. The meeting will be streamed live on the 2024 Hill Fire Facebook Page.
The following additional information comes from Incident Command:
CURRENT SITUATION:
Yesterday, as local temperatures increased, firefighters worked tirelessly on the Hill Fire. On the southern perimeter,
constructed lines held, and additional depth was achieved by focusing on areas of unburned fuel.
Along the western and northern edges, crews diligently monitored previously contained areas and conducted mop-up
operations to address hotspots. Crews connected handlines surrounding pockets of heat north of the fire, with ongoing
efforts to extinguish these areas in the coming days fully.
Spotting was observed on Sugarloaf Mountain, prompting firefighters to strategically reposition resources to work on
containment. Crews are working the spot fire from the north and south, with the support of aircraft, and actively
engaging the fire directly to achieve containment.
Today, crews and air resources continue to focus directly on the spot fire located on Sugarloaf Mountain. Meanwhile,
on the west side, crews are engaged in mop-up operations and patrolling the area to ensure containment.
There will be a community meeting tonight at the Willow Creek Bible Church at 7:00 PM.
WEATHER:
A passing upper-level shortwave will help ease heat today and slightly increase relative humidity. Expect smoke to lift
more than previous days with inconsistent smoke transport out of the area. Winds will battle from southeast in the
morning to west in the afternoon, with infrequent and inconsistent gust up to 20 mph. Winds will be heavily terrain
influenced. A slight chance of thunderstorms will continue through the early afternoon with any storms most likely to be
dry, isolated, and fast moving.
EVACUATIONS:
Evacuation order and warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, visit
https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtSheriff and https://humboldtgov.org/2383/Current-Emergencies.
Forest Closure Order currently in effect for the area impacted by the Hill Fire. It is temporarily prohibited to be on
any national forest system land, trail, or road within the closure area.
Road closures are currently in place on Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest Service Route 6N06, Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest
Route 5N01 and Friday Fridge Rd. at Forest Route 5N04. For updated road closure information,
visit protect.genasys.com or humboldtsheriff.org/emergency.
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