###

PREVIOUSLY

• Going Down! Eureka Vegetation Fire

###

A fire that ripped up the hillside of Broadway in Eureka last night was controlled by firefighters in roughly 10 minutes, after reaching just around a quarter-acre. No structures burned, but one direction of traffic was halted for about a half hour.

The cause of the fire, found burning around 8 p.m. across the highway from Applebee’s, is unknown.

Some witnesses initially reported that it was caused by fireworks tossed from a car. But Nathan Baxley, battalion chief for Humboldt Bay Fire, did not find any incendiary devices or fireworks at the scene to support that claim.

He also doubts it was caused by a transient-style fire. When asked to speculate, he assumes that something was thrown from a vehicle last night.

It started beside the highway and spread up the hill.

He said it looked worse than it was, calling it a “pretty standard vegetation fire on the highway.”

The vegetation was dry after weeks without significant rain and hours of baking in the sun. Winds reached gusts of around 25 miles per hour, and highly flammable pampas grass lit up spectacularly, captured in videos posted on social media last night.

But dirt work further up the ridge meant once the fire reached the ridgetop, it largely burned itself out, said Baxley.

He estimated there was roughly 200 feet between the fire and any structures. Firefighters left the scene a bit before 9 p.m. Northbound traffic on U.S. 101 was closed for roughly 30 to 40 minutes.

He said with a fire like this, the investigation will likely stop at determining the cause and origin of the fire, when asked if a criminal investigation would occur. There was no personal property or structure damage found in the on scene investigation.

Baxley urged residents to be mindful of fire this time of year, noting residential burn permits are currently suspended.

“Although it’s starting to get colder, and we are in the fall season, this is our prime fire season,” said Baxley.