Follow-Up: Cooley Fire in Mendocino County Remapped at 1,036 Acres, Containment Rises to 15%

MENDOCINO COUNTY — Containment of the Cooley Fire, burning west of Cloverdale in Mendocino County, has risen to 15% and its size has been remapped at 1,036 acres, according to updates posted on CAL FIRE's official incident page on Sunday, October 18. The page header now shows 1,037 acres and 15% containment, with the page last updated at 3:59 p.m. on October 18 — against 731 acres and 5% containment reported on the evening of October 17, an increase of about 305 acres and 10 points of containment.

The day's updates in sequence: at 6:59 a.m., CAL FIRE said firefighters had worked overnight with night-flying helicopters supporting strategic firing operations, that additional resources would keep arriving and deploying to the fireline, and that steep, rugged terrain and limited road access were still hampering the effort. At 11:10 a.m., officials reported an overnight firing operation in the fire's northeast corner — burning out unburned vegetation ahead of the fire at night, when cooler temperatures, higher humidity and lighter winds lower flame intensity and reduce the risk of embers crossing control lines — and said the fire remained at 731 acres and 5% contained at that point. At 12:37 p.m., the fire was mapped at 1,036 acres; at 3:57 p.m., containment was reported at 15%.

The fire began at 5:05 p.m. on October 16 near Elkhorn Road and Cooley Ranch Road, is under the jurisdiction of the CAL FIRE Mendocino Unit with no incident management team assigned, and its cause remains under investigation. The Press Democrat has reported that the fire began as a private prescribed burn on the roughly 19,000-acre Cooley Ranch that escaped its boundaries, and that the burn was not a CAL FIRE project. Sunday's official updates mentioned no new evacuation orders, structure damage or injuries, and no evacuation orders or warnings have been issued for this fire at any point. On smoke, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued an air quality advisory for northern Sonoma County on October 17, when monitors there recorded air quality index readings in the 'very unhealthy' range.

The fire's first two days, by the official updates: it stood at 40 acres by 7:50 p.m. on October 16; on October 17 it was reported at 1,000 acres at 11:10 a.m., revised down to 558 acres at 12:33 p.m. after more accurate mapping, reached 5% containment at 1:14 p.m., and grew to 731 acres by 5:11 p.m. Sunday's remapping put it at 1,036 acres with containment at 15%.

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：Cooley Fire 态势图（GSM 据 CAL FIRE/NIFC 官方测绘周界绘制，10月17日，本轮重新裁切）。图中红色周界为17日中午官方测绘的火场范围（558英亩测绘值）；最新官方数据以正文为准：加州消防局（CAL FIRE）10月18日中午12时37分重测过火面积为1,036英亩（事故页页眉显示1,037英亩）、下午3时57分通报控制率升至15%。底图 © OpenStreetMap contributors。Situation map of the Cooley Fire, drawn by GSM from the official CAL FIRE/NIFC mapped perimeter as of midday Oct. 17 (558 mapped acres; re-cropped for this update). The latest official figures are in the text: CAL FIRE remapped the fire at 1,036 acres at 12:37 p.m. on Oct. 18 (the incident page header shows 1,037 acres) and reported 15% containment at 3:57 p.m. Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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