With assistance from many other agencies, the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority quickly put out five fires along Highway 101 Saturday morning.
UVFA Capt. John Strangio said he was first on scene and saw that several fires were burning along Highway 101 near Cox-Schrader Road.
“I saw that the first one was completely surrounded by roads, so I continued on to the next ones,” Strangio said, adding that he and firefighter Rickey Dean then “literally ran from fire to fire to put out the other four.”
Firefighters were assisted first by a Calstar helicopter that was already in the air and was able to describe the fires to dispatchers, he said, then two engines from Cal Fire, and Hopland Fire Department Chief Mitch Franklin responded and took command of the incident.
Franklin said the cause of the fires is under investigation, but they are believed to have been accidentally started, likely either from chains or a tire on the highway.
