Uncontrolled NorCal wildfire surrounds highway, forcing indefinite closure

A rural highway tracing Northern California’s Trinity River closed for the second time in four days as crews battle a wildfire that’s burning within a California tribe’s reservation.

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Cal Fire said Monday that the MP18 Fire in Humboldt County is 10% contained. The wildfire about 60 miles east of Eureka has burned at least 1,335 acres since Friday. It’s located in a hilly terrain between the unincorporated communities of Weitchpec and Hoopa. 

Catrans closed more than 5 miles of state Route 96 within the Hoopa Valley Reservation on Sunday. The agency initially closed the highway on Friday before briefly reopening it to one-way traffic for about 9 hours on Sunday. 

Highway 96 closed again at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday due to increased fire activity, Caltrans spokesperson Manny Machado told SFGATE in an email.

“There is no estimation when Route 96 will reopen. The highway will reopen once it is safe for the traveling public,” Machado said. The closure stretches from Postmile 15 to 20, south of Carpenter Lane in Hoopa to north of Bull Creek.

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The fire is burning in steep terrain on both sides of the road. The National Weather Service forecast a high of 101 degrees for the area Monday afternoon. 

The Hoopa Valley Reservation is home to the Tish Tang Campground, one of the few places in the state where the public can camp on tribal land. The reservation is located just north of the small mountain town of Willow Creek, where the 2024 Hill Fire burned over 7,000 acres and injured at least five firefighters.