Cooley Fire: CAL FIRE Reports 40 Acres in Southern Mendocino County, West of Cloverdale

MENDOCINO COUNTY, California — October 17, 2026. The Cooley Fire is a confirmed wildfire at Elkhorn Road and Cooley Ranch Road west of Cloverdale, in southern Mendocino County, according to the official incident report. This location must not be confused with the separate statewide resource-staging map from Cal OES.

What firefighters have reported

The official incident record says the fire began Oct. 16 at 5:05 p.m. and had reached 40 acres by the agency update at 7:50 p.m. The cause was listed as under investigation. No confirmed containment percentage is supplied in the incident page examined for this report; none is inferred here. Read the incident timeline and current agency information ↗ before repeating these figures.

Information for neighboring communities

This fire is reported near the southern part of Mendocino County. It should not be described as a fire inside Ukiah, Willits, Gualala, Fort Bragg or every other community served by our county newspapers.

Emergency orders and warnings depend on the precise address and zone. Follow the county sheriff, incident commander and local emergency alerts. For possible road restrictions consult Caltrans QuickMap; for air quality consult AirNow. If there is an immediate threat, call 911.

How this incident relates to California’s statewide fire situation

California58 statewide reporting: 14 counties where the state prepositioned fire resources, and independently verified wildfires →. The Oct. 16 prepositioning map is a preparedness graphic, not an exhaustive map of all current fires, and Mendocino County need not be highlighted on it for a real fire to occur there.

Primary source: CAL FIRE incident page with agency status timestamps. The numbers in this report are historical snapshots; current evacuation instructions require real-time official confirmation. No advertising or affiliate offers are included.

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