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.
Support Ukiah News
Choose how to support Ukiah News:
Credit / Debit Card via StripeChoose an amount from $1. One-time support through the publisher's LINKERNO Stripe account.
Continue with PayPalZelle323-677-7643Open Zelle through your bank. Verify the recipient before sending.
Optional reader support. When possible, add “Ukiah News” to the payment note. Contributions are not advertised as tax-deductible. Support does not influence editorial decisions.
COMMUNITY
Comments
Join the California58 conversation. You must be signed in to comment.
Create a free California58 account or sign in with an available social provider.