The Feliz Fire near Hopland in Mendocino County forced Highway 101 controls and local evacuations after it ignited Saturday afternoon on Feliz Creek Road.
As of early Sunday morning, CAL FIRE listed about 841 acres with roughly 10 percent containment, while Highway 101 was open again with traffic control after a temporary closure tied to the blaze.
- What: Feliz Fire near Hopland on Feliz Creek Road in Mendocino County.
- Size status: About 841 acres with about 10 percent containment early Aug 2.
- Highway 101: Open with traffic control after a temporary closure Saturday.
- Who is affected: Redwood Coast drivers, wine-country visitors, and Hopland residents.
- Decision rule: Recheck CAL FIRE and MendoReady before any 101 through-run.
Three traveler checks before you drive through Hopland on Highway 101:
- Open the current CAL FIRE Feliz Fire incident page for acreage, containment, and the latest highway note.
- Check Mendocino County evacuation zone codes on MendoReady if you hold lodging, tasting-room reservations, or ranch access near Hopland or south Ukiah approaches.
- Build at least 45 extra minutes for Highway 101 control delays and have a daylight backup route if smoke or single-lane holding stacks.
Do not treat a reopened freeway as proof that the fire is over for side roads, vineyards, or booked stays inside named zones.
What CAL FIRE has confirmed so far
CAL FIRE’s Mendocino Unit lists the Feliz Fire as starting at 3:39 p.m. on August 1, 2026, near Feliz Creek Road in Hopland, with the cause still under investigation.
Saturday evening remote sensing put the fire at about 841 acres with early containment around 5 percent, and the Sunday morning dashboard later showed about 10 percent containment while crews worked control lines overnight.
CAL FIRE reported that forward progress had been stopped late Saturday night. Overnight updates said five night-flying helicopters would work the fire. Highway 101 was open with traffic control, with a caution notice for drivers moving through the area. That combination is the practical Sunday picture: growth slowed, aircraft still working, and freeway travel possible only with delay risk.
Earlier Saturday, a highway closure was ordered on Highway 101 from Henry Station Road to River Road, which is also California Highway 175. That is the short Hopland corridor where 101 and SR 175 meet for wine-country and Redwood Coast through traffic.
Independent reporting from Bay City News, carried by SFGATE, described the fire jumping toward about 200 acres Saturday afternoon with evacuation orders and warnings as the blaze threatened the Highway 101 corridor southeast of Ukiah.
That independent account matches the official timeline of rapid growth in the first two hours, when acreage moved from tens of acres into the hundreds before aircraft mapping later locked the 841-acre figure.
How the highway and evacuation map changed hour by hour
For drivers, the important sequence is not the acre count alone. It is whether 101 is closed, single-lane, or free-flowing, and whether your exit lands inside an order or warning zone.
Saturday afternoon and evening updates moved from evacuation warnings to upgraded orders in some zones, added animal and human shelters in the Ukiah area, and briefly closed a segment of 101 for firefighter and public safety.
By late evening, vehicles could periodically pass through a single lane for both directions on 101. CAL FIRE still asked motorists to avoid the area when possible. Early Sunday messaging shifted to open-with-traffic-control language. Evacuation orders and warnings remained posted for named Mendocino codes even after that freeway change.
If you left home Saturday morning with a clean 101 pin, rebuild the day Sunday with a live map rather than a cached Google ETA. Smoke, emergency vehicle ingress, and temporary signals can turn a fifteen-minute Hopland hop into a longer hold even after the full closure ends.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Are driving 101 through Hopland today | Expect traffic control, leave extra time, and recheck CAL FIRE before you depart. |
| Hold lodging inside an evacuation order zone | Do not re-enter until the order lifts; call the property and follow sheriff directions. |
| Have a tasting-room or ranch booking nearby | Confirm open status by phone and ask which roads remain staff-only or fire-controlled. |
| Are hauling pets or livestock north or south | Use posted Ukiah-area animal shelters only if needed and avoid lingering on 101 shoulders. |
| Can shift the trip by one day | Delay nonessential wine-country or Redwood day trips until containment and traffic notes improve. |
What the evacuation codes mean for visitors
CAL FIRE’s incident page listed active evacuation orders for zones including MEN-2UKV29 and MEN-2HOP04, plus broader evacuation warnings across several MEN-2UKV and MEN-2HOP codes.
An order is a lawful leave-now instruction and closes public access. A warning means leave early if you need extra time, pets, or livestock, and stay ready to go if conditions worsen.
Tourists sometimes confuse a warning with a soft advisory and keep a dinner reservation. In Mendocino County wildfire practice, a warning is already a planning red flag for anyone without a local support network or a clear exit that does not depend on a single two-lane connector.
Shelters listed on the incident page included a small-animal site on Plant Road in Ukiah, large animals at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds on North State Street in Ukiah, and a human shelter on Coyote Valley Boulevard in Redwood Valley. Those addresses matter only if you are already displaced; they are not tourist amenities.
For the latest zone polygons, use Mendocino County’s MendoReady emergency channels rather than social screenshots. Zone codes change faster than restaurant hours, and a tasting-room Instagram story is not an evacuation authority.
Why Hopland sits on a high-value travel pinch point
Hopland is a small Mendocino community on US 101 between Santa Rosa and Ukiah, sitting on the main coastal inland spine for Redwood Country, Anderson Valley wine routes via Highway 128 connections, and northbound trips toward Eureka.
When 101 is constrained there, the alternatives are not free. Inland detours add time on secondary roads that may also host emergency traffic, while coastal State Route 1 is longer and slower for anyone simply trying to keep a Ukiah hotel or a Redwood National and State Parks arrival window.
Deep Arrival’s Mendocino destination guide and Redwood National and State Parks planning page remain useful for base itineraries, but they do not replace a same-day fire map when 101 is under active incident control near Hopland.
Wine-country travelers who usually stage from Sonoma County should treat Saturday’s growth rate as a reminder that dry August fuels can close the main freeway long enough to break a tight transfer to a coastal cabin. If your plan was 101 north with a single gas stop in Hopland, rebuild fuel, food, and arrival buffers before you leave.
Local road SR 175, which meets 101 at Hopland, was part of the named closure box Saturday. Even after 101 reopens, fire apparatus can still dominate short connectors that look open on a phone map.
What to do if you are already mid-route
If you are already south of Santa Rosa or north of Ukiah and bound through the fire area, pull once for a full CAL FIRE refresh rather than glancing at a widget at 70 mph.
Confirm whether 101 is free-flow, traffic-controlled, or closed, then decide whether to hold at a larger service town with fuel and lodging rather than idling in a single-lane queue without services.
If your hotel texts that access roads are restricted, do not attempt a creative dirt-road bypass. Firelines, hose lays, and law-enforcement checkpoints are not optional scenery, and trespass into closed zones creates a second emergency.
Keep headlights on in smoke, avoid stopping on narrow shoulders for photos, and treat aircraft noise as a reason to stay clear of temporary landing or water-source areas rather than a signal to pull over and watch.
For air quality on outdoor plans in Ukiah, Hopland, or nearby parks, check local air-district guidance if smoke columns persist, especially for children, older adults, and anyone with asthma who planned a long outdoor tasting day.
- Through drivers: Recheck 101 status at breakfast and again at the last major service stop.
- Overnight guests: Match your address to order versus warning zones before you rebook or reenter.
- Wine-country day trips: Call venues on Hopland-area roads; do not assume open gates mean open access.
- Redwood itineraries: Protect arrival buffers for parks north of Ukiah if 101 holds return.
- Pets and livestock: Preload Ukiah shelter addresses only if you are already under an order.
If containment rises and orders lift, keep the same habit for the next 24 hours: official pages first, then the drive.
Is Highway 101 closed through Hopland right now?
As of early August 2 updates, CAL FIRE said Highway 101 was open with traffic control after a temporary closure Saturday. Recheck before you leave because status can change with fire activity.
How large is the Feliz Fire?
CAL FIRE listed about 841 acres with early containment figures moving from about 5 percent Saturday night toward about 10 percent in Sunday reporting.
Are evacuations still active near Hopland?
Yes. Named Mendocino zone orders and warnings remained posted on the incident page even after forward progress was reported stopped.
Should I cancel a Redwood Coast trip over this fire?
Not automatically, but you should rebuild the 101 timing, confirm lodging access roads, and delay nonessential Hopland stops while orders and traffic controls remain.
Where do I get zone maps that match the codes?
Use Mendocino County MendoReady emergency channels for zone polygons, and use the CAL FIRE Feliz Fire page for incident acreage, resources, and highway notes.
