Remote Surveillance Trailer in Ukiah, CA

UKIAH, CA., 3/11/25 – The multi-year construction slog known as the Urban Core Transportation Project continues in Ukiah the city said this week.

Progress is being made along Main Street, said Traci Boyl, senior analyst for the city of Ukiah. Boyd anticipates the final phase of the water line project to be completed in a week or two. After that, crews will move on to install ADA ramps and sidewalks.

Work also continues along the notoriously congested and bumpy Gobbi Street.

According to Boyl, after the Main Street water line connections are complete, workers will return to East Gobbi Street to install a new water main between Orchard and Main Streets. This will take up to six weeks.

Commuters by car, foot and bus are likely familiar with the repeated closures of East Gobbi Street over the past year as crews worked to replace sewer lines.

The new water main work along East Gobbi was not in the original plan.

“Due to multiple significant failures in the system during construction, it became clear that replacing the water main was necessary,” Boyl said, “Therefore, city staff worked diligently to secure funding and adjust the project schedule to incorporate this work now, rather than delaying it and potentially needing to tear up newly-paved streets in the near future.”

Once again, East Gobbi Street between Orchard Avenue and Main Street will be closed, impacting traffic, residents and businesses. The city promises to provide access to residents, workers, emergency responders and delivery vehicles as needed.

No specific date was provided for the East Gobbi closure. However, based on the timeline provided by Boyl, closures could begin by mid-March at the earliest, so plan accordingly.

Drivers along West Gobbi Street are likely traumatized by the potholes that plague the busy road. According to Boyl, drivers, bikers and cyclists can rejoice when the road undergoes grading and paving.

It will take time – Rome wasn’t built in a day. The project will take place over intervals through summer.

The first part of the paving project will take place Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4 from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Gobbi Street will be closed between State and Dora Streets to all traffic, driveways and on-street parking during those dates and times. The road will reopen in the evening. Residents of West Gobbi Street will be required to move their vehicles by 7 a.m. each day.

Residents and businesses will be notified in advance of any service interruptions. The city says to please use caution in the area and consider alternate routes when possible.

For information on MTA buses, call 707-462-1422 or visit Mendocino Transit. For construction details, visit City of Ukiah Construction.

UKIAH, CA., 3/05/25 — Last week, a blazing fire broke out at a multi-building apartment complex in Ukiah, forcing many residents to evacuate and say goodbye to the place that they call home.

Two apartment buildings on Lovers Lane were ruined and a third was endangered by the fire that sparked Friday. The fire destroyed the second story of the first building and burned three apartments and an attic in the second building, according to Ukiah Valley Fire Authority Battalion Chief Eric Singleton.

Given the intensity of the fire, Singleton said he was surprised that no one was injured.

“With the size of the fire, it’s unheard of that there were no injuries or no loss of life with something that moves that fast,” Singleton said in an interview. “Every single person was notified, and everyone was able to get out. All the animals were able to get out.”

An American Red Cross representative was at the scene of the fire to speak with the evacuated residents and determine the quickest way to provide support.

But the trauma for the fire victims is far from over as they continue to grapple with the loss of their homes and possessions. The fire displaced 37 residents and destroyed nine apartment units.

The apartment complex is on Ukiah’s north side and is home to many working-class families and immigrant communities. Many of the residents speak Spanish, making it more difficult for them to access disaster relief resources, which are often only available in English.

“I have three daughters, and they’ve been very traumatized by it,” Benjamin Perez Mata, one of the fire victims, said in Spanish.

Perez Mata has only been living at the Lovers Lane apartment complex for one month, but then suddenly lost all his belongings in Friday’s fire.

“All of my things burned up, I have nothing left over. Even all of my clothes,” he explained.

Perez Mata has a wife and three children, who were luckily not at the apartment when the fire began.

“I was worried about them, but luckily, they were at church with my wife,” he said.

Fortunately, the apartment complex’s landlord relocated Perez Mata to a vacant apartment in one of the undamaged buildings. He has also received several donations of furniture, clothes and food from community members. For now, he and his family have a safe place to stay, but not all of their neighbors are so lucky.

Alejandro Naranjo, whose apartment was not severely damaged in the fire but whose utilities have been shut off, has had to relocate with his family to his sister’s house.

Naranjo told The Mendocino Voice that his family has received little assistance in finding affordable, temporary housing. Several other residents also reported staying with nearby family or friends, with not much communication from the apartment complex’s landlord or the Red Cross on available housing support for displaced fire victims.

Although a Red Cross representative was at the scene of the fire, Naranjo said not everyone has been eligible for hotel vouchers or other financial assistance. He noted that the Red Cross told his family they could not receive assistance because their apartment was not burned. However, Naranjo noted that electricity and gas have not been restored, preventing his family from returning home.

“They [Red Cross] made it seem like they were going to help everybody. We stayed here until 2 a.m., and they said they are only required to help people whose places are burnt up or gone,” he explained. “They are only helping people who lost all their stuff.”

After a fire, the Red Cross assesses impacted housing to determine if assistance is needed. The organization then evaluates the severity of the damage and whether the housing is deemed “uninhabitable.” Uninhabitable generally means the apartment is severely damaged, but it also takes into account whether essential utilities such as water, electricity and gas are available.

Since Friday, electricity and gas have not been restored to several units of the apartment complex, according to PG&E and fire victims. But the Red Cross has communicated that they will not be able to give any assistance to the Naranjo family.

“We just spoke to them again on Monday, and they said they still can’t give us any financial help,” Naranjo added.

The Mendocino Voice contacted the American Red Cross Gold Country Region but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Luckily, a few other non-profit organizations in Ukiah are available to help fire victims, regardless of the severity of their situation.

Danilla Sands, the director of the United Disaster Relief of Northern California (UDRNC), a non-profit disaster relief organization based in Ukiah, said the organization can help anyone affected by a disaster, regardless of the severity of their situation.

“This center is for the community, it’s non-profit. We aren’t government funded and not government regulated,” Sands explained in an interview.

Sands is also a contributor to the wildfire mapping app Watch Duty, which track wildfires and firefighting efforts.

“We don’t look at insurance and we don’t look at monthly income. We just reinforce that we are people helping people and we are not into all the other stuff,” she said.

UDRNC, founded in 2017 after the Mendocino and Sonoma County wildfires, is volunteer-run and helps disaster victims with everything from housing resources to applying for CalFresh financial assistance and being referred to local social services.

Sands said that UDRNC registered 10 families from the apartment complex fire since Friday and has been able to assist Spanish-speaking residents with a volunteer translator at its Ukiah office.

“We’ve been nonstop registering people. 95% of them have been Spanish-speaking,” she said. “We don’t look at immigration status. We are looking at the human being that was impacted by x, y, and z.”

Sands noted that the organization looks at disaster victims on a case-by-case basis, aiming to understand their needs and how best to support them.

“We often refer them to the NCO Family Resource Center, which can help families and children, or the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which helps with social services,” Sands added.

PG&E responded to The Mendocino Voice’s request for comment, stating, “Currently the apartment complex is without power due to the recent structure fire. We have been in touch with the apartment complex’s electrician and are prepared to re-energize the complex once the inspection is complete and we have received the go-ahead from the county and the fire marshal. We are standing by to re-energize once it safe for us to do so.”

Disaster response organizations serving the Ukiah area

Emergency resource guides from The Mendocino Voice

Tagged: American Red CrossDanilla SandsimmigrationLatino newsStructure firesUkiahUkiah Valley Fire AuthorityUnited Disaster Relief of Northern California

A fast-moving fire tore through a Ukiah apartment complex Friday night, destroying nine units and displacing 37 residents, but miraculously resulting in no injuries or loss of life.

The Ukiah Valley Fire Authority received multiple calls reporting the blaze at 8:29 p.m. at the apartment complex at 151 Lovers Lane, Battalion Chief Eric Singleton said. When the first crews arrived, they encountered heavy flames engulfing two buildings and threatening a third. Trees in the courtyard were also burning, adding to the intensity of the fire.

Firefighters immediately called for mutual aid response, bringing in reinforcements from Redwood Valley, Hopland, Potter Valley, Willits, and Cal Fire. Crews launched an aggressive attack, working quickly to knock down the flames.

“The fire started on the first floor, outside on a patio, and then moved up the structure, into the second floor and attic,” Singleton said. “Once it got into the attic, it ran the common attic space, spreading rapidly across the building.”

Eight upstairs apartments were completely gutted, along with one downstairs unit. A third building sustained heat damage, with broken windows and bubbled paint, but firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading inside.

Despite the scale of destruction, Singleton emphasized the positive outcome. “For as fast as this fire moved, not having any major injuries or loss of life is a huge win. Life is the one thing you can’t replace.”

As crews battled the flames, Pacific Gas & Electric shut down power to the affected buildings. The fire also damaged the complex’s main gas meter and water main, leading to further disruptions. Millview Water District had to cut off water service to the entire complex due to a broken line.

The Red Cross responded swiftly to provide aid to displaced residents. “They mobilized immediately,” Singleton said, working hard to find the dozens of displaced residents resources in the aftermath of the fire.

Firefighters remained on-site long after the flames were extinguished, escorting residents into damaged apartments to retrieve essential belongings, including medications.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though officials believe it was accidental in nature and originated outside on a patio.

The apartment complex, which Singleton described as low-income housing, was home to many vulnerable residents. “People were really concerned about what was going to happen to them,” he said. “It’s already hard when you’re struggling, and then something like this happens.”

While the fire was devastating, Singleton reiterated that it could have been far worse. “At the end of the day, everyone got out safely. That’s what matters most.”

Previous Coverage