How to resolve AdBlock issue? NORTH COAST, Calif. – Firefighters gained ground on the Kincade fire on Saturday but concerns about the impacts of an incoming weather system led to many more Sonoma County residents finding themselves under evacuation orders or urged to prepare to leave.
During the course of the day Saturday, the Kincade fire, burning since Wednesday night, grew only 500 acres; the evening Cal Fire report on the fire said it was up to 25,955 acres, with containment up slightly to 11 percent.
Cal Fire said that so far 77 structures have been confirmed destroyed in the fire, while 14 are damaged. Another 23,500 are threatened by the blaze.
A massive firefighting force including approximately 2,830 firefighters and 251 engines are assigned to the incident. On Saturday, Cal Fire extended its estimate for the time of full containment to Nov. 7.
The acreage itself didn't grow significantly Saturday thanks to aggressive efforts by firefighters on the ground and air resources, including federal tankers that criss-crossed the state throughout the day to make retardant drops in the fire's remote and rugged footprint.
Even so, as firefighters made progress, the number of evacuations ballooned on Saturday as officials looked at an incoming weather system that they fear could cause the fire to spread into many Sonoma County communities.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning that went into effect at 8 p.m. Saturday due to forecast winds from the northeast of between 25 and 40 miles per hour, with gusts between 70 and 80 miles per hour.
Concerns about those winds and their impact on the fire behavior, coupled with the impending public safety power shutoff from Pacific Gas and Electric, led to calls for widespread evacuations, officials said.
Healdsburg and Windsor residents were ordered to evacuate on Saturday morning, with Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick asking them to be out of the area by 4 p.m., ahead of the shutoff and nightfall.
Then, on Saturday evening, tens of thousands more Sonoma County residents were ordered to leave their homes when authorities issued mandatory evacuations for all areas west of Sebastopol, north of Bodega Highway, and south of Stewarts Point-Skaggs Springs Road, including Bodega Bay, Dry Creek Valley, Fulton, Forestville, Guerneville, Jenner, the Mark West/Larkfield area and Occidental.
Later in the night, Cal Fire reported that an evacuation warning was issued for the city of Santa Rosa, including all areas East of the western city limit, north of Guerneville Road, Steele Lane, Lewis Road and Chanate Road, to Montecito Avenue to Montecito Boulevard to Calistoga Road, north to the city limit.
A number of Lake County law enforcement agencies responded on Saturday to offer mutual aid in Sonoma County where increased law enforcement patrols are in effect in the large evacuation area, according to Essick.
In Lake County, Sheriff Brian Martin said Saturday that evacuation warnings remained in effect for Cobb Mountain and a number of surrounding communities.
Martin said the fire had moved into Lake County on Friday but was still a couple of miles away from south county communities.
Out of an abundance of caution Martin issued the warning, asking people to be prepared in the case that a mandatory evacuation becomes necessary.
The forecast winds are expected to push the fire away from Lake County and back toward the Sonoma County communities where evacuations have been expanded.
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