How to resolve AdBlock issue? NORTH COAST, Calif. – Pushed by high winds and dry conditions, the Kincade fire ballooned in size on Sunday, leading to more evacuations and a closure of a portion of Highway 101.
Cal Fire reported during a Sunday evening briefing that the fire has grown to 54,298 acres with containment cut in half, dropping to 5 percent. On Sunday morning, the fire had been at 30,000 acres.
So far, 94 structures have been confirmed destroyed and another 17 damaged, Cal Fire said.
The fire’s aggressively growing footprint is threatening 80,000 homes, officials said Sunday evening.
Sonoma County officials said that prompted the evacuations that are impacting an estimated 186,000 people, or about 36 percent of Sonoma County’s reported population. For context, that is nearly three times Lake County’s total population.
In Lake County, Sheriff Brian Martin said Sunday that evacuation warnings for the Cobb Mountain area and surrounding communities are remaining in effect.
More than 3,400 firefighters are on the lines, working along with air resources that have been key to the ongoing battle to contain the Kincade fire, which began Wednesday night in The Geysers geothermal steamfield.
Cal Fire said two firefighters were injured on Sunday. One was a minor injury, the second was more significant and required the firefighter to be airlifted to a trauma center.
Radio reports early Sunday morning recorded fire intensity picking up after 1 a.m., particularly in the interior of the fire.
An air attack unit had reported winds of 90 knots – or about 103 miles per hour – as they were flying from the Tehama unit to the fire area, and there were concerns about what those winds would do when they reached the fire area.
At about 2:40 a.m., radio reports indicated the fire was starting to head toward Healdsburg.
By 3 a.m., winds were reported to be swirling around the fire area, running ridgelines, making dozer lines too difficult to hold and cutting off roads firefighters were using to access the various sections of the fire, based on incident radio traffic.
At the same time, firefighters had reported additional spotting west of Highway 128, with an additional request for 40 additional engines of any type submitted.
The conditions led to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office issuing Nixle alerts between 2:50 and 4 a.m. reporting that the fire was heading toward Geyserville and Windsor and ordering anyone still in those evacuation areas to leave immediately. That was followed by warnings that the fire also was headed toward Healdsburg and Shiloh Ridge.
The National Weather Service reported that wind gusts on the order of 75 miles per hour were reported in the fire area. No rain is in the forecast until the end of the month, a concern due to the increasingly dry conditions.
The Kincade fire’s spread has been erratic, with long-range spotting, Cal Fire said.
A forecast Monday wind shift is expected to greatly aid the firefighting effort, decreasing the flame length and rate of spread, according to a Sunday evening briefing.
However, the fire could strengthen in its northeastern portion; additionally, officials are concerned about another high wind event forecast for Tuesday.
Fire nears Windsor; evacuations remain in place
Fire Chief Mike Blankenheim, the Kincade fire incident commander, said in a Sunday evening operational update that the predictions both for weather and fire behavior proved to be extremely accurate.
The winds began around 1 a.m. Sunday and brought the fire down from the hills and across Highway 128 at around 3 a.m., Blankenheim said.
At 11 a.m. Sunday, the fire was threatening Highway 101 between Windsor and Healdsburg. Blankenheim said Sunday evening that the fire has not crossed Highway 101.
He said the wind is lined up in a more northerly direction and has pushed straight south on the east side of Highway 101.
As of Sunday evening, the fire’s edge is reported to be somewhere just south of Windsor near Shiloh, where resources are actively engaged in perimeter control and structure defense, Blankenheim said.
Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said all evacuations remain in place, a measure being taken to protect lives.
On Sunday, Essick said he saw the fire from the air. “This is still a very active fire.”
Essick credited firefighters for doing an amazing job of stopping the fire before it entered Windsor. He said Sunday evening that the fire appears to be at the town’s edge.
He said he also visited people in evacuation shelters on Sunday. “When we make a decision to move 180,000, it’s a decision we make for public safety,” he said.
However, he acknowledged the impact on people at the shelters. “It really puts a fine point on the impact here.”
Essick said the goal is to get people back to their homes as quickly as possible. “We are doing the right thing by keeping your out of these areas.”
He asked people to cooperate and stay out of the dangerous evacuation areas, adding that their lives are his priority.
Essick said there are more than 200 law enforcement officers patrolling the evacuation areas. Lake County agencies reported that their personnel are assisting with that effort.
As of Sunday evening, there have been no documented cases of looting or associated arrests, but Essick said they did make an arrest that morning of an individual who had entered the evacuation zone and couldn’t provide information on a residence.
Just after 5 a.m. Sunday, authorities closed Highway 101 northbound at Hopper Avenue in northern Santa Rosa and southbound Highway 101 at Cloverdale Boulevard South in Cloverdale.
Assistant Chief Tim Noyes of the California Highway Patrol said they understand the magnitude of the event and its impact on the public.
He said Sunday evening that the south end of Highway 101 had been flowing well for most of the day, and that the CHP planned to open the highway’s southbound lane completely. However, the northbound lane was to remain closed for the time being, with no estimated time of opening yet.
Sunday’s intense day of fire activity coincided with the first full day of Pacific Gas and Electric’s third public safety power shutoff of October.
The company said it is monitoring another wind event this week that has concerned fire officials and which may result in yet another power shutoff in the region.
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