Fueled by the gusty wind conditions that continue to blow through Northern California – with some squalls measured at 80mph – the Kincade Fire has now swelled to over 30,000 acres, forcing 180,000 Sonoma County residents to evacuate.
Over 2,200 firefighters are working around the clock to tame the flames as turbulent weather conditions hold Wine Country hostage. As of this article’s publishing, only 10 percent of the blaze has been contained, the same percentage as reported yesterday, according Cal Fire's most recent figures.
Even worse, another ten homes and dozens of structures, including a pair of Sonoma County wineries, were taken by the fire, bringing the total loss of property by the Kincade Fire to at least 31 homes and 79 structures, per NBC Bay Area.
In a historic first for the county, over 180,000 Sonoma County residents were placed under mandatory evacuation. The Chronicle reported that two North Bay hospitals, Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital and Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa, were also apart of the involuntary escape, forcing hundreds of patients and staffers to seek safety. Thankfully, everyone is accounted for.
Map: Evacuation mandatory zones expanded in #Kincadefire https://t.co/M6JaAowOu4
— The Press Democrat (@NorthBayNews) October 27, 2019
The largest evacuation in at least 25 years, these forced expulsions are in effect for 10 zones in Sonoma County, including areas as far away as Bodega Bay’s coastline and including areas that on Saturday were under evacuation warnings. Below are the listed areas where officials are pleading for anyone still present in them to drive south, ASAP:
- Zone One: Geyserville
- Zone Two: Knights Valley
- Zone Three: Healdsburg and Windsor
- Zone Four: Dry Creek Valley
- Zone Five: Mark West, Larkfield, and Wikiup
- Zone Six: northeast Santa Rosa including Fountaingrove, Oakmont and Rincon Valley
- Zone Seven: Forestville, Guerneville, Duncans Mills, Jenner, Bodega Bay, and Occidental
- Zone Eight: Sebastopol and Valley Ford
- Zone Nine: Coffey Park and Santa Rosa north of Guerneville Road and Steele Lane
- Zone Ten: west of Stony Point Road between Guerneville Road and Ludwig Avenue
Because of how swiftly these removals were enforced, roads leaving these above-mentioned zones were backed up for hours yesterday. The congested traffic, too, was only made worse by Highway 101’s closure for a portion of the Saturday night. (Thankfully, though, it was reopened earlier this morning.)
Plenty of Warnings, Watches and Advisories are in effect across the #West and are expected to persist into #Sunday. Fire Weather threats in #California and nearby states, while Winter weather conditions are in effect from Montana to Colorado; Over 33 million people in total. pic.twitter.com/xiVxD2YXbE
— National Weather Service (@NWS) October 26, 2019
For those seeking a safe place to stay and ride-out the fire, here’s an active list of evacuation and refugee shelters and centers, put together by KRON 4:
Marin County Fairgrounds – Opens for evacuees and small animals at 8a.m. on Sunday; 10 Ave. of the Flags, San Rafael
Napa Valley College – Accepting evacuees2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Napa, CA 94558
CrossWalk Community Church Napa – Accepting evacuees2590 1st St Napa, CA 94558
Alameda County Fairgrounds – Accepting large animals; 4501 Pleasanton Ave, Pleasanton, CA 94566
Sonoma County Fairgrounds – At capacity, please go to one of the other shelters; 1350 Bennett Valley Rd, Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building – At people capacity, please go to one of the other shelters; 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Petaluma Veterans Building – No empty beds, but can be a meeting point for evacuees; 1094 Petaluma Blvd S, Petaluma, CA 94952
Petaluma Community Center – At capacity; 320 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
Petaluma Fairgrounds – At capacity, only accepting large animals; 100 Fairgrounds Dr, Petaluma
*Most of these locations are also taking small- to medium-sized pets; most fairgrounds are currently accepting large animals and livestock, as well.
The National Weather Service still shows steady and strong winds in the forecast for the rest of this weekend and into Monday afternoon. However, the more severe hurricane-force Diablo Winds appear to be dying down.
Some 31,000 structures are threatened by the Kincade Fire, with that number expected to grow in lieu of further containment.
Update: The Chronicle reports as of Sunday afternoon that the town of Windsor "has been saved for now."
Related: [Update] Kincade Fire Expands To Over 25,000 Acres, Healdsburg Evacuated
Image: Instagram via @the_corbett
