With winds whipping it up and pushing it further south, the Kincade Fire in northern Sonoma County grew to 66,000 acres and began spreading into areas around Santa Rosa that burned in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
The fire, which began on Wednesday, has now burned 96 structures including around 40 homes, and it is threatening 80,000 more with no signs of slowing. As ABC 7 reports, the fire's containment percentage went down over night from 10 percent to 5 percent, with one Cal Fire official saying, "The last time I saw a fire like this was the Oakland Hills Fire."
As you can see on the Chronicle's fire tracker, there are now multiple fronts and hot spots to the fire, with parts of Healdsburg and Windsor still threatened, and the area of Mark West Springs Road, Shiloh Road, and Porter Creek Road now in the path of the southern front of the fire. This area previously burned two years ago in the Tubbs Fire, which was sparked to the east, closer to Calistoga.
10/28 at 9AM Conditions on Shiloh Ridge Road, Windsor. pic.twitter.com/RMjhKx5Q2W
— Sonoma Sheriff (@sonomasheriff) October 28, 2019
Wind gusts reached 100 miles per hour on Sunday night, as the Chronicle reports, and a Red Flag Warning was in effect through 11 a.m. Monday. Firefighters are bracing for winds to pick up again on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cal Fire is now estimating that the Kincade Fire won't be fully contained until November 7.
Firefighters are attempting to save homes in Windsor by creating defensible space and ushering flames through neighborhoods while spraying houses to keep them from burning, per the Chronicle. The towns of Windsor and Healdsburg have, so far, been largely saved from burning.
#KincadeFire on Chalk Hill at Hwy 128. @NorthBayNews #sonomacounty pic.twitter.com/BibYQKViM1
— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) October 27, 2019
The images coming out of the #KincadeFire are devastating. Residents of Sonoma County, it is imperative to heed all warnings and orders from local officials, and evacuate immediately. pic.twitter.com/4JCN9N8mrE
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 27, 2019
This is how they’re making sure they don’t lose any homes here in Windsor. The streets are bumper to bumper engines watching every inch of the homes. Yup that’s @PasadenaFD far from home on the #kincadefire pic.twitter.com/dL2o1IklIJ
— Alex Stone (@astoneabcnews) October 27, 2019
One firefighter was hospitalized with severe burns, as KPIX reports, having been airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center.
In addition to evacuee shelters in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Marin County, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced that the city was welcoming Sonoma County residents who have had to flee. St. Mary's Cathedral on Gough Street has been opened as an emergency shelter.
Smoke from the fire was finally reaching San Francisco Monday morning, with the air quality index beginning to tick up. Air quality in the city is currently at "moderate" levels, hovering around 80, while other parts of the Bay Area are having worse air quality.
As KPIX reports, a new round of PG&E power shutoffs is expected on Tuesday with winds forecast to pick up again. These shutoffs will likely overlap with shutoffs that already occurred for parts of the Bay Area on Saturday.
