The Kincade fire covers 75,415 acres and is 15% contained (credit: Bill Gabbert/Wildfire Today).
GEYSERVILLE, CA—As many parts of Northern California were without power for the better part of the last two days, many residents find themselves wondering if this is the new normal. Smoke was thick, dry ice was scarce, the rare find of electricity was to be had by sharing outlets at community coffee houses, scattered generators were humming and nerves were on edge as the winds continued with a vengeance, especially on Sunday. Wind estimates were clocked at 90 mph during the most intense period, according to weather reports.
Meanwhile, fire crews from CalFire/Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit battled the large Kincade fire in Sonoma County that continued to be stoked by those winds. Favorable weather conditions will enhance firefighting efforts today while narrow roads and steep terrain are still making access to the fire areas difficult.
However, weather predictions show northeast wind gusts picking up this evening. Firefighters will continue to mitigate structure threats and find opportunities to construct more control lines. The blaze is 15% contained.
The fire began on October 23 at 9:27 p.m., at John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road, northeast of Geyserville (latitude/longitude: 38.792458-122.780053). So far, 23 residential and commercial structures have been damaged, and 124 residential and commercial structures have been destroyed in the devastation covering 75,415 acres.
There are two confirmed fire personnel and civilian injuries. The cause is under investigation but PG&E equipment has been mentioned in some reports.
An additional evacuation warning was announced last night for the following zone of the fire: Zone 31 issued for the area of Highway 29 from Butts Canyon Road south to the county line, and all of Butts Canyon Road in Lake County between Highway 29 and the Napa county line. In addition, evacuations were ordered for Highway 175 between Highway 29, Middleton North to McKinley Drive. This includes Middletown proper, Twin Pine Casino, Middletown Rancheria, Dry Creek area, all roads off of Highway 175 between Middletown and McKinley Dive, and Butts Canyon Road including all side streets.
Evacuation centers are open at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Rd. in Santa Rosa, CA, Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building at 1351 Maple Ave. in Santa Rosa, CA, Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds at 175 Fairgrounds Rd. in Petaluma, CA, and the Petaluma Veterans Center at 1094 Petaluma Blvd. in Petaluma, CA. The large animal evacuation site is at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds.
Power began being restored late yesterday but the second wind event this week starting tonight could result in more power outages.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
