Kincade Fire Continues to Spread as Dry, Gusty Winds Return
The wind-driven wildfire in Sonoma County is at 76,138 acres and 15% containment
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Firefighters in Northern California’s wine country are racing to surround a destructive wildfire that has destroyed dozens of homes as another windstorm blows into the region. Jean Elle and Jeff Ranieri report.
Firefighters in Northern California's wine country are racing to surround a destructive wildfire that has destroyed dozens of homes as another windstorm blows into the region.
The Kincade Fire in northern Sonoma County has scorched 76,138 acres and destroyed 189 structures, including 86 homes, according to Cal Fire. The blaze, which has been burning since Wednesday night, is 15% contained.
This map shows the extent of the Kincade Fire as of Thursday afternoon (10/31). It also shows current hotspots firefighters are battling relative to the burn zone and their proximity to towns.
Some 90,000 structures, including more than 80,000 homes, remain threatened by the flames, which could be fanned by increasingly gusty winds on Tuesday.
The return of dry, gusty winds prompted the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning for the North Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains as well as portions of the East Bay and Peninsula. In the North Bay, the warning will be in effect from 8 a.m. Tuesday until 4 p.m. Wednesday. Wind speeds in the North Bay hills could range from 20 to 35 mph, with gusts peaking between 40 and 65 mph.
"The forecast is on track. What that means is a challenging afternoon and evening of strong, dry offshore winds that will impact the fire area," Ryan Walbrun with the National Weather Service said Tuesday morning. "So we're in this critical really 24-hour window. We're hopeful that the winds will ease off after midnight tonight, but tomorrow the humidities remain incredibly dry for the region."
In the East Bay, Peninsula and Santa Cruz Mountains, the red flag warning will be in effect from 1 p.m. Tuesday until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"In addition to the weather issues that we're seeing, we also need to remember that we're at the time of year where we haven't seen any moisture in our fuel beds for an extended period of time," Adam Mitchell with Cal Fire said. "The fuels are critically dry. They are receptive to new fire as well as fire spread."
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Stephanie LaFranchi holds her dog Jadzia as they walk through a family home that was destroyed by the Kincade Fire on October 28, 2019 in Calistoga, California.
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Ashley LaFranchi (L) and Stephanie LaFranchi (R) walk through a family home that was destroyed by the Kincade Fire on October 28, 2019 in Calistoga, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Stephanie LaFranchi holds her dog Jadzia as they walk through a family home that was destroyed by the Kincade Fire on October 28, 2019 in Calistoga, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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"Lord Snort", a steel sculpture of a boar, one of the only structures to survive, is seen among the rubble after the Soda Rock Winery was lost in the Kincade Fire in Healdsburg, California on October 28, 2019. (Photo by PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images)
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The charred remains of vehicles sit on a property burned during the Kincade Fire, along Highway 128 at in Healdsburg, California on October 28, 2019. (Photo by PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images)
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Firefighters prepare to cut a break as they battle the Kincade Fire along Mayacama Club Drive on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Jane Tyska/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
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Firefighters stand watch by a fire line along Mayacama Club Drive as the Kincade Fire burns on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 28, 2019. (Photo by Dai Sugano/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
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A firefighter emerges from a thick cloud of smoke while battling the Kincade Fire along Chalk Hill Road in Healdsburg, California on October 27, 2019. (Photo by Philip Pacheco / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images)
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A firefighter sprays water on a burning tree as he battles the Kincade Fire on October 27, 2019 in Windsor, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Embers burn on a property during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, California, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (Photographer: Phil Pacheco/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Fire and embers blow around a burnt utility truck during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2019. Powerful winds were fanning wildfires in northern California in "potentially historic fire" conditions, authorities said, as tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate and sweeping power cuts began in the state.
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Firefighters survey Soda Rock Winery as it begins to burn during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, Calif. on Oct. 27, 2019.
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A building is engulfed in flames at a vineyard during the Kincade fire near Geyserville, Calif. on Oct. 24, 2019. A fast-moving wildfire roared through California wine country early Thursday, as authorities warned of the imminent danger of more fires across much of the Golden State. The Kincade fire in Sonoma County kicked up Wednesday night, quickly growing from a blaze of a few hundred acres into an uncontained 10,000-acre (4,000-hectare) inferno, California fire and law enforcement officials said.
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A home is engulfed in flames as the Kincade fire continues in Healdsburg, California on October 27, 2019. - Powerful winds were fanning wildfires in northern California in "potentially historic fire" conditions, authorities said October 27, as tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate and sweeping power cuts began in the US state.
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Soda Rock Winery on Highway 128 goes up in flames after the Kincade Fire raged into the Alexander Valley, Sunday morning, Oct. 27, 2019, east of Geyserville, Calif.
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A structure on Highway 128 goes up in flames after the Kincade Fire raged into the Alexander Valley, Sunday morning, Oct. 27, 2019, east of Geyserville, Calif.
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A fire fighting air tanker flies over the power transmission towers, which are engulfed in back fire set by the firefighters in an effort to control the fire in Geyserville, Calif. on Oct. 26, 2019. Hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate from Healdsburg, Windsor, Guerneville, Forestville, Occidental and several other communities as the Kincade Fire grew to over 25,000 acres.
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Firefighters pull up to a burning house during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, Calif. on Oct. 27, 2019.
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A firefighter walks through a burned property after the Kincade fire tore through Healdsburg, California on October 27, 2019.
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The doors to the Soda Rock Winery burst open as it burns in Healdsburg, Calif. on Oct. 27, 2019.
As crews battle the blaze, about 156,000 people across Sonoma County remain under mandatory evacuation orders.
To view a live map showing the evacuation zones, click here or use the interactive map below (click on the "X" in the Legend section to make the map appear). For a list of evacuation centers, click here.
Firefighters have been working to reinforce fire lines in western Sonoma County while rushing to shore up the eastern side that could be the new focus as winds switch direction.
"We're playing both offense and defense right now on two different sides of the fire," said Jonathan Cox of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Bulldozers carved firebreaks, hand crews attacked hot spots with hoses and shovels, and aircraft painted hillsides with fire retardant.
Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for some 30,000 people in the west but new warnings were issued to people in the east, with Calistoga in Napa County and Middletown in Lake County — a community badly damaged by a 2015 wildfire.
Fire danger will be very high tonight into early Wednesday AM. Chief Meteorologist Jeff Ranieri tracks the gusty mountain winds and when it moves out in your Microclimate Forecast.
More than 4,500 fire personnel on the ground and in the air continue to battle the wind-driven wildfire, according to Cal Fire.
Firefighters could catch a break Wednesday when the winds are expected to die down.
"The good news is after we get through this wind event, things do look favorable for the next five to seven days where we'll get into a more tranquil weather pattern," Walbrun said. "No rain in the forecast, but also no more offshore wind events."
