NORTH COAST, Calif. – A fire that began in The Geysers area of northern Sonoma County on Wednesday night is growing quickly due to strong overnight winds.
The Kincade fire was first dispatched shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, and within a few hours had reportedly scorched several thousand acres.
The fire activity can be tracked through cameras here.
Radio reports indicated it began in the area of John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road in The Geysers geothermal steamfield.
Overnight the fire was visible from many parts of Lake County, where officials reported receiving numerous 911 calls from concerned residents.
The winds are pushing the fire’s spread. Overnight, radio reports indicated wind speeds of up to 69 miles per hour were recorded in the Pine Mountain area.
As of 10:30 p.m., the fire was reported to have burned 400 acres.
Shortly after 11 p.m., radio reports stated that the fire had begun near the intersection of John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road, burned down into the Squaw Creek drainage, went up and over a nearby fire road and had started burning on the back side of Black Mountain.
From there, fire officials anticipated it would head toward Alexander Valley and burn into the vineyards there.
Just before midnight, incident command reported that one structure was believed to have been lost.
At that point, incident command called for the evacuation of River Rock Casino, noting that if they didn’t have time to evacuate, everyone there should shelter in place.
The winds are causing the fire to spot and grow, with a report just before 12:30 a.m. Thursday estimating that the fire was up to 5,000 acres.
As of 12:15 a.m., the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said an evacuation order is in effect for areas including all of Red Winery Road, all of Alexander Mountain Road, Highway 128 from Geysers Road to River Road including the casino, and all roads off River Road. Residents were ordered to leave immediately.
Officials said evacuation centers have been opened at Windsor High School and Healdsburg Community Center.
A base camp for fire operations is being established at the fairgrounds in Cloverdale.
On the Lake County side, a staging area has been set up for equipment and personnel on Sawmill Road.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin also reported late Wednesday night that he and his agency are monitoring the fire.
State Sen. Mike McGuire overnight was posting updates on his social media accounts, urging residents near the fire to be vigilant.
“If you live near the #KincadeFire and you receive an evacuation notice - you need to move. The fire continues to spread. Wind conditions (gusts at ridge top are 40+ MPH) are making the blaze burn aggressively. Significant resources continue to roll in from throughout the region,” he wrote early Thursday.
The California Highway Patrol reported just before 2 a.m. that Highway 128 is closed between Geysers Road and downtown Geyserville due to the fire.
Incident command has plans to deploy firefighters for structure protection if the fire drops lower into the Highway 128 corridor, according to radio reports just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
There are concerns that the Kincade fire is starting to look a lot like the Pocket fire of October 2017, based on scanner traffic.
Firefighters are reporting “intense” wind conditions as well as difficulties with cell and radio coverage in the rugged and remote area.
Equipment is continuing to arrive from around the region to assist, with a dozer strike team from the Tehama-Glenn area rolling through Lake County on the way to fire just before 3 a.m.
An air attack plane conducted another mapping circuit of the fire at around 3:30 a.m. but a new fire size wasn’t relayed at that time.
While some radio traffic indicated the fire had died down a bit overnight, firefighters continued to be challenged by spotting and high winds. Dozers were being pulled back because they weren’t effective in conditions.
Shortly after 4 a.m., the fire was reported to be making good progress toward the intersection of Pine Flat and Red Winery roads, and burning across the Kendall-Jackson vineyards.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
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Wind driving growth of Kincade fire near The Geysers in Sonoma County
- Elizabeth Larson
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