California’s governor declares statewide emergency – Kincade fire has wine country under siege as winds gust up to 96 mph
By Anita Chabria, Taryn Luna, Maura Dolan, Teresa Watanabe, and Luis Sinco
27 October 2019
SANTA ROSA, California (Los Angeles Times) – Fueled by powerful winds, the massive Kincade fire continued its southwest march across Sonoma County, burning winery properties and threatening to jump Highway 101 as more than 2 million people across the region were thrown into darkness because of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. blackouts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency Sunday as wildfires spread throughout California, burning tens of thousands of acres and forcing evacuations of more than 180,000 people. The 30,000-acre Kincade fire has destroyed 79 structures and threatens an additional 31,000.
“We are deploying every resource available, and are coordinating with numerous agencies as we continue to respond to these fires,” Newsom said. “It is critical that people in evacuation zones heed the warnings from officials and first responders, and have the local and state resources they need as we fight these fires.”
The biggest concern is that the fire will cross Highway 101 to an area that hasn’t burned since the 1940s, fire officials said Sunday. Officials worry the blaze will spread into agricultural land mostly used to grow grapes and reach a dense mountainous region of old-growth redwood forest.
The fire threatened Calistoga, and officials on Sunday ordered residents to leave the small Napa Valley city. Healdsburg and Windsor, north of Santa Rosa along the 101, also remained under evacuation orders.
The National Weather Service recorded one gust Sunday morning at 96 mph.
Structures in the famed wine country were burning, including some owned by wineries in the Alexander Valley. The Soda Rock winery along State Highway 128 near Healdsburg was consumed early Sunday morning. […]
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Winds top a stunning 96 mph in Kincade fire zone, causing havoc across Sonoma County
By Anita Chabria, Rong-gong Lin Ii
27 October 2019
SANTA ROSA, California (Los Angeles Times) – Forecasters predicted historic winds.
And they didn’t exaggerate.
Northern California was being battered Sunday by extreme Diablo winds. The National Weather Service clocked a gust of 96 mph in the Mayacamas Mountains northeast of Healdsburg, which is now threatened by the 30,000-acre Kincade fire. The winds caused the fire in Sonoma County to explode overnight and through the day Sunday, prompting evacuations in Santa Rosa and west to Bodega Bay.
The Diablo winds swept into Santa Rosa early Sunday. The whistles and flutters that announced their coming just past midnight quickly turned into long, angry howls and gusts that rattled buildings.
By 4 a.m., new evacuation orders and warnings came out for more of Santa Rosa, leaving large swaths of the city under threat. The area west of Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport was put under mandatory evacuation. Sutter Hospital nearby evacuated the night before. Now it was Kaiser’s turn and ambulances snaked the lot loading patients. By midday, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for Calistoga in Napa County.
A peak wind gust of 96 mph was recorded at Pine Flat in the Mayacamas Mountains about 12 miles northeast of Healdsburg. Sensors also recorded a peak gust of 85 mph just 10 miles to the southeast at Mt. St. Helena, the highest peak in Sonoma County. Both were recorded around 7:50 a.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson.
“The current wind speeds are pretty much on track as forecast,” Anderson said. “We’re still seeing wind gusts in the 70 mph range,” which were expected to continue through Sunday and into Monday morning. “It’s going to be a long day and night for a lot of people.” [more]
Winds top a stunning 96 mph in Kincade fire zone, causing havoc across Sonoma County
