Latest California wildfire updates: ‘Largest’ ever evacuation in Sonoma
Editor’s Note: Check back throughout the day as we continue to update this story
Roland Li , Anna Bauman , J.D. Morris and Peter Hartlaub report for the San Francisco Chronicle
Oct. 27, 2019 Updated: Oct. 27, 2019 9:11 a.m.
Latest developments on the Kincade Fire and PG&E’s power shut-offs. Complete details on the Kincade Fire are here, and full coverage on the outages is here.
8:59 a.m. Lanes closed on northbound U.S. 101 in Brisbane, avoid area: Two lanes of northbound 101 near Tunnel Avenue remain closed due to a fire near the roadway, according to CHP spokesman Mark Andrews. All northbound lanes were shut down for half an hour shortly after 8 a.m. because of heavy smoke. Southbound lanes were not affected. Traffic is expected to remain slow. San Francisco Department of Emergency Management instructed people to avoid the area.
8:51 a.m. Winds to remain strong through Monday: The National Weather Service released a wind forecast showing winds are expected to remain “very gusty,” especially in the North Bay.
8:43 a.m. Evacuation orders lifted for Oakley fires: Firefighters have stopped forward progress on the Summer Lake and Knightsen Avenue and Delta Road fires in Oakley and are working to contain them, according to Contra Costa County fire officials. Residents who were placed under evacuation earlier Sunday morning were free to return home as of 8:30 a.m.
8:39 a.m. Fire reported near Candlestick Point: The San Francisco Fire Department is responding to a wildland fire near southbound U.S. 101 and Tunnel Avenue, fire officials said. No structures were immediately threatened. Traffic delays are expected.1.00
8:36 a.m. Nearly 1.5 million people in in Bay Area without power: PG&E confirmed it had completed shutoffs for 446,956 homes and businesses in all Bay Area counties (San Francisco was spared). The utility company hopes to begin the power restoration process as early as Monday, a spokesperson said. For full coverage of the outages, click here.
8:35 a.m. Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa under evacuation: The hospital has safely transferred 110 patients to other Kaiser hospitals in Northern California after being placed under a mandatory evacuation at 4:30 a.m., according to a hospital spokesperson. The hospital had already begun a “controlled transfer” of patients at 10:30 p.m. Saturday as a precautionary measure. Kaiser hospitals in San Rafael and Vallejo have lost power due to the PG&E blackout, but remain fully operational on emergency power.
8:21 a.m. Mines Fire in Alameda County mostly contained: The Mines Fire off Mines Rd and Del Valle Rd southeast of Livermore, is 35 acres and 98% contained, according to Cal Fire.
8:17 a.m. Winds may have peaked: The National Weather Service said that winds will “start to reduce compared to the peak experienced in the last few hours, but remain strong today with a ramp up tonight. Winds will really ease Monday morning and into the afternoon. Smoke that drifts to the Bay Area can add haze and reduce air quality.”
8:02 a.m. Evacuations ordered in East Bay Clayton fire: Evacuations have been ordered for Leon Court, Leon Drive and Leon Way. “Residents should leave immediately,” Contra Costa fire officials said.
7:48 a.m. ‘Largest’ evacuation in memory, 180,000 forced to flee: The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office says the evacuation orders for 180,000 people affected by the Kincade Fire is the “largest that any of us at the Sheriff’s Office can remember.”
7:42 a.m. Evacuation centers available for those fleeing Kincade fire: People can seek shelter at one of four evacuation centers, according to Cal Fire. They are: Santa Rosa Fairgrounds (1350 Bennett Valley Road), Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds (175 Fairgrounds Road, Petaluma), Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building (1351 Maple Avenue) and Petaluma Veterans Center (1094 Petaluma Blvd).
7:40 a.m. Gas stations may be running short: Thousands of cars rolled south down Highway 101 near Santa Rosa early Sunday morning, following widespread evacuation orders. At a Shell station just off Highway 101 and Steele Lane, an employee said the station was nearly out of gas and wouldn’t be getting any more in until while there was still a danger of fire.
7:25 a.m. Peak wind gusts hit 93, 87 mph: The National Weather Service released information about peak overnight gusts across the Bay Area. The strongest recorded wind was 93 mph in the Healdsburg Hills north, followed by 87 mph at Mt. Saint Helena.
From the Washington Post
By Derek Hawkins and Kayla Epstein
Oct. 27, 2019, at 9:29 a.m. EDT
Fierce winds and dry air whipped across northern California early Sunday, worsening the wildfires that have raged in the state for days and prompting state officials to issue new mandatory evacuation orders, including for part of the city of Santa Rosa.
In a flurry of early morning alerts, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office told residents in the northern portion of Santa Rosa, as well as areas southwest and northeast of the city, to evacuate immediately.
The sheriff’s office also issued a dire alert telling residents farther north of Santa Rosa to leave.
“The wind is really starting to pick up, as is the fire activity. If you are still in this mandatory evacuation area you need to leave now while you still can,” the sheriff’s office said.
The new orders dramatically expand the number of residents who will have to flee the growing fires and could further tax emergency workers tasked with helping them seek safety. Roughly 175,000 people live in Santa Rosa, and many of those residents may join the 90,000 people in Sonoma County who were already ordered to leave their homes Saturday night.
A windstorm was expected to pummel the region throughout the morning, creating historic fire weather conditions, according to the National Weather Service.
Gusts as high as 80 mph swept through the hills and valleys north of the San Francisco Bay area and could continue until at least the early afternoon. An “extremely critical” fire weather area, the National Weather Service’s highest category, was in effect in several counties north of San Francisco.
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