Napa County Hennessey Fire Burns 100,000 Acres: Lightning Complex

NAPA COUNTY, CA — Tens of thousands of North Bay residents were forced to flee the Lightning Complex fires Wednesday as the blazes continued to rage, injuring four civilians and destroying 105 homes and other structures and damaging another 70.

More mandatory evacuations were issued throughout the day, from north to western Sonoma County, from Lake County to Napa County, and from Yolo to Solano counties as the Lightning Complex fires spread to 124,100 acres — threatening 25,000 homes and businesses.

In Napa County, the Hennessey Fire, which started Monday morning on Hennessey Ridge Road near Lake Henneseey, was 12,500 acres Wednesday morning and 0-percent contained. Wednesday evening, the Hennessey Fire was 100,000 acres after it merged with the Gamble, Green and Markley fires.

At least one structure and two outbuildings have been destroyed in by the massive blaze.

Also in Napa County, the Spanish Fire near Spanish Flat was 4,100 acres, while the Morgan Fire in Napa and Lake counties was 3,500 acres.

In a news conference late Wednesday morning, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection operation chief Chris Waters said fire officials are working to prepare for further evacuations in the fire's northern sector, which stretches from just north of the Lake County line to central Lake Berryessa.

Crews on the ground were working Wednesday to plan for evacuations, defend structures and work to fight the fire's perimeter where conditions allowed for it.

Mandatory Napa County evacuation orders:

• Wragg Canyon Road – from state Highway 128 to the end of the road, including Pleasure Cove Resort
• Chiles Pope Valley Road from Lower Chiles Valley Road to Pope Canyon Road
• Wooden Valley Road from state Highway 121 South, including Wooden Valley Cross Road and Gordon Valley Road to the county line.
• State Highway 121 (Monticello Road) from Wooden Valley Road to Vichy Avenue
• All of Hennesey Ridge Road
• Sage Canyon from Chiles Pope Valley to Lower Chiles Valley Road
• State Highway 128 from Lower Chiles Valley Road to Monticello
• Snell Valley Rd and Butts Canyon Road including Berryessa Estates and Spanish Valley
• Moskowite Corners to Wooden Valley including Circle Oaks
• 2462 Atlas Peak East to dead end
• Loma Vista Road east to Soda Canyon Road dead end
• Berryessa Knoxville Road from Eastside Road to state Highway 128
• Everything west of Lake Berryessa Pope Canyon Road to Berryessa Knoxville
• Intersection on Butts Canyon Road and Snell Valley Road to all of Berryessa Estates subdivision
• All of Steele Canyon Road from state Highway 128 and Berryessa Highlands subdivision
• State Highway 29 at the Lake County line to Silverado Trail, Silverado Trail to state Highway 128, state Highway 128 to Chiles Pope Valley Road, Chiles Pope Valley Road to Pope Valley Road, Pope Valley Road to Butts Canyon Road, and Butts Canyon Road to the county line. This includes the communities of Angwin and Deer Park.
• St. Helena Hospital
• East side of state Highway 29 from Lake County line down to Silverado Trail
• East side of Silverado Trails and state Highway 29 to state Highway 128
• Northwest side of Chiles Pope Valley Road to Pope Valley Road
• Northwest side of Pope Valley Road to Butts Canyon Road
• West side of Butts Canyon to Lake County

Napa County evacuation warnings *

• Monticello Road from Vichy Avenue to Silverado Trail
• Ink Grade from Pope Valley Road to White Cottage Road
• Howell Mountain Road from Pope Valley Road to White Cottage Road
• State Highway 128 at Silverado Trail to Lower Chiles Valley Road
• State Highway 128 at Lower Chiles Valley Road to Turtle Rock
• Markley Cove Resort to Pleasants Valley Road

*Those who require additional time to evacuate, and those with pets and livestock should leave now, according to county officials.

An evacuation center is set up at Crosswalk Community Church, 2590 First St. in Napa for those under mandatory evacuation orders and evacuation warnings. People seeking shelter are reminded to bring a face covering, practice good hygiene habits and adhere to physical distancing. The shelter is open only to people who are impacted by the fire evacuations; address verification is being conducted.

In neighboring Solano County, as one vegetation fire was extinguished on Cantelow Road in Vacaville late Wednesday morning, another blaze on the southern side of the city near Interstate Highway 80 put more than 4,000 homes at risk, the city’s fire chief told reporters.

Solano County issued an initial round of Hennessey Fire evacuation orders just after 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Evacuation centers have opened at the Ulatis Community Center and McBride Community Center in Vacaville. An evacuation center for large animals has been established at Solano County Fairgrounds, and small animals can be taken to the Solano County Animal Shelter, according to the Solano County Sheriff's Office.

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said it is imperative that residents heed orders from officials and be prepared to evacuate when told to do so.

Deputies from all five counties affected by the complex of fires — Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Lake and Yolo — will be using high-low sirens to alert communities of evacuation orders, Essick said.

"When your area is under evacuation, you will hear deputies with the high-low siren," he said. "The siren is unique; it means it's time to go. High-low means it's time to go."

A public information officer for the LNU Lightning Complex fire response said over 10,000 lightning strikes in recent days led to 367 new fires, which crews have worked to extinguish over three days.

Officials said California is also working to overcome a lack of resources with a request for 375 out-of-state fire engines and on-the-ground crews to assist the estimated 6,900 firefighters who worked to extinguish the fires on Wednesday.

The LNU Lighting Complex fire spokesperson said nearly all private on-demand firefighting aircraft in the western United States have been assigned to a California wildfire.

"The size and complexity at which these incidents are burning is challenging all aspects of emergency response," the spokesperson said. "It is critical that the community heeds the warnings of law enforcement and remains prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice."

RELATED COVERAGE

• Napa County Lightning Complex Fires Latest: More Evacuations
• Napa County Hennessey Fire, Gamble Fire Char 3,000 Acres
• Lightning Complex Fires Spread To Vacaville, Solano County
• Thousands Flee Sonoma County Wildfires
• 2 Wildfires Burn In Sonoma County; Mandatory Evacuations Ordered

Patch will update this post throughout the day Wednesday as more information is gathered; please refresh the page for the latest.

Patch staffer Payton Potter contributed to this report.