Kincade Fire Live Updates: 90K Homes Threatened; 76K Acres Burned

NORTH BAY, CA — It's a race against the weather as the Kincade Fire continues to roar, threatening 90,015 homes potentially in its path in the three Northern California counties of Sonoma, Napa and Lake. With weather predictions of northeast wind gusts picking up, the wildland blaze was 76,138 acres and 15-percent contained as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"A Red Flag warning continues through Wednesday afternoon, and windy conditions
are expected until midnight," Cal Fire officials said. "Narrow roads and steep terrain are still making access to the fire areas difficult, but firefighters will continue to mitigate structure threats
and find opportunities construct more control lines."

More than 4,700 fire personnel are assigned to the wildfire, and numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout California are flying fire-suppression missions as conditions allow.

Since Wednesday, Oct. 23, the massive inferno that started near The Geysers in northeast Sonoma County has destroyed 189 structures, including 86 single-family homes. Another 39 residential structures have been damaged.

Authorities have not said exactly where the destroyed homes are, but photo coverage Tuesday showed property loss in Calistoga in Napa County. News photos have also shown at least one winery, the Soda Rock Winery on state Highway 128, has been destroyed by flames.

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said Tuesday evening that three reports of looting are being investigated. In all three incidents, the residents or business owners found evidence they'd been burglarized and items were missing.

Essick said more than 260 peace officers are patrolling the evacuated communities, and that the lootings are being investigated to the best of their ability.

The entire towns of Healdsburg, Windsor, Geyserville and Calistoga remain evacuated. Crews from Southern California fire agencies were seen staging in Calistoga Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of the winds picking up.

The city of Healdsburg at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday confirmed that although Cal Fire has allowed a limited re-population of the northern portion of Zone 4 — known as Zone 4A — mandatory evacuations remain in place for the city of Healdsburg.

"Areas north of Westside Road to Mill Creek Road within Zone 4 have been reduced to an evacuation warning and are open for re-population," city officials said.

Evacuation orders remain in place for Zone 4B, which includes properties south of Westside Road to Millcreek Road, according to the city of Healdsburg.

According to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, the mandatory evacuation order for Zone 4A was downgraded to a warning Tuesday. About 2,400 residents who evacuated from northern Dry Creek Valley are now allowed to return home, the county Sheriff's Office said Tuesday afternoon.

Residents are asked to take the Dry Creek Road exit to return to their homes.

Everything east of Highway 101, including the city of Healdsburg, remains under the mandatory evacuation order. The southern portion of Zone 4, which includes Eastside Road and the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, also remains under an evacuation order.

Some parts of the evacuation warning area are still without power or gas. Residents of homes without gas should call PG&E at 800-743-5000 or visit Pge.com/returninghome for assistance.

Eleven sections of roads in the area remain closed, according to the sheriff's office.

A combined map of evacuation zones and statuses in Sonoma, Lake and Napa counties was made available Tuesday by Cal Fire.

Evacuees Making The Most Of It

Healdsburg residents Rod and Pat Larrick, owners of Larrick Vineyards on West Dry Creek Road, were enjoying some big cups of coffee Monday at a packed Rohnert Park Starbucks.

After a harrowing weekend running from the dangers of the monstrous Kincade Fire, they were happy just to sit and enjoy a warm cup of Joe. The Larricks described leaving their west Healdsburg home of 33 years Saturday and heading for Sebastopol. However, around 3 a.m. Sunday they got word that once again, they needed to evacuate.

They ended up at a Home Depot parking lot in Rohnert Park, where seven people, two dogs and a cat stayed in the family RV. Rod Larrick said the family enjoyed a tasty pizza from nearby Costco for dinner.

The couple's daughter, Michelle Holden, said they expected to remain evacuated for the rest of the week so they were trying to get reservations at a KOA campground in Cloverdale, where she is a teacher.

It's a scenario repeated across parking lots and evacuation centers across the south county, as officials say the fire has prompted evacuations of more than 185,000 people.

The large-scale emergency brought California Gov. Gavin Newsom to the front lines of the fire Monday.

"The sense of spirit, of pride in this community, is remarkable," Newsom said in a news conference held Monday in Santa Rosa. "These are the moments when our humanity is exposed — it's a uniting moment."

Patch will update this post throughout the day Tuesday, Oct. 29; please refresh the page for the latest.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Kincade Fire Live Updates: 74K Acres Burned; 80K Homes Threatened
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• Kincade Fire Latest: Concerns Mount Fire Could Jump West Over 101
  

—Al Francis of NapaSonomaphotos.com contributed to this report.