Air Support Arrives To Help Fight Woodward Fire In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A wildfire that sparked earlier this week in Point Reyes National Seashore continued to spread Thursday, now threatening hundreds of structures in Marin County.

The blaze, called the Woodward Fire, has burned hundreds of acres, prompted an evacuation warning and sent smoke across Marin and San Francisco counties amid a record-breaking heat wave fueling fires across the state.

By 6 p.m. Thursday the fire had scorched about 2,000 acres and was 0 percent contained, according to the Marin County Fire Department. Around 1,620 structures were threatened.

The fire, which was sparked by lightning, broke out shortly before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday just south of the Woodward Trail, a few miles west of the Bear Valley Visitor Center in Olema and about a mile inland from Limantour Beach.

"This fire has been in full suppression mode since it started the other day," Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber said during a news briefing Thursday.

"We put every resource we could on it immediately," he said. "The access to this fire is very difficult and has been since the beginning. There's a lot we can't do in these heavier fuels without aircraft support and other resources."

A total of 88 firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire Thursday morning, including 10 engines, nine overhead, three hand crews and a water tender, according to Marin County Fire. The department requested additional resources, including aircraft and personnel, to help fight the flames, but resources were being used for other fires.

As of Thursday, there were 23 major fires and more than 340 smaller fires burning across the state.

"We're in unprecedented times," Weber said. "In my 25-year career here in the fire service, statewide, we have never seen this level of drawdown.

"That means that aircraft, engines, fire crews — all of the tools we use on these fires — there's great competition across the state, and even the western United States," he said. "Aircraft and other things are being prioritized to fires where they have an immediate life threat and structural loss, so that's part of the reason you're not seeing aircraft flying this fire."

By 4 p.m. Thursday, however, air support arrived to help fight the flames, officials said. Multiple air drops were being made and heavy smoke from the blaze was impacting the county.

A federal incident management team from Montana was also expected to arrive by the weekend, Weber noted.

An evacuation warning was issued Tuesday evening in coastal sections of West Marin. The warning was directed to people living and visiting west of Shoreline Highway between Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Olema south to Bolinas, a stretch of about 11.5 miles. An evacuation center was opened at West Marin School in Point Reyes Station.

"That's there because we need you ready," Weber said regarding the evacuation warning. "If the wind picks up and the fire starts to move, we may issue evacuation orders. We ask that when we do that, you be ready to leave immediately."

As heavy smoke from the fire blanketed the county late Thursday afternoon, the Marin County Sheriff's Office received numerous 911 calls.

"Our 911 communications centers are being inundated with calls about smoke," the sheriff's office said. "Please only call 911 if you see active fire. There is no change in the evacuation warning that is currently in place, and there are no evacuation orders at this time."

Authorities urged West Marin residents and visitors to stay off roadways.

Limantour Road and all trails west of Bear Valley Trail and south and east of Limantour Road were closed due to the fire, according to the National Park Service. Backpack campgrounds were also closed until further notice.

Also see:

• Woodward Fire Burns 1,100 Acres In Point Reyes National Seashore
• Woodward Fire Prompts Evacuation Warning In West Marin
• CA Fires Latest: Hundreds Of Blazes Balloon In The Golden State