Russian River evacuations ordered after North Bay fires kill 4, destroys 500 homes
Multiple wildfires are burning in the greater North Bay. Cal Fire is referring to them collectively as the LNU Lightning Complex. LNU stands for Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, and you can find the latest evacuation info here. The biggest fires are:
Hennessey Fire (merged with Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Morgan, Spanish and Round): Napa County, 194,942 acres, 7% contained
Walbridge Fire (merged with Stewarts): Sonoma County, west of Healdsburg, 21,125 acres, 0% contained
Meyers Fire: Sonoma County, north of Jenner, 3,000 acres, 0% contained
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LATEST, Aug 21, 10:10 a.m. Some evacuation orders have been lifted in Napa County. Orders are no longer in effect for the portion of Silverado Trail between Rosedale Road and Highway 29, but orders on Highway 29 from Silverado Trail to the Lake County line (excluding the portion within Calistoga City limits) remain in effect.
Aug 21, 9:30 a.m. More evacuations have been ordered in Sonoma County as the Walbridge Fire, one of the fires in the LNU Lightning Complex, continues to grow.
An evacuation order has been issued for residents in map grid IF2 (access the map here) in the following areas:
—All areas south of the Russian River
—East and North of Hwy. 116 (Pocket Canyon)
—West of Martinelli Rd
—East and North of Hwy. 116 (Pocket Canyon)
—West of Martinelli Rd
An evacuation warning has been issued for residents in map grid 4D1 and 4D2 in the following areas:
—East and North of Green Valley Road
—South and West of Hwy 116
Furthermore, warnings were also issued for those in map grid 4C1:
—South and West of Hwy 116
Furthermore, warnings were also issued for those in map grid 4C1:
—North of Guerneville Road
—East of Covey Road and Hwy 116
—West of Laguna Rd
—South of River Road
—East of Covey Road and Hwy 116
—West of Laguna Rd
—South of River Road
The Walbridge Fire has burned 21,125 acres and was Cal Fire's top priority on Thursday as it approached Guerneville.
Aug 21, 8 a.m. The LNU Lightning Complex — named for the North Bay fires ignited by a rash of thunderstorms early this week — had minimal growth overnight. Before everyone went to bed last night, the blaze was 215,000 acres and this morning Cal Fire officials reported it had grown to 219,067 acres. Containment went from zero percent to 7%.
Daniel Berlant, an assistant deputy director with Cal Fire, said three civilians died in Napa County and one died in neighboring Solano County since the fires began. He didn't have details but Solano County Sheriff Thomas A. Ferrara reported the death of a male resident there.
The Vacaville Reporter said Thursday night a missing-persons report was filed for one of the deceased. A team was sent out to assess fire damage at his home and found him dead. He is believed to have died from fire-related injuries, according to the Solano Sheriff's office. The man, who was not identified, had reportedly declined to evacuate his property on Pleasants Valley Road in Vacaville.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the four fatalities included a Pacific Gas & Electric utility worker who was found dead Wednesday in a vehicle in the Vacaville area. PG&E confirmed the employee's death to the Sacramento Bee early Thursday, and said in a statement that a "Vacaville-based troubleman passed away while assisting first responders as they dealt with the LNU Complex Fire." The man was not identified by authorities.
Four people have also been reported injured.
The fire has destroyed 480 structures, damaged 125 and 30,500 are threatened.
Photo: MediaNews Group/East Bay Times Via Getty Images/MediaNews Group Via Getty Images
A Cal Fire tanker drops fire retardant on a hillside behind homes in the Rolling Hills neighborhood of Fairfield, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Residents were ordered to evacuate as the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire threatened the neighborhood.
Since multiple blazes were sparked Sunday, the fires have merged into massive infernos spread across Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano and Yolo counties, engulfing the region in flames and smoke and spurring tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. The Aetna and Round fires in Napa and Lake counties have now merged with the Hennessey Fire, adding up to a total of 194,942 acres burned in that area. In Sonoma County, the Walbridge Fire has since merged with Stewarts, for a total of 21,125 acres as of Friday morning. The Meyers Fire, also in Sonoma County, has now torn through up to 3,000 acres.
Although temperatures are predicted to ease slightly on Friday, they are also expected to be hot enough so that firefighters will not be able to count on cool evening weather aiding them. Erratic winds also could drive the fires unpredictably in multiple directions, state fire officials said.
“There’s so much heat in these fires that they create their own wind ... and they may blow in any direction, and very erratically," said Berlant.
An arm of the fire is stretched into Lake County and Cal Fire issued new evacuations warnings Thursday for the Middletown area. Per Cal Fire, "All areas west of Highway 29 (including areas west of Saint Helena creek Road), north and east of the Lake/Napa County Line (extending north to the Anderson Springs Rd. prolongation between the County Line and Highway 175), south of Anderson Springs Road, Neft Road., and the Boggs Mountain Recreation Area prolongation to the intersection of Hofacker Lane and Highway 29" are now under evacuation warnings.
Evacuation information is always changing. Check Cal Fire's Twitter feed for the latest information.
Photo: Jose Carlos Fajardo/Associated Press
Sarah Hawkins, of Vacaville, finds a vase in the rubble after her home was destroyed by a fire in Vacaville, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. The LNU Lightning Complex fires began in Napa and Sonoma counties and have traveled into Solano, Lake and Yolo counties while burning more than 200 square miles.
On Thursday night, several fires combined around the west, north and south ends of Lake Berryessa, encircling the lake on three sides. "This is a very large fire. It's one of many in the state of California and honestly, our resources are stretched very far," Cal Fire unit chief Shana Jones said. "So please be patient."
The fire of highest priority Thursday was the Walbridge Fire near Healdsburg. It has burned 14,500 acres so far and is pushing east and south toward Guerneville. The Walbridge Fire has already caused "significant structure damage and significant structure loss," Cal Fire said.
The world's largest firefighting plane —the Global SuperTanker Services LLC's B747-400 "Global SuperTanker" — was deployed to the LNU Lightning Complex's Walbridge Fire in Sonoma County.
Cal Fire stated that the 14,500-acre Walbridge Fire currently bearing towards Guerneville is the Thursday's top priority in the LNU Lightning Complex. The blaze currently is 0% contained.
State Sen. Mike McGuire tweeted that the Global SuperTanker is "on the job" against the Walbridge Fire Thursday afternoon. The SuperTanker can deliver approximately 20,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in a single drop.
Fire crews also mounted a defense of Pope Valley, which they said has many structures in danger.
Out-of-state firefighters and freed-up crews from other California fires are expected to arrive in the coming days. Fog and clouds are expected to enter the forecast which crews hope will help slow the spread. Unfortunately, this may mean the air response will be limited by poor visibility.
One bit of good news Thursday came in the Vacaville area, where spread of the fire subsided.
Earlier this week on Wednesday, the blaze took a dramatic turn, burning over hills and through valleys, racing toward the community of Vacaville, where residents were roused before dawn Wednesday by orders to flee. Police and firefighters went door-to-door in a frantic scramble to warn residents to evacuate as flames encroached.
Karen Hansen had fled late Tuesday as flames approached her small farm.
Photo: Jose Carlos Fajardo/Associated Press
Chris Reiter, of Vacaville, left, walks with her husband, Chris Garcia, as he leads a horse to safety on Pleasants Valley in Vacaville, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020. Garcia lives down the road and their son knew the owners of the horse and wanted to make sure it was okay. The LNU Lightning Complex fires began in Napa and Sonoma counties and have traveled into Solano, Lake and Yolo counties while burning more than 200 square miles.
“The whole sky was red orange and it was coming over the hill there and it was massive. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it only took a few minutes to get here,” she said.
The family fled with some animals but had to leave two beloved horses. They returned Wednesday to find the house and barn destroyed, but Hansen was thrilled to see that her horses had survived.
“I’m not upset about the house. I’m just happy that my horses and animals are alive and my daughter,” she said.
Video and photos of the English Hills area showed some homes had been destroyed. The owners of Yin Ranch, an event and wedding venue on Pleasants Valley Road, confirmed it is at least partially destroyed.
"The devastation on Pleasants Valley Road is pretty bad. Parts of it looks like Paradise, like the Camp Fire," Don Ryan, manager of the Office of Emergency Services, told the Daily Republic. "Lots of homes are burned down."
The fire jumped I-80 after 4 p.m., forcing a closure of I-80 between Fairfield and Vacaville and a partial evacuation of Travis Air Force Base. By Thursday morning, some residents were allowed to return as Vacaville lifted evacuation orders for the areas south of I-80, including Alamo Dr. south of I-80 to Marna Dr., California Dr. and Peabody Rd. I-80 also reopened around 9 p.m. Wednesday.
An evacuation center is set up at Crosswalk Community Church at 2590 First St. in Napa. (Find evacuation updates on the Napa County Sheriff's Office Nixle page.)
People can bring their pets to the Napa County Animal Shelter 942 Hartle Court in Napa.
Find more evacuation information:
Sonoma County: Find latest evacuation information at SoCo Emergency.
Napa County: Find evacuation information at Napa County Office of Emergency Services.
Lake County: Sign up for evacuation information with Lake County here.
Solano County: Evacuation information on the Solano County website.
Yolo County: Evacuation information on the Solano County website.
For updates on the blazes, check the Cal Fire website.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.
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