Kincade fire burning the length of a football field every 3 seconds in Northern California
49 structures have been destroyed by the fast-moving fire in Geyserville, California; Claudia Cowan reports from the scene.
The massive Kincade Fire in California’s famed Wine Country burned 84 square miles and forced the evacuations of about 180,000 as firefighters reported a drop in containment from 10 percent to 5 percent by Sunday night.
Cal Fire spokesman told the Sacramento Bee that two firefighters were injured while fighting the fire and fire crews are attempting to “hold the line at Highway 101.” The area on the other side of the highway has not burned since the 1940s, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“It looks pretty ugly out there,” he said.
The entire towns of Healdsburg and Windsor in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, were under mandatory evacuation as the evacuation zone stretched from Healdsburg west through the Russian River Valley to Bodega Bay, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.
The Kincade fire has destroyed 94 structures, damaged 17 and threatens an additional 80,000, officials said.
Structures in the famed wine country burned, including some owned by wineries in the Alexander Valley. The Soda Rock winery along State Highway 128 near Healdsburg was consumed early Sunday morning.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency.
“The big fear now is Windsor, Healdsburg and holding the line on Highway 101 so we keep it on the east side,” said Newsom, who toured the area and visited hospitals and evacuation centers.
PG&E customers struggling without electrical power could remain in the dark until Wednesday, utility spokeswoman Mayra Tostado said Sunday. The next outages will hit customers in Kern, Fresno and Madera counties, she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
