Kincade Fire in Geyserville UPDATE - Sonoma County Fire

As of 7:44 am, Friday, October 25. From many miles away we can hear helicopters and feel ash falling from the sky. This sets off PTSD for the entire county. Perfect fire weather now with smoke filling the air across Sonoma County. Everyone's paying attention and feeling concern. Power has been shut off since Wednesday afternoon in the area that became the fire zone. Evacuations are in effect and emergency centers are established.

Here's the latest UPDATE from CalFire and Sonoma County Emergency Services:

Pacific Gas and Electric Company(PG&E) reported today that the 99% of customers impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) on October 23 had their power restored as of 5 p.m. today, October 25..

County of Sonoma is currently under elevated risk for a second power shutoff starting on Saturday, October 26 through October 28. Find more information here: https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/psps-weather-map.page

FIRE INFORMATION - As of 7:44 am, Friday, October 25

As of 7:35 AM Friday, Oct. 25, 2019

● CAL FIRE reports that the Kincade fire has spread to 21,900 acres and is currently 5 percent contained and that all evacuation orders are still in place.

● CAL FIRE reported 49 structures destroyed.

● 1300 firefighters are on the line through the night and forces will be increased 50% today.

● 8 air tankers and one extra large air tanker have been deployed.

● CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Facebook Page provides fire updates.

● The Sonoma County Sheriff reported no looting in evacuated areas, no missing persons, and no fatalities. More than 50 Sheriff’s deputies have been deployed to protect property in evacuated areas and to assist people in evacuating.

FIRE WEATHER WATCH

● At 10:36 AM, Friday, October 25, 2019 the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Sonoma County and Napa County in effect from 8 PM Saturday, Oct 26 to 11 AM, Monday, Oct 28 due to dangerously strong winds and critically low humidity. Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly.

● Extreme fire behavior is expected, with gusty and potentially strong north to northeast winds and low humidity. Due to strong wind, residents are advised to stay indoors on Sunday, October 27, and tie-down outside furniture and objects.

• The Governor announced on October 24 that the state has secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help ensure the availability of resources to fight the Kincade Fire.

• CAL FIRE reported 49 structures destroyed.

• 1300 firefighters are on duty through the night and forces will be increased 50% tomorrow.

● CAL FIRE Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Facebook Page provides fire updates.

• The Sonoma County Sheriff reported no looting in evacuated areas, no missing persons, and no fatalities. More than 50 Sheriff’s deputies have been deployed to protect property in evacuated areas and to assist people in evacuating.

● For questions about resources, contact Sonoma County 2-1-1. Do not call 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

● Visit SoCoEmergency.org for latest updates and to sign up for SoCoAlerts.

WEATHER

• A fire weather watch was issued for North Bay valleys for the evening of Saturday, Oct 26, through the morning of Monday, Oct. 28. • Extreme fire behavior is expected, with gusty and potentially strong north to northeast winds and low humidity.

FIRE ROAD CLOSURES:

Expect all roads east of Hwy 128 from Cloverdale to Healdsburg to be closed due to the Kincade fire. Avoid these areas. In addition to this notification, you may view an up to the minute listing of road Closure & Delays on our website, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The closures are also reflected on our Road Closure & Delays map.

ALERT Wildfire is the web site with cameras staged in strategic zones for watching fires and catching them in their earliest stages of ignition. These cameras have saved countless hours of delay knowing about and responding to fires. For the Kincade Fire, look at cameras stage in Healdsburg and Geyserville: • St Helena North (southeast of Geyserville) • Rockpile (northwest of Healdsburg) • Pepperwood (southeast of Healdsburg) • Jackson Weak (west of Healdsburg

EVACUATIONS

● The community of Geyserville, and the area east of Geyserville, is under evacuation order. The Kincade Fire has crossed Highway 128 near Moody Lane and is heading west. If you’re in Geyserville, leave now.

● Unincorporated areas of north Healdsburg are under evacuation warning as of noon Oct. 24. This means they should prepare to be ready to evacuate at a moments notice.

● The Sonoma County Incident Map provides up-to-date information on all evacuation orders.

● Approximately 2,000 people are currently under an evacuation order as of noon Oct. 24.

● Expect all roads east of Hwy. 128 from Cloverdale to Healdsburg to be closed due to fire. Please avoid these areas.

EVACUATION CENTERS

All evacuation centers are small animal-friendly.

● Human Services Dept. Adult & Aging social workers have been dispatched to both centers to help shelter residents find local resources, services and support.

Healdsburg Community Center, 1557 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA 95448 ○ Parking available for livestock trailers.

Santa Rosa Veteran’s Center, 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404

Red Cross is now operating both evacuation centers.

o The Red Cross delivers help to anyone regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or citizenship status. Guests can expect a place to sleep, meals, drinks, snacks, comfort and the opportunity to reconnect with loved ones and get information. Guests do not need to spend the night to access Red Cross services.

o Red Cross staff can help with some health services such as replacing lost medications and eyeglasses and offering emotional support and spiritual care.

LARGE ANIMAL EVACUATION CENTER

● The Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Rd, Santa Rosa ○ Available for large animals only.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Sonoma County Office of Education has a list of school closures at: https://www.scoe.org/storm-update.html. Parents are encouraged to go to their school/district website for the most up-to-date information.

AIR QUALITY

To assess air quality during wildfire or emergency conditions, the Northern Sonoma County Air Pollution Control District recommends reviewing websites in the following order. As of 6:00pm on October 24, the Sonoma County’s Department of Health Services has issued a smoke health advisory due to the Kincade Fire.

● AirNow Fire Most accurate source for available fine Particulate Matter (PM) measurements. ●PurpleAir Provides the most cautious health-based numbers. ● District Data Provide accurate measurements of PM-10 levels, a good indicator of ash concentrations during wildfire conditions. ●AirNowCurrent AQI (and Forecast) Forecasts air quality.

COUNTY RESPONSE

● County of Sonoma Emergency Operations Center was already open in response to the red flag warning and power shut off.

● Fire services increased staffing around the County in response to the red flag warning.

● Visit SoCoEmergency.org for latest updates and to sign up for SoCoAlerts.

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

This event brings up lingering trauma and can cause emotional distress.Call HOPESonoma at (707) 291-3788for free, bilingual, mental health services to help individuals experiencing emotional distress due to the fire and power shut-offs. More information is available at https://socoemergency.org/home/emergency/health/.

POWER OUTAGES

UPDATE Friday, October 25:Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today said it continues to monitor a potentially powerful and widespread dry, hot and windy weather event expected to begin impacting the service area Saturday between 6 and 10 p.m. and lasting until midday Monday.

Annapolis, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Camp Meeker, Cazadero, Cloverdale, Cotati, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Freestone, Geyserville, Glen Ellen, Graton, Guerneville, Healdsburg, Jenner, Kenwood, Larkfield, Monte Rio, Occidental, Penngrove, Petaluma, Rio Nido, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Stewarts Point, Valley Ford, Villa Grande, Windsor

PG&E will need to turn off power for safety several hours before the potentially damaging winds arrive. It’s important to note that as this weather system sweeps from north to south over a period of two days, PG&E customers across Northern and Central California will feel the effects of hot, dry winds at different times, which means outage times will vary, as well.

County of Sonoma is currently under elevated risk for a second power shutoff starting on Saturday, October 26 through October 28. Find more information here: https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/psps-weather-map.page

POWER RESTORATION

PG&E on Oct. 24 began inspecting its power lines and infrastructure in preparation of restoring power to areas impacted by its Oct. 23 shutoff. PG&E projects power will be restored to all impacted areas in Sonoma County by 7 p.m. Oct. 25, with many areas getting power restored sooner. Some areas around the Kincade Fire will experience delays in restoration. For updates, view PG&E’s restoration map at: critweb-outage.pgealerts.com or call PG&E at 800-743-5002.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

For questions about evacuations and resources, dial 2-1-1. Do not dial 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

PG&E's Weather Map - LINK for current wind conditions and other information from PG&E:https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/psps-weather-map.page?WT.mc_id=Vanity_weather&fbclid=IwAR0X4zUIDnrgI42W4cVf1D61m0r93G4ef-cr7sPyTCDzF-axu8MCEGiP1ck