Kincade Fire Balloons to 55,000 Acres, Containment Decreases to 5 Percent

The situation of the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County somehow got much worse today, growing from 30,000 acres to 54,298 acres with the containment decreasing from 10 percent to 5 percent. There are currently 180,000 residents under mandatory evacuation orders as turbulent winds push continue to push the fire into populated areas.

There are currently 94 structures destroyed with tens of thousands more threatened due to the erratic behavior of the wind-fueled flames. Here is the full report from Cal Fire at 7 pm:

#KincadeFire off John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road, northeast of Geyserville in Sonoma County is 54,298 acres and 5% contained. https://t.co/0lE746SI6V pic.twitter.com/FLQZ2dfm66

— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) October 28, 2019

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency as multiple dangerous fires burn through the state, the worst of which sitting in Sonoma County. With 2.1 million people currently under PG&E power shutdowns, the dangerous fire weather will continue through Sunday night and into Monday.

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A CAL FIRE FF working a structure early this morning at the #KincadeFire ⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝑭𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 ➡️ 564FIRE 🔥 on Twitter | Periscope | Facebook | YouTube⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ @calfire @calfirelocal2881@californiafirefighter @train_your_probie @firefighting_obsession @californiafirefighter #CALFIRE #calfire_daily #firedepartment #fire #emergency #abc7eyewitness #photojournalism #firephotographer #firefighter #fireengine #firerescue #iaff #chiefmiller #leatherheadssocialclub #firefighters_daily #firefighterposts #instagram #CALFIREservingCA #trainyourprobie #bomberodesigns #soCALFIREstrong⁣⁣ #chiefmillerambassadors

A post shared by So Cal Fire Photographer 📷 🎥🔥 (@564fire) on Oct 27, 2019 at 7:17pm PDT

Winds were recorded at 93 mph on the nearby Mount St. Helena Saturday night, creating a dangerous situation for firefighters and the residents of the area. the fire is moving dangerously closer to the town of Healdsburg as nearly 3,000 firefighters are on the scene to protect structures and loves in the area.

10/27 at 2:45pm current conditions in Windsor. Lots of peace officers and firefighters here to protect the town. #kincadefire pic.twitter.com/iCVi1r0si1

— Sonoma Sheriff (@sonomasheriff) October 27, 2019

As the winds continued to rage late into Sunday, the flames seemed to grow. Watch this timelapse until the end to see the fire:

#KincadeFire @AlertWildfire St. Helena North webcam. Time lapse for the last few hours ending at 7:24pm. Note the increase in activity at the end. pic.twitter.com/OdtfA5IDcY

— Dave Toussaint (@engineco16) October 28, 2019

Mandatory evacuations are now in place in the following areas in 10 zones: zone 1: Geyserville; zone 2: Knights Valley; zone 3: Healdsburg and Windsor; zone 4: Dry Creek Valley; zone 5: Mark West, Larkfield, Wikiup; zone 6: NE Santa Rosa including Fountaingrove, Oakmont, Rincon Valley; zone 7: Forestville, Guerneville, Duncans Mills, Jenner, Bodega Bay, Occidenta; zone 8: Sebastopol and Valley Ford; zone 9: Coffey Park and Santa Rosa north of Guerneville Rd-Steele Lane and zone 10: West of Stony Point Road between Guerneville Rd. and Ludwig Ave.

Among the structures to be destroyed was the Soda Rock Winery:

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About 3 a.m. Sunday, the Kincade Fire crossed Highway 128 east of Highway 101 and Healdsburg, in an area dotted with prominent wineries. Soda Rock Winery was soon fully engulfed, with flames shooting through its carefully restored stone facade. Originally built in 1869, the stone structure has been home to various wineries and was most recently renovated by Ken and Diane Wilson. Edwin Zuniga, a spokesman for Cal Fire, said the winds were so strong that they pushed the fire despite the natural fire breaks provided by well-irrigated vineyards. “You could feel the cars shaking, moving because of the winds,” said Zuniga, who spoke as he stood outside Soda Rock, which Cal Fire determined to be unsalvageable, a complete loss. ~ 📷🎥: @carlosavilagonzalez ~ #kincadefire #sonomacounty #Healdsburg #sodarockwinery @sodarockwinery #winecountry #northbay #wildfire

A post shared by San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) on Oct 27, 2019 at 6:02am PDT

While the winds continue to howl in Northern California, it might be a long, hard night for firefighters of the Kincade Fire. We will continue to update the situation as it progresses.