Wind-Fueled Kincade Fire Devastates Sonoma, 180,000 Residents Under Mandatory Evacuation

The fast-moving Kincade Fire grew rapidly Saturday night as vicious winds whipped the flames into a frenzy and grew the fire to 30,000 acres. As of Sunday morning 180,000 Sonoma County residents were under mandatory evacuation with at least 72 structures destroyed and 31,175 more threatened, with the fire at 1- percent containment.

#BREAKING : I just shot this timelapse video showing a huge flareup developing at the #KincadeFire . I was the only reporter allowed this far up Pine Flat Road because I was just returning from the frontlines when the flareup happened. @kron4news pic.twitter.com/eMrcCbPPsy

— Amy Larson (@AmyLarson25) October 26, 2019

“Approx 180,000 people under evacuation order due to #KincadeFire,” the Sonoma County Sheriff wrote on Twitter. “This is the largest evacuation that any of us at the Sheriff’s Office can remember. Take care of each other.”

Fire encroaching the highway on 128, both sides, in Sonoma Co. in Healdsburg. Major wind gusts kicking up and and trees and power lines down everywhere. Updates to come #KincadeFire @NBCNews @TODAYshow pic.twitter.com/0vYvsLTLk2

— Sam Brock (@SamBrockNBC) October 27, 2019

On Sunday morning, residents of Healdsburg were notified of a mandatory evacuation as the fire moved into city limits. “Fire heading toward city,” the alert read. “Leave now.”

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.

Latest Evacuation map. Mandatory evacuations have been expanded and now include much of western and northern Santa Rosa. For most up-to-date map:https://t.co/Hn7WgrrZCz

#CAwx #CAFire #KincadeFire pic.twitter.com/BkGebyYCEK

— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) October 27, 2019

The fire has been fueled by devastating winds, with gusts of up to 87 mph recorded atop Mount St. Helena this weekend. The winds are forecast to continue through Sunday:

Winds picking up in Norcal. 2 AM PDT Winds and Gusts in Norcal. #sacwx pic.twitter.com/HCEeztwAR7

— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) October 27, 2019

Among the structures burned in the flames was the Soda Rock Winery, which has been completely destroyed:

Structure on fire at Soda Rock winery on Hwy 128. #kincadefire pic.twitter.com/8z7QuiPqL7

— Kent Porter (@kentphotos) October 27, 2019

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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

We will continue to update the situation as it progresses.