Firefighters keep gaining ground on Kincade fire; some evacuees can return

GEYSERVILLE >> Firefighters continued to make progress in controlling the Kincade fire overnight Friday, with the Sonoma County blaze that once threatened thousands of homes 72% contained, as of Saturday morning.

The fire, which sparked and explosively grew on a windy night a week and a half ago in the mountains east of Geyserville, did not grow Friday night, according to Cal Fire.

The blaze has consumed just under 78,000 acres, or about 122 square miles, and destroyed 372 structures, of which 175 were homes and 11 were businesses. Parts of Sonoma County east of Healdsburg and Windsor remain under mandatory evacuation orders.

Authorities have begun letting people back into some areas that were burned in the fire, though they are giving residents extensive

The blaze has consumed just under 78,000 acres, or about 122 square miles, and destroyed 372 structures, of which 175 were homes and 11 were businesses.

warnings to wear protective gear and be aware of potentially hazardous chemicals.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is requiring people to check in with county workers before entering the areas. It has set up checkin stations at the Geyserville Park & Ride on Remmel Road and at the intersection of Alexander Valley Road and Highway 128.

Cal Fire said the blaze still threatens 815 structures.

Many people feared the Kincade fire would be far more destructive and it revived memories of the fires that have killed dozens of people in each of the last two years. No one has been killed in the blaze.

Mandatory evacuation orders at one point covered virtually half of Sonoma County as firefighters worried that hurricane-force winds could sweep the blaze through cities along Highway 101 and perhaps beyond it.

But firefighters dug in, holding off the flames at the edges of Windsor until the third in a series of dangerous wind storms subsided Wednesday morning.

That has proven to be the turning point in the fight against the blaze.

The winds since Wednesday have been calm, allowing fire crews to finally gain the upper hand, and National Weather Service forecasts don’t show any wind storms over the next week.

Still, there is still no rain in Northern California’s forecast either, keeping fire danger high.