Firefighters battling blaze that threatens Oakmont
Here are the latest updates from the Tubbs fire in Sonoma County:
12:30 p.m.
Cal Fire director Ken Pimlott said firefighters had not yet secured any containment lines around the fires burning in Sonoma and Napa counties, but they expected to make significant progress Tuesday under more favorable weather conditions - primarily a break in the wind.
The strong winds that fueled the devastating firestorms that ran through entire communities in Santa Rosa had lessened were expected to return Wednesday.
“We are far from out of the woods,” Pimlott said.
Tuesday, firefighters were focusing on strengthening protection lines, primarily on the fires’ southern flanks. Some of those efforts include keeping the Nuns fire off Sugarloaf Mountain and working along Calistoga Road to protect neighborhoods from the fire and prevent the fire from entering already burned areas.
Additional firefighting forces were en route from Nevada and other states, as state emergency officials continued to divert resources from other fires to northern California.
Addressing concerns about a lack of air support for firefighters on the ground, Pimlott said they had mustered a strong showing by the end of the day Monday, pumping a total of 266,000 gallons of fire retardant from a Sacramento air base alone for aircraft working on the
“We have access to almost every aviation asset in the country right now,” Pimlott said.
More assistance was expected. Vice President Mike Pence visited Sacramento Tuesday and said President Donald Trump had approved a “major disaster declaration” for the wildfires, a status that allows FEMA to provide further resources.
The latest numbers available about fires in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties:
Atlas fire: 25,000 acres, zero percent containment
Nuns fire: 5,000 acres, zero percent containment
Tubbs fire: 27,000 acres, zero percent containment
Redwood complex: 21,000 acres, zero percent containment
12:05 p.m.
The number of people who have died in North Coast wildfires has risen to 15, including 9 fatalities from the Tubbs fire burning in Santa Rosa and greater Sonoma County.
“That number continues to be fluid, and we still have a number of missing persons,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
Speaking at a press conference at the Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, Ghilarducci said local law enforcement were working to notify the families of those lost.
10 a.m.
Assistant Sonoma County Fire Marshal Andy Parsons told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday 20 strike teams were battling the Tubbs fire. There is still zero containment.
Sheriff Rob Giordano told supervisors up to 20 deputies had lost homes. The department was still rescuing residents and helping with evacuations. He said an estimated 125 people were missing.
The fires, he said, have “really blown up...this is extremely active. This is by no means over for us in any way.”
9 a.m.
Fire Monday night into early Tuesday flared-up in some Santa Rosa areas already burned and caused new threats – including in Oakmont, where a force of firefighters and engines were holding back flames from reaching homes.
At least eight fires continue burning in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties totaling more than 80,000 acres. Only two in Lake County have any amount of containment.
The Tubbs fire is the most devastating of all, burning in an urban area as it swept over the hill from Calistoga into northern Santa Rosa and then spread in multiple directions, obliterating hillsides and flatland neighborhoods from Coffey Park in the west to Skyfarm in the east.
Early Tuesday fire officials released new numbers including that 571 structures were destroyed in the Santa Rosa fire: 550 homes and 21 commercial buildings.
New trouble flared during the night in Oakmont, the retirement community east of Santa Rosa, said Paul Lowenthal, Santa Rosa’s assistant fire marshal.
About 1 a.m. Tuesday a report of fire nearing White Oak Drive along the upper edge of the community brought numerous firefighters, who made a stand along the road to prevent its spread into Trione-Annadel State Park.
Initial reports indicated it was a new fire, but officials later realized it was a finger of the 5,000-acre Nunns fire, which stretched from greater Glen Ellen to Annadel and Bennett Valley. This part of the fire had shifted during the night. Fire officials predict it could get larger.
Bennett Valley fire Battalion Chief Darren DeCarli said Tuesday several homes apparently have burned along Bennett Ridge but further details were scare. He also was attempting to learn about any losses on Pressley Road or in Hidden Acres.
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