The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, Calif. grew from 300 acres the night of Wednesday, October 23, 2019 to 10,000 acres by early Thursday and had damaged and destroyed an unknown number of structures as of 10 a.m. October 24, 2019.
About 2,000 people have been evacuated and multiple structures have been destroyed in the Kincade Fire that started Wednesday night and is burning near Geyserville with 0 percent containment, authorities said at a midday briefing Thursday.
The fire was reported at 9:37 p.m. Wednesday near Kincade Road east of Cloverdale and was fueled by overnight winds of about 60 mph as it burned toward the Geyserville area early Thursday morning, Cal Fire incident commander Mike Parkes said.
Parkes said about 10,000 acres have burned and firefighters expect that number to grow as about 500 crews and eight air tankers work to battle the blaze.
The strong winds have died down as of midday Thursday, but because of the difficult terrain and the dry vegetation where the fire is burning, “it’s still very challenging,” Parkes said.
He said multiple structures have burned, but an exact number was not immediately available.
About 2,000 people in the Geyserville area are under evacuation orders, and other residents in unincorporated areas north of Healdsburg are on an evacuation warning.
Sonoma Sheriff Mark Essick said:
“We want you to prepare to leave.”
Noting that the fire comes just weeks after the two-year anniversary of deadly and destructive wildfires that burned through much of the North Bay in 2017, Essick said:
“This is an emotional time for many people.”
He said:
“Take care of each other.”
“We want you to take care of your neighbors.”
PG&E officials have said power in the area where the fire started had been turned off earlier Wednesday as part of the utility’s planned Public Safety Power Shutoff.
Parkes said it is still too early for investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
Last modified October 24, 2019 2:23 pm
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