Tired firefighters and defiant residents in fire-fighting communities in Northern California experienced something new early Saturday as they fought to save their homes: hope progress was made against the blaze, even as it potentially led to more dry thunderstorms in ‘ the whole future.
Cooler temperatures and the marine layers of the night helped crews recover from the three large complex of fires. De LNU Complex fire, in parts of Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties and beyond, burned 314,207 acres, causing five deaths and destroying 560 structures, but is now 15 percent contained. On Saturday morning, the wind blew northeast, which was good news for the resort town of Guerneville, located on the south side of the Walbridge Fire, one of several under the LNU umbrella, according to Cal Fire PIO Jay Tracy.
“We should not see any real explosive growth in this way,” Tracy said, though the fire is expected to hit the northern edge of Armstrong National Forest, just outside Guerneville, sparing the historic redwoods that have been there so far. Healdsburg, sitting on the east side of the Walbridge Fire, could be more affected.
But the positive news Saturday was that the fire had not extended a big night.
“The progress and the fact that the fire has grown minimally is good,” Tracy said.
While the Meyers Fire, near the Pacific Ocean, will appear close to contained over the next few days, the Walbridge Fire has become the top priority in Sonoma County, according to Cal Fire Chief Chris Waters. “That fire is quite unique compared to the other side of the incident – extremely rough terrain, heavy fuels, primarily wood,” Waters said.
De SCU Complex fire, in the counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Stanislaus and San Joaquin, burned 291,968 acres, destroyed five structures, and is now 10 percent contained. Crews were helped by humidity overnight, though that may change later today as weather conditions shift, Cal Fire said in an incident report.
Crews I got a “toehold” on the CZU complex fire overnight in counties of Santa Cruz and San Mateo, thanks to calmer winds, lower temperatures and moisture from the marine layer. Containment of the fire, which burned 63,000 acres and destroyed 97 structures, grew to 5 percent.
“A really big win for us yesterday, fantastic job by our people,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton.
Despite cautious optimism, nearly 75,000 homes and businesses are still threatened by all fires, and officials warned of the thunder and high temperatures forecast for Sunday and Monday could offset any gains made Thursday and Friday. And further south, the fires of River and Carmel, which began Sunday and Tuesday, forced evacuation orders and warnings throughout the Carmel Valley, in part in anticipation of new lightning storms Sunday morning. The two fires burned 50,510 acres and 48 structures.
But the apparent anger of Saturday gave hope to some residents who had decided not to heed warnings and orders for evacuation, and instead chose to stay put and help rescue the properties.
Historic Guerneville, which is normally filled with tourists bringing indoor tubes to the Russian River during the summer months, was quiet and empty on Saturday morning as the city remained under mandatory evacuation control. Firefighters marched down the streets in groups, preparing for their shifts that battled the Walbridge Fire, and several trucks with bulldozers stood by, ready to go.
The air was hazy, but the smoke was not as thick as once a week. And the peaceful atmosphere was a loud cry from Thursday night, when police drove up and down the streets and told people to leave, and a helicopter hovered overhead and crashed a message: “You have to evacuate now.”
Just about everyone that.
‘We know the risk. We are fully aware of the risk, “said Jeng, a carpenter who saw a knife in a table saw at his workplace on River Road as if it were just another day.” But at the same time, for some of us, that’s all what we have. “
Jeng, who did not want to give his last name, lives in an apartment behind M-4 Specialties, the custom furniture store where he works. He said he would rather sit in the comfort of his home for as long as possible, instead of evacuating and spending $ 150 a night on a hotel room in Santa Rosa. Even his truck is packed and full of gas, just in case.
The city was put under an evacuation control during the Kincade Fire last year, and although it was then damaged, the M-4 Specialties store suffered $ 80,000 in flood damage that year. By Friday, at least, the air quality had improved and things seemed to be heading in a good direction.
“That’s like a ray of hope,” Jeng said. “You run out and there’s no snow of ashes.”
In the mountains of Santa Cruz, visibility remained low, with smoke making it difficult to see more than 25 feet ahead of Empire Grade Road. Nearby, bulldozer crews cut a “last line” of defense from that road east to Highway 9 to protect the University of California Santa Cruz campus, as well as the nearby city. Scott Bullock, a Santa Cruz resident and 14-year-old CalFire veteran, said he had been working the fire since Sunday and the devastation he had seen in Boulder Creek and Bonny Doon for a long time.
“This unit has never seen such a thing, not even close,” he said.
Most people in the area were evacuated, but not Rod Rondeaux, who lives on a 13-acre property near the road.
Rondeaux, who moved out of Montana a few years ago, said his girlfriend, her two children and three farmers living on the property were all evacuated, as were his seven horses. He has sprinklers that secure his house, and hopes for the best.
“I’ll just hang on and see what happens,” he said. “I’ll hang on until it’s too hot to handle. I don’t want to leave this.”
His optimism was a bit tempered hearing that a thunder was predicted that could bring the kind of lightning that set 560 fires across the state earlier this week. Originally expected Sunday night, dry lightning and gusty winds could now arrive as early as 5 a.m. Sunday, weather officials warned.
“Oh wow,” he said. “I pray for rain.”
