X

Fires Threaten Napa and Sonoma Wine Country

Fires burning in Napa and Sonoma counties are endangering local communities in wine country.

Noah Kaufman

Multiple fires have already consumed more than 45,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties in California and they continue to burn in wine country. As of this writing, the largest fire, known as the Tubbs fire, which began around 10 P.M. Sunday night, is currently in the Santa Rosa area in Sonoma—have already burned 35,000 acres and causing a mandatory evacuation. A local resident told the Associated Press that it was, “an inferno like you’ve never seen before.” Meanwhile, the Atlas fire, in the Atlas Peak area of Napa County burned more than 10,000 acres northeast of Napa city and the California Highway Patrol was reporting 41 rescues as of 11:30 A.M.

A map put out by Cal Fire shows the location of all the active fires in the state including the Tubbs and Atlas fires as well the Patrick fire near Napa City and the Nuns fire near Glen Ellen, California.

The Santa Rosa police department has also put out a map detailing the areas under mandatory evacuation that should be updated as the situation develops.

Winds that, at times, have gusted over 50 miles per hour have exacerbated the fires in Napa and Sonoma, which have burned dozens homes and local businesses. Residents of Santa Rosa and nearby Rohnert park are being evacuated to churches, community centers, which are serving as temporary shelters. The LA Times is reporting that at least 1,000 people have been evacuated so far. And San Francisco’s ABC 7 has a complete list of shelters. Some in the area, that have not yet been evacuated, are offering up their space as well. Tilted Shed, for example, a cidery north of Santa Rosa put out a call on twitter welcoming those seeking shelter.

California Governor Jerry Brown declared a State of Emergency for the impacted areas and anyone in the area can receive alerts with updates on the situation by texting 888-777.