Wildfires Closer To Containment As Rain Approaches Bay Area
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) – Firefighters continued to increase containment of the fires burning in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties Thursday as officials raised the number of structures destroyed to nearly 7,000, authorities said.
Containment of the 36,432-acre Tubbs Fire increased to 92 percent as of Thursday morning. It started around 9:45 p.m. on Oct. 8 near Calistoga and spread quickly to Santa Rosa and elsewhere in Sonoma County.
Containment of the 16,552-acre Pocket Fire in the Geyserville area increased 10 percent to 73 percent since Wednesday morning, Cal Fire officials said.
WINE COUNTRY WILDFIRES: Continuing Coverage
Containment of the 34,398-acre Nuns Fire in Sonoma County and the 20,025-acre Nuns Fire in Napa County reached 82 percent as of Thursday morning. Full containment is expected by next Tuesday, according to Cal fire.
The four fires have destroyed 6,900 structures, damaged 330 and threatened 2,435 structures.
"The estimates are in structures and our mostly homes, but also includes commercial structures and outbuildings like barns and sheds," said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.
Twenty three of the 42 deaths in California's October fires happened in a Sonoma County wildfire, making it the third deadliest in California history. A 1993 Los Angeles fire that killed 29 people was the deadliest, followed by the 1991 Oakland Hills fire that killed 25.
The Atlas Fire that started around 9:50 p.m. on Oct. 8 off Atlas Peak Road south of Lake Berryessa is 85 percent contained Thursday morning. It has burned 51,624 acres in Napa and Solano counties. The fire destroyed 442 structures, damaged 77 and threatened 876 structures.
Reports of increased containment comes as a weather system is expected to dump rainfall on the Bay Area, particularly in the North Bay.
Who's excited to see this? #NorthBayMountains will get most amount of rain as system picks up more moisture before moving #South @CBSSF pic.twitter.com/jwNjCTPqAh
— Neda Iranpour (@NedaNews8) October 19, 2017
According to KPIX 5's Neda Iranpour, the mountains of the North Bay could see up of 0.75 inches of rain through Friday morning, while up to 0.25 inches of rain could fall on the North Bay valleys. The rest of the Bay Area could see up to 0.10 inches of rain.
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