Hundreds evacuated, structures burn as Point Fire grows past 1,000 acres
HEALDSBURG -- The Point Fire burning in northern Sonoma County near Lake Sonoma has burned just over 1,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The blaze held steady at 15% containment for several hours, while the fire's acreage swelled from its beginnings on Skaggs Springs Road just before 1 p.m. to over 900 acres by 8:30 p.m. By Monday morning, the acreage burned had reached 1,100 acres.
The fire was burning west of Dry Creek Road and near the southeast region of Lake Sonoma, northwest of Healdsburg. It is an area that is largely open ranch land and vineyards but Cal Fire said structures have been destroyed by the blaze. Investigators are determining what kind of structures and how many, Cal Fire said.
The fire moved south toward Mountain View Ranch Road, according to Cal Fire maps.
"Crews have really transitioned to a lot of structure defense," said Jason Clay, a public information officer with Cal Fire. "If you're in one of those areas (with an evacuation warning), be ready. Stay tuned to what's going on. If you don't feel safe, you should go ahead and get out now."
Nikki Baxes, co-owner of The Ranch at Lake Sonoma, said her horse pasture caught on fire in the afternoon.
"A gust came down for a trail ride and they were driving up the road," Baxes said. "They said, 'You know you got a little fire across the street?' We have a horse pasture over there that we rent from the neighbor across the street so of course I went running out there. There was a very small, what looked like a grass fire across the road in our horse pasture. I ran down and I said, 'We've got to get the horses! There's a fire across the street!' It went very, very fast."
Overnight there will be 36 fire engines, seven bulldozers, six hand crews and three water tenders, along with three helicopters, all fighting the fire.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from zone SON-2E2, in the Dry Creek Valley. Zone SON-2E3, also in the Dry Creek Valley in the area north of Mill Creek Road, south of Chemise Road, east of Wallace Creek Road and west of Dry Creek is under an evacuation warning, placing over 4,000 residents on high alert, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.
An evacuation center has been set up at Laguna High School in Forestville.
Smoke from the fire is affecting the North Bay, including Marin, Napa and Solano Counties. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Spare the Air alert for both Sunday and Monday in the region.
Anyone who may need assistance evacuating large animals can call Sonoma CART hotline at (707) 861-0699 for assistance.
An air quality advisory has gone out due to wildfire smoke for Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District said.
KPIX correspondent Kevin Ko contributed to this report
