2,000 acres burning in Geysers area fire
By BRETT WILKISON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
November 22, 2013, 4:50 PM
Strong winds have whipped up a major, late-season wildfire in the hills of northeastern Sonoma County Friday, burning 2,000 acres so far, damaging one geothermal power plant and forcing evacuations of energy plant workers in the remote area.
The blaze, one of two large fires burning in Wine Country Friday, was fanned by winds that were gusting in the early hours up to 45 mph.
The so-called McCabe Fire started around 2 a.m. Friday morning in The Geysers area, a large geothermal energy field on the Sonoma—Lake county border.
It was burning in steep, rugged terrain covered by oak woodland and grassland in Sonoma County and moving toward Lake County, said CalFire Capt. Scott McLean. More than 340 firefighters were already on the blaze by 5 p.m., with at least an additional 60 personnel from local departments on order.
McLean said CalFire was requesting additional hand crews, engines and bulldozers.
"Everything and anything," he said. "It's a large incident."
A large column of smoke from the fire filled the sky over northern Sonoma County and was visible from Santa Rosa, about 40 miles south.
Other than power plant facilities in the area, McLean was not aware of any structures that were threatened. No injuries were reported as of 5 p.m.
The blaze grew rapidly in size after 7 a.m. Friday, when it was reported at 100 acres and was 10 percent contained. Dry and warm afternoon winds pushed the fire to 500 acres before noon and to 1,500 acres before 2 p.m., according to the Geyserville Fire Protection District's Twitter feed.
In their 5 p.m. report, CalFire officials estimated the size at 2,000 acres and growing and reduced containment to zero percent. Winds were reported at a sustained 8 mph, with gusts of up to 25 mph.
"There are heavy smoke conditions in the area, so it's difficult to get eyes on it," said McLean, the CalFire captain.
Many if not most local fire departments in Sonoma County had sent units to the blaze. About 3:30 p.m., incident commanders redoubled their request, asking for an additional 20 engines from local departments.
"It's just going crazy," said Mike Elson, a captain with the Central Fire Authority in Windsor.
He said the department had sent three engines early Friday. Other local firefighters on the blaze came from Geyserville, Healdsburg, Forestville, Gold Ridge and Cloverdale, he said.
Two of the 15 geothermal power plants operated by Calpine Corp. were off-line due to the fire. One sustained damage to its cooling towers and another was off-line because of a fire-related transmission issue, according to Danielle Matthews Serepas, a Calpine spokeswoman.
She said the company had evacuated all non-essential personnel from the affected area and that Calpine was assisting firefighters with logistics and water supply.
The cause of the blaze was unknown, McLean said.
The other large fire was in Napa County, east of Highway 29, where 50 homes were threatened by flames in the Soda Canyon Road area, triggering mandatory evacuations.
The so-called Silverado Fire, which started late Thursday, and spread through oak forest and grassland, was reported at 300 acres and was 50 percent contained at 4:45 p.m. Friday. About 190 firefighters were assigned.
Evacuees were being offered shelter in the gym at Napa High School, though most sought shelter with family or friends, according to Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart.
The mandatory evacuation was set to be lifted at 6 p.m. Friday, Calfire officials said. The order from the Napa County Sheriff's Office included homes off Loma Vista Drive, Shady Oak Drive, and Ridge Road.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation, though law enforcement officials said downed power lines were suspected.
A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said winds were gradually decreasing in strength around the region Friday. They had reached up to 50 mph late Thursday and early Friday. By afternoon, the strongest reports included gusts of 31 mph at the Sonoma County airport.
Firefighters faced the challenging combination of already-dry fuels — even with this week's rain — and warm offshore winds blowing from the land to the coast, said Bob Benjamin, the Weather Service meteorologist.
"Those should be diminishing as the day progresses," Benjamin said.
Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20131122/articles/131129793
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