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Cal Fire fights wildfires to a standstill, increases containments on wine country wildfires. Most evacuation orders lifted – Latest maps & status data updated 8:16 a.m., Oct 18

See previous coverage here:

Harvesting grapes at Saddleback vineyards. Photo by: Jack Oliver

Harvesting grapes at Saddleback vineyards. Photo by: Jack Oliver

WINERY DAMAGE/SAFETY ASSESSMENT: Status on 100+ wineries (and wine businesses): Good, bad or gone – UPDATED 6:22 a.m., Oct. 18


By Lewis Perdue, Wine Industry Insight Executive Editor/Publisher

SUMMARY:

Total wildfire acres burned remains at 194,016 — just 500 acres over yesterday — while containments have increased according to Cal Fire (scroll down for details).

Firefighters seem to have eliminated any new hot spots from the Nuns Complex which had spread to the Rutherford area of Napa Valley, this according to satellite data (see map below) 

Satellite data (maps below) indicate that the Sugarloaf/Hood Mtn area of Sonoma Valley, the Pocket Fire near Geyserville and the Redwood Valley Fire are the only blazes showing new hot spots.

Satellites only view the area every 12 hours, so current conditions on the ground will inevitably vary. This will be updated after the satellite pass later this morning.

Most evacuation orders have been lifted

TODAY’S STATUS UPDATE:

  • Death toll*: 35 (Sheriffs statements – Sonoma County: 22, Mendocino County:9, Napa County: 6)
  • Containment (CalFire): Tubbs at 91% (82%-10/17), Atlas at 83% (77%-10/17), Nuns at 80% (68%-10/17)
  • Acres Burned (CalFire): 194,016 (193,516 on 10/17) – Scroll down for containment and detailed fire-by-fire info, below maps.
  • Wineries damaged or destroyed (click here for updates)
  • People Evacuated: 90,000+ most returning. (Sheriffs)
  • People without power: was 20,000 but PG&E said on 10/17 that 97% had been restored.
  • Structures damaged: 5.700+
  • Weather (NWS): Today: Areas of smoke after 11am. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 6 to 11 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46. South wind 6 to 11 mph. Thursday: A 30 percent chance of rain after 11am.

* According to Cal Fire, the current fires have caused the largest death toll of any wildfire since accurate records were kept: California wildfires.

 

In addition, the death toll has exceeded the Griffith Park Fire which is considered the state’s largest single deadly fire with an official toll of 29.

 

Additional deaths in current fires in Yuba and Butte Counties have pushed the overall Northern California wildfire death toll to at least 40.


INCIDENT NOTICES: Go to Nixle and get local push alerts: text your zip code to 888777

Also see the latest Cal Fire Incident Update for more information.

 


No new hot spots in Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley wildfire status greatly improved.

Screen Shot 2017-10-18 at 8.17.47 AM

Above, an updated map from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group which has significant differences from the one, below, taken about 3 hours earlier. Maps are updated every 12 hours.

Click here for the interactive version. Right-click maps to view larger images.

Right-click image to enarge.


DETAILED FIRE INFO FROM CAL FIRE

These numbers are the most recent at this time, but will be updated around 8 a.m. Check back here after 9 a.m. when new numbers are likely to be available.

 

Tubbs Fire (Central LNU Complex) Updated: Updated: October 18, 2017 7:34 am
County: Napa County
Location: off of Hwy 128 and Bennett Ln, Calistoga
Acres Burned – 36,432 acres – 91% contained

 

Pocket Fire (Central LNU Complex ) October 18, 2017 7:35 am
County: Sonoma County
Location: off of Pocket Ranch Rd and Ridge Ranch Rd, Geyserville
Acres Burned – 12,430 acres – 63% contained

 

Atlas Fire (Southern LNU Complex) October 18, 2017 7:42 am
County: Napa County,Solano County
Location: off of Altas Peak Rd, south of Lake Berryessa
Acres Burned – 51,064 acres – 83% contained

 

Nuns / Adobe / Norbbom/ Pressley / Partrick Fires (Central LNU Complex) Updated: October 18, 2017 7:37 am
County: Sonoma County
Location: Hwy 12, north of Glen Ellen
Acres Burned – Containment – 54,423 acres – 80% contained

 

Oakmont Fire (Central LNU Complex): Now part of Nuns Complex

 

Redwood Valley Fire Complex (Mendocino Lake Complex) Updated: October 17, 2017 8:28 pm
County: Mendocino County
Location: North of Hwy 20, west of Mendocino National Forest, south of Black Bart
Acres Burned: 35,800 acres – 75% contained

 

Sulphur Fire (Mendocino Lake Complex) Updated: October 18, 2017 8:04 am
County: Lake County
Location: off Hwy 20 and Sulphur Bank Road, Clearlake Oaks
Acres Burned: 2,207 – 92% contained

 

37 Fire: Updated: October 12, 2017 9:02 am
County: Sonoma County
Location: Hwy 37 & Lakeville Highway
Acres Burned – Containment: 1,660 acres – fire out.

 

Information Links

NAPA COUNTY

Napa County Sheriff’s Office:

SONOMA COUNTY

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office

SONOMA CITY

City of Sonoma — A mostly poorly done effort with incomplete data and lacking both timeliness and specific information.

MENDOCINO COUNTY

LAKE COUNTY

Lake County CA Sheriff’s Department

SOLANO COUNTY

Fairfield, CA Police

Solano Sheriff

Twitter accounts & #hashtags

#sonomafire

Santa Rosa

@ MendoSheriff

@ CityofNapa

#GOES16

@ NWSBayArea

From Sonoma County

News Links

  • KPIX-CBS
  • ABC7
  • NBC
  • KRON4.com (Good coverage ruined by CPU overload and too many crappy auto-run flash and animations running.)