Point Fire at Lake Sonoma Creeps Through Dry Creek Valley Near Healdsburg: Updates

It’s been a long and gut-wrenching 30-plus hours in the Dry Creek Valley northwest of Healdsburg, where a wildfire called the Point Fire has now burned around 1,200 acres, according to Cal Fire. It broke out near Lake Sonoma just before 1pm on Sunday, when the humidity was low and heat and winds were high. Fire crews pounced on the blaze quickly, but strong winds soon whipped it out of their control — ballooning the fire to hundreds of acres by late afternoon and sending a long plume of smoke down the valley, through Healdsburg and into southern Sonoma County. Even parts of Napa County got smoked. PG&E has been reporting widespread power outages in the area surrounding the fire, too. A rep for the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley association told the Press Democrat this morning that “no area wineries or vines have been burned so far in the fire.” However, there have been reports of one firefighter getting injured by a branch (he’ll be OK, Cal Fire says) and at least a few rural homes burning down. Which is devastating, of course, for whoever lives there — especially considering this fire is tearing through a very similar footprint as the Walbridge Fire that ravaged the area in 2020. In a briefing this morning at the Cloverdale fairgrounds, a Cal Fire unit chief reminded firefighters that they would be encountering Walbridge Fire survivors as they continued battling the Point Fire today, the PD reports. “So please be mindful of that, and take a second to communicate with them, and let them know that we’re doing everything that we can,” the unit chief said. Fire officials haven’t made any indication yet that they’re worried about the Point Fire coming close to the City of Healdsburg. Still, city leaders are urging residents to pack their “go bags” and sign up for evacuation alerts, just in case — and stay out of the smoky air in the meantime. Sonoma County Sheriff’s officials did order more than 300 rural residents to evacuate yesterday afternoon: those living in the area between Lake Sonoma and the north end of Dry Creek and West Dry Creek roads. Staffers and visitors at iconic Dry Creek Valley wineries like Ferrari-Carano, Bella, Capo Creek, Michel-Schlumberger and Quivira also had to evacuate. Soon after, thousands more people living in the valley and its foothills received an “evacuation warning” from the sheriff, which meant they should start getting ready to go and wait for the official order to leave. My family evacuated while the sun was setting in a sickly orange haze last night. We saw dozens of people watching the Point Fire’s smoke plume from the sides of local roads, where they had parked their cars. We also spotted at least a dozen more police and sheriff’s vehicles parked along our exit route, blocking off roads leading to the fire area and just generally keeping tabs on everyone. It all felt very ominous. Thankfully, the Point Fire situation vastly improved overnight, as weather conditions calmed and cooled. It also helped that helicopters were dropping water on hotspots all night, according to Marshall Turbeville, chief of the Northern Sonoma County Fire District — a night operation that he called “a first in Sonoma County.” Early today, Turbeville said in a message to residents: “Things are looking a lot better this morning. Just need to get through the Red Flag Warning wind event. Now that the spread has been stopped/slowed along West Dry Creek Road and Mountain View Ranch Road, we need to watch fire spread, burning North to South, into the Wallace Creek Road area. Hopefully firefighters can remain aggressive today with aircraft support.” Another gift came in the form of very little wind today. The containment level has held at 20% all day, with around 400 total personnel on the job, according to Cal Fire officials — including 50 engines, 12 hand crews, 10 dozers, 10 water tenders and multiple aircrafts. However, they fear winds might kick up again tonight. From the PD: “There remained significant potential for the fire to escape existing lines, if winds rose more than expected, Cal Fire spokesman Jason Clay said. The day’s strongest gusts weren’t expected to set in until about 8 p.m.” For tomorrow, Cal Fire officials say they’re “planning to keep the same resource commitment working the fire that we had Monday,” as “crews will work to reinforce containment lines and conduct heavy mop-up operations.” Officials have not yet spoken to a potential cause of the Point Fire, that I’ve seen. Some residents were confused at first about whether it was a controlled burn or a wild one, since it broke out within a day or two of a nearly 300-acre prescribed burn on the other side of Lake Sonoma that hopped its perimeter at one point, burning another 20 acres or so before firefighters got a handle on it. Also, during the Point Fire, there have been two apparently unrelated structure fires along Dry Creek Road, according to the Watch Duty fire-alert app. Thus adding to the confusion. And around 10am this morning, ANOTHER fire broke out 10-20 miles to our northeast, in some vegetation up on Geysers Road; firefighters reportedly kept that one to just 1 acre. Anyway — stay safe out there everybody, and download Watch Duty if you haven’t already. It’s a lifesaver. (Source: Cal Fire via X & Press Democrat & Press Democrat & Press Democrat & City of Healdsburg via Facebook & PG&E)