Monday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. —
Update: The National Weather Service has canceled the red flag warning for the remainder of Monday.
Monday, Aug. 24, 7 a.m. —
As of CalFire’s 7 a.m. update, the Walbridge Fire is 54,068 acres and 5% contained. The Meyers Fire is 2,360 acres and 95% contained.
While the red flag warning remains active through 5 p.m. today, Sonoma County saw minimal thunderstorms over night.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 7 p.m. —
New information from CalFire has the Walbridge Fire 5% contained and at 52,068 acres and the Meyers Fire 95% contained and at 2,360 acres.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 5:15 p.m. —
The Sonoma County’s two LNU Lightning Complex Fires, the Walbridge Fire and the Meyers Fire have remained calm over the past 24 hours, with the Walbridge Fire barely growing in acreage and the Meyers Fire up to 70% contained. While the lack of growth and increase in control is good news, CalFire officials are now looking at predicted weather patterns as the next challenge.
“It’s looking really good so far out there this afternoon. There was limited fire growth overnight and the fire behaved as expected,” said CalFire Division Chief Ben Nichols.
CalFire’s last reported fire numbers as of 7 a.m. on Aug. 23 had the Meyers Fire at 2,360 acres. The much larger Walbridge Fire is at 51,072 acres and is 0% contained.
Southwest winds are continuing to push the Walbridge Fire toward the Dry Creek Valley and Westside Road areas. On its western side, the fire is continuing to back down toward Rio Nido and Guerneville, though Nichols said that the fire hasn’t made a push toward Guerneville in some time.
“Our concern at this point is the thunderstorms that are forecasted to come in this evening,” he said. “We’re currently under a red flag warning that has continued to grow across the entire northern part of the state … Unfortunately, we have another round of forecasted thunderstorms coming into the area.”
While there’s a weather advisory that began this morning and goes until Tuesday morning, the red flag warning began at 5 a.m. tonight, Aug. 23 and it expected to be in place until 5 p.m. on Aug. 24.
Nichols said that CalFire meteorologists are predicting that if the area gets thunder and lightning, it will likely occur between 6 and 11 p.m. tonight and possibly continue throughout the night. To account for the possible lightning strikes and the potential for additional fires to begin, Nichols said that CalFire has bolstered resources as much as possible to help with fire response.
If lightning doesn’t strike, he noted that there’s still the likelihood that downdrafts of around 40 miles per hour will come in and push the fire in all directions, possibly resulting in quick fire spread.
“We’re hoping to get through tonight without a storm producing. We’re all crossing our fingers, but with that know that resources are on the line and are fully briefed and ready to go,” Nichols said.
As firefighters continue to trickle in from around the state, one of the biggest challenges with trying to contain the Walbridge Fire continues to be the high concentration of timber in the area, as well as the houses and structures built throughout. Rather than being able to construct a clear fire break with bulldozers, they’ve had to “connect the dots,” using a mix of bulldozers and hand crews to try to create lines.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office information officer Sgt. Juan Valencia urged people to stay out of evacuation zones and to evacuate when ordered, citing instances of people who stayed back after an evacuation order was issued for their area. The sheriff’s office also made its first looting-related arrest this morning, out in Guerneville.
District 5 Supervisor Lynda Hopkins urged residents, especially those who were allowed back in their homes earlier today, to not get complacent.
“Just because we’re able to move back to these areas of Forestville and Dry Creek does not mean that we get to just sort of go into a feeling of complacency. My phrase for today is situational awareness,” Hopkins said. “We are in an extraordinarily dynamic situation. As you heard from Chief Nichols, the weather is going to be extremely unpredictable, it does have the potential for these sudden, significant wind gusts that can push the fire in new directions.”
For those who are still under evacuation orders, Hopkins reiterated that the county’s temporary evacuation point (TEP) has resources to help people get whatever information they need.
“I’ve heard from a number of residents who are worried that they’re running out of options — they may be running out of money for the campground they may be staying at or the hotel they may be staying at — we do have resources available for you,” Hopkins said, directing people to go to the TEP at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, where people can find resources to help them.
“We’re hoping that we’re overpreparing and that it becomes a whole bunch of nothing tomorrow,” Nichols said.
