We woke up at 6:30 this morning smelling smoke. We thought it was from a fire in our neighborhood, but it was from the Napa fires - which are 50 miles to the north of us.
Last I heard 5,000 houses destroyed, 14 fires, 68 sq. miles of fire, 0 containment.
Any Dopers that way? Anyone evacuated? Stay safe up there.
My cousins in the area have all checked in with me, with the last one checking in a little while ago. So far, everyone is Ok, but one cousin’s in-laws had to evacuate their area and have probably lost their house/property. The pictures and footage of the area are shocking.
I live in Napa. We’re fine, far enough away from any blazes. School’s been canceled, much of the town is without power, and most of us have no cell signal. Many businesses are closed.
My wife’s work has closed. She works at Silverado Resort. They just finished the PGA tournament there yesterday. The resort has been evacuated, as well as the rest of the area. Many homes lost.
My sister’s son may have lost his house in Santa Rosa. My sister may have to evacuate. She’s in the eastern hills.
We were woken last night by the strong smell of smoke and thought, like many others, that our own house was burning. It was VERY windy and figured that the smoke was from a brush fire somewhere.
Went back to bed to be woken up around 3:00 am by texts from the sheriff/ fire departments telling of multiple wildfires burning around the valley. My first thought was of a serial arsonist. They started out as 200 acres big, but swelled quickly. As of 8:00 am, there were 20,000 acres burning in one place.
Fire crews were not even beginning to fight the fires, but get people out safely. The local shelters reached capacity by 8:00 as well and more were opened.
The sun came up and turned everything orange from the thick smoke. The air smells strongly of smoke and ashes are covering everything. The parking lots of the larger stores in town are full of fire refugees. Lots of RVs, campers and livestock trailers. Long lines for gas, too.
I haven’t listened to the news since about 9:30, so I don’t know how things are going. Maybe I’ll check back with an update.
As I said, I’m not terribly near any blazes. Thing is, it got very windy, and those winds are carrying burning embers to rooftops. It’s conceivable that they could reach us, but not a strong chance. the wind has died down, but I don’t know if it will come back. Let’s hope not.
TLDR: Napa’s burning. I’m fine.
I’m way down in Texas, but I’ve been to Santa Rosa many times over the last >30 years, and I saw today that the two hotels where I would always stay have both completely burned down. Kinda sinks in more now.
This is a catastrophe. Very suspicious that so many fires all started at the same time. CA Fire Season is upon us!!
They’ve been warning of fire danger for a few days now. But even if the first one was arson, the rest weren’t. The winds were very high last night up there, and on TV you can see the embers blowing all over the place. Plus, they started reasonably early at night (I think I heard 10 pm) so not a lot could be done in the dark.
But catastrophe for sure. There are so many fires, over such a wide area, that I don’t know how the firefighters can even get started.
Mrs. Gap and I are evac’d from just west of Sonoma town. Voluntary Evac order has been issued for the town proper now. Couldn’t find Kitty, she went to ground sometime early this morning. She’s an outdoor born cat and if anything will be ok, she will. Mrs. Gap’s daughter in laws dad lost his house, at least two of Mrs. Gap’s chorus sisters have lost theirs. We hope our house and Mrs. Gap’s insurance business will be there when we return. We could see smoke in the hills 4 miles north, and an area we often short cut through is gone. Glen Ellen, where Jack London’s place is, is under heavy threat.
Mrs. Gap and I have been through this shit before when we lived in the San Bernardino mountains. This is messed up and though it was awful windy last night it seems wrong to have SO many fires break out at a similar time.
Here’s a current fire map.
Stay safe, Gap fam!
Glad to hear it. Stay safe, and I hope the fires stay away.
[quote=“Jumpbass, post:8, topic:798404”]
Here’s a current fire map.
Thanks for the link. The maps on TV haven’t been very useful.
Earlier today, I saw a headline about fires up that way and kind of shrugged because, California. This evening, I see a headline about 10 people dead and 1500 structures destroyed. Unbelievable bad.
Updating what little I’ve found out, latest CalFire map shows Sonoma town still ok. Chateau St. Jean Winery, a customer of the machine shop I’m at, has burnt, as has a lovely B+B I go by all the time. I fear lots of Glen Ellen has burnt and our stomachs are in knots. In the coming days we will find out how much damage has been done. Mrs. Gap and I have both seen the devastation of forest fires. By being surrounded by nature you get reminded once in a while how merciless life can be.
The county sheriffs have lifted the evac order but since we’re here and in the a/c we will stay put for the night. Weather may help out tonight and tomorrow since the forecast is for 8 mph winds instead of 30 or so. (Thanks, Jumpbass.)
Morning update:
We remain fine. The fire closest to us seems to be moving east, away from town. Sadly, it’s moving into a populated area in Solano County. We were on eggshells last night, packing some bags, getting pets, important documents and valuables organized in case we had to bug out, but we’re still here.
News coverage is shit here. The local radio station is 99% filler with little tidbits of real information. The Bay Area news stations are concentrating on Sonoma County because there’s more damage there and it’s easier to get to, but to be honest, there’s not much news to be had. Fires are burning, people are evacuated, shelters are full. Same as last night. I’m just now hearing that a sheriff’s briefing is starting to happen. Stand by.
Okay, the press conference is basically over. The big news is that the state has petitioned FEMA for federal assistance. That means we can get out of state fire crews here to help.
Nobody is trying to fight the fires yet. They’re still concentrating on making sure people are safe. I imagine they will start working on the fires later today. I hope.
Comcast has opened up their wifi free to the public for the time being. McDonald’s and Starbucks all over are crowded with folks keeping touch.
Some areas are requiring water to be boiled before drinking. We lost a pumping station yesterday.
I still have power, water, TV, phone, wifi. I consider myself lucky. I think I’ll take a drive later and check in on some of my friends and family without those things. Tell them to come here and check in with the world.
The local paper just posted a new fire map of Napa County. I live west of the south end of the Atlas Fire. It’s about two miles away but heading south. I fear that it will close hwy 12 between Napa and I80. That’s not good. It’s a major way in and out of the valley.
Fire Map (PDF)
First up, I’m glad to be hearing from some area Dopers that you are safe. I hope the same hold true for everyone. I know there are some we have not heard from yet.
Sad to hear about St. Jean. I dread hearing the rest of it.
The latest report notes that the number of fatalities has reached 13.
Good news on Chateau St. Jean, saw some pics this morning and it’s still there. Evidently the fire burnt close but didn’t wipe them out. Still tons of smoke in Sonoma town center and Valley of the Moon in general. Mrs. Gap has had to call one client and deliver bad news about the house and cars, but so far that’s it. We’re all just keeping fingers and toes crossed.
The TV news just said 15. Many are missing, but with the chaotic conditions there is room for hope. Over 80 of the previous missing have been found.
At least the wind has died down and humidity has risen, so the fires don’t seem to be moving as quickly as they were yesterday.
The smoke doesn’t seem as bad around my area today. I think the wind might have shifted. Let’s hope the missing show up, because the number is pretty high. Buildings, we can replace.