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A wind-driven wildfire, fueled by hot weather, high winds and dry brush, broke out in the heart of one of Sonoma County’s most iconic wine regions Sunday afternoon, forcing mandatory evacuations near Healdsburg.
The fire, called the Point Fire, was first reported around 12:30 pm on Stewarts Point-Scaggs Springs Road near Marina Road. As of 6:30 p.m. The fire had consumed 550 acres (more than 222 hectares) as it moved across Bradford Mountain and was only 15% contained, according to Cal Fire.
Flames could be seen from West Dry Creek Road and Dry Creek Road and smoke could be seen as far south as Cotati and Penngrove, as the fire moved southeast from the southern edge of Lake Sonoma.
No injuries were reported. Several structures were threatened, but it was unknown if any were burned.
The first evacuation order, issued by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, came at 3:02 p.m. It was then expanded to include all of Zone 2E2, a mountainous area northwest of Dry Creek Valley. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 400 people had been evacuated and 4,000 were under an evacuation warning.
Throughout the afternoon, Cal Fire air tankers, helicopters and tactical aircraft battled the fire. Meanwhile, California Highway Patrol officers and sheriff’s deputies patrolled the area enforcing the evacuation order and encouraging local residents to leave the area.
The region threatened by the Point Fire was last affected by wildfire in 2020, when the Walbridge Fire burned more than 55,000 acres and destroyed 293 structures. But the Walbridge Fire, which reached the edge of the Dry Creek Valley, did not burn as far north as the Point Fire.
Late in the afternoon, about 20 local residents gathered on Yoakim Bridge Road, anxiously watching the smoke billowing from the fire. Some of them were hoping for the best as the sky darkened and turned a familiar orange hue.
Randy Rochester, 56, sat in his Ford pickup truck, focused on two trees that marked a spot near his home. He said he left the area at 4:30 pm There were no flames but smoke filled the area.
Rochester said if the trees catch fire, he knows his house is in danger.
“If those trees fall, I will lose everything,” he said.
Rochester said he has survived enough fires to keep a travel bag ready. Once the evacuation order was issued, she said she waited about 30 minutes to leave, while the sky filled with smoke.
He said he felt sorry for the firefighters battling the fire and smoke.
“They can’t do anything there, there is a lot of smoke. They can’t breathe,” she said.
Among those waiting on Yoakim Bridge Road was Andres Anton, 58, whose two homes along West Dry Creek Road were also on the southern edge of the burned area, hidden by hills.
He said he spent two years building the houses, which were supposed to be finished this week. He described them as two floors each with five bedrooms between them, worth $5.5 million, she said.
“It is very, very difficult, this takes two years of preparation,” he said.
Yoakim Bridge Road is lined with vineyards. Trees in the area were bending erratically due to strong gusts of wind and smoke.
Just south of Yoakim Bridge Road, sheriff’s deputies drove down vineyard roads sounding their sirens and ordering residents and motorists to leave the area.
Cal Fire spokesman Jason Clay said the fire is being driven by northwest winds and low relative humidity, which poses the biggest challenges.
As of 6 p.m., he said, structures were being threatened but he did not have an exact count of how many.
He said the structures are north of Yoakim Bridge Road, along West Dry Creek Road and on the northeast side of Bradford Mountain.
“We have had a significant increase in resources,” Clay said. “So we continue to bring resources.”
Clay added that if weather conditions permit, crews will continue to deploy aircraft into the evening, including the use of three helicopters.
Clay said the aircraft included fixed-wing aircraft of various types that have been dropping fire retardant, along with helicopters.
