Live updates: Some evacuation orders lifted in Northern California fires; death toll at 40

Area command fire fighters accesses a blowup through a re-burn area along Wood Vally Rd after winds kicked up flames east of Sonoma, California, USA 14 Oct 2017. Area command fire fighters accesses a blowup through a re-burn area along Wood Vally Rd after winds kicked up flames east of Sonoma, California, USA 14 Oct 2017. Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Peter DaSilva, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 80 Caption Close Live updates: Some evacuation orders lifted in Northern California fires; death toll at 40 1 / 80 Back to Gallery

Latest developments in the North Bay fires:

These are the developments in the North Bay fires as of 1 p.m. Sunday. Click here to see the latest updates:

1 p.m. Some mandatory evacuation orders lifted for Napa neighborhoods: The mandatory evacuation order for residents on Gordon Valley Road and Wooden Valley Cross Road was lifted effective noon Sunday, according to Napa County Sheriff’s Office. Evacuation advisories within Napa city limits were also lifted, although authorities asked residents to “exercise caution while emergency vehicles continue to operate within the area.”

12:10 p.m. Nuns Fire ‘top priority’ for Napa County, Atlas Fire ‘looking good’: Of the three fires burning in Napa County, the 47,106-acre Nuns Fire, which merged with four other wildland blazes in the area, was receiving the bulk of attention Sunday, according to fire officials.

The Nuns Fire was the least contained fire in the county, behind the Tubbs Fire and the Atlas Fire.

“The Nuns Fire is the top priority for us today,” Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said at a Sunday news conference.

The Nuns Fire — a combination of the Adobe, Norrbom, Pressley, and Partrick wildfires — first started off Highway 12 north in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County and continued burning in its south and western sections Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire. The blaze was 25 percent contained, meaning about a quarter of the wildfire’s outer boundaries had control lines in place to stop the flames from spreading.

Also in Napa was the Atlas Fire, which Biermann said was “looking good,” and had burned through an estimated 51,057 acres but was 56 percent contained Sunday morning — more than twice the Nuns Fire.

Biermann said firefighters are monitoring the Tubbs Fire burning in Sonoma and Napa counties, which was 60 percent contained Sunday morning. It is the most deadly of the Northern California fires and claimed at least 18 of the 40 lives lost. The northeast section of the fire by Red Hill and Mount St. Helena was the most active part of the 35,470-acre blaze, and the fire was making “short uphill runs around to the north side of the peaks,” according to Cal Fire.

11:10 a.m. Evacuees gradually returning home in Mendocino County: Some neighborhoods in Mendocino County’s Redwood Valley, Willits and Potter Valley that were evacuated due to wildfires will be “repopulated” starting noon on Sunday, according to Cal Fire officials.

In Redwood Valley, areas south of Tomki Road from the intersection with East/West Road will allow residents re-entry. In Willits, the Pine Mountain subdivision and all areas between Eastside Road and Tomki Road south of Canyon Road will be reopened. For Potter Valley, areas west of the Gibson Lane and Hawn Creek Road intersection, along with areas west of the Busch Lane and North Busch Road intersection will be repopulated. Shale Lane north of Potter Valley Road will also be reopened to residents.

10:45 a.m., Second evacuation shelter opens in Marin County: The Red Cross has opened a second shelter in Marin County to accommodate many of the 3,000 evacuated on Saturday in Santa Rosa, officials said Sunday.

The new shelter is at the former Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary at 201 Seminary Drive, in the Strawberry neighborhood of Mill Valley.

The Marin Center Exhibit hall at 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael is the other Marin County shelter. It opened on Oct. 9, and has housed about 524 people since wildfires began in the North Bay.

9:45 a.m. Firefighters monitoring fire near Oakland Zoo in case of flare ups: Oakland firefighters contained a car fire that started about 4 a.m. Sunday and spread to Oakland Zoo property, officials said.

A Red Flag warning, signaling low humidity and high gusts, was in effect for the East Bay hills at the time the fire broke out. The warning expired at 8 a.m. as winds died down.

Firefighters plan to monitor the blaze for the next 24 hours out of an abundance of caution, given the series of deadly fires that broke out in the North Bay, officials said.

A car caught fire at Elysian Fields Drive and Golf Links Road and flames spread up steep terrain to the top of a hill at the edge of Oakland Zoo property. The fire spread a little more than an acre but was contained by about 6 a.m., said Acting Battalion Chief Frank Tijiboy.

9:25 a.m. Number of missing persons declines in Sonoma County: At least 172 people remain unaccounted for in Sonoma County, Sgt. Spencer Crum, a sheriff’s office spokesman, said Sunday morning.

Four fires raging in the county — the Tubbs, Nuns, Oakmont and Pocket fires — left 22 people dead, or more than half the total death toll of 40 in the Northern California wildfires.

Downed cell towers and faulty service initially resulted in at least 1,734 missing persons reports as people sought to reconnect with loved ones, officials said.

As winds lessened Sunday morning, containment numbers went up and 1,562 people reported missing were located, things seemed to be looking up.

“I think things are looking pretty good today. Winds are down,” Crum said. “I’m hearing some pretty positive news.”

8:45 a.m. Nearly 75,000 remain evacuated in Northern California wildfires: As light winds aided the progress of around 11,000 firefighters battling blazes across the state, some evacuations have been lifted.

An estimated 75,000 people remain evacuated across the state, down from an initial count of 90,000. Fifteen wildfires, including some that have merged with other fires, and have now burned more than 200,000 acres across the state, according to Cal Fire officials. At least 40 deaths have been confirmed in Northern California — including 22 in Sonoma County alone, according to Cal Fire officials.

8:10 a.m. Sonoma County — hardest hit by deadly wildfires — expects full containment by Friday: The wildfires that caused massive destruction and killed nearly two dozen people in Sonoma County are expected to be fully contained by Friday, Cal Fire officials said Sunday.

At least 22 people, more than half the current Northern California wildfire death toll of 40, have died in Sonoma County wildfires. Four wildfires in the county — the Tubbs, Pocket, Nuns, and Oakmont fires, have decimated an estimated 3,470 structures.

As of Sunday morning, the 35,470-acre Tubbs Fire was 60 percent contained, the 11,246-acre Pocket Fire was 25 percent contained, the 47,106-acre Nuns Fire was 25 percent contained and the 550-acre Oakmont Fire was 15 percent contained, according to Cal Fire reports.

Containment figures measure how much of the outer boundaries of the wildfires have been surrounded with control lines to stop the fire from spreading.

7:25 a.m. Deadliest of Northern California wildfires now 60 percent contained: The Tubbs Fire in Napa and Sonoma Counties burned through 35,470 acres and was 60 percent contained Sunday morning, according to the latest Cal Fire measurements. The Tubbs Fire was the deadliest of a series of Northern California wildfires that have claimed 40 lives since Oct. 8. The containment percentage represents how much of the outer edges of the fire have been surrounded by control line to stop the wildfire from spreading.

7:05 a.m. Hundreds of thousands lost power in wildfires, but most service restored: An estimated 310,000 Pacific Gas and Electric Company customers lost power when a series of deadly wildfires broke out across Northern California, according to PG&E. By Saturday night more than 92 percent of customers had power restored. More than half of the 42,000 customers who lost gas remain without gas service, with service restored to about 16,800 customers, according to PG&E estimates.

6:45 a.m. Largest of deadly California wildfires now more than 50 percent contained: The Atlas Fire north of the city of Napa, burning in both Napa and Solano counties, has blackened an estimated 51,057 acres and was 56 percent contained Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire officials. Containment means firefighters have installed control lines along the outer boundaries of the wildfire to halt spreading. Although the Atlas Fire was the largest of the series of wildfires, the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma and Napa counties has been the most deadly, according to current fatality counts.

6:17 a.m. Wildfires around city of Napa ‘not getting worse’: Lighter wind has lessened the threat of wildfires in the city of Napa but threatened air quality, Napa Police Department announced Sunday morning.

“It is a little smoky again in the city of Napa. Don’t you worry though, the fires immediately around the city of Napa are not getting worse and our amazing partners in the fire service are still in the area,” the department said in an statement early Sunday.

Officials advised residents to “mask up and stay safe” as the air quality measured at the “unhealthy” level early Sunday, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

5:30 a.m. Sonoma County begins wildfire damage assessment: County employees from the Permits and Resources Management Department have started to survey damage in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County’s evacuated wildfire zones, sheriff’s officials announced Sunday.

With concerns of looting abound, residents who question the identity of employees should call the sheriff’s dispatch center at (707) 565-2121. But, officials said, the employees at the scene should be displaying Sonoma County identification cards and will be in cars marked with the county seal.

“This is a necessary and important process as it allows the county to determine what dangers may/may not be present and what repairs may/may not be needed before evacuation orders are lifted,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “In short, it's a step closer to moving our displaced residents back home !!!”

Wildfires hit Sonoma County the hardest, with 22 fatalities — more than half of the 40 deaths recorded thus far in the Northern California fire disasters.

Three fires — the Tubbs, Pocket and Nuns — have decimated thousands of homes and structures in Sonoma County and continue to burn through more than 92,000 acres of land, said Deputy Barry Dugan of the Sonoma County Emergency Operations Center.

“We’re just in the process of doing surveys as the fire areas become accessible,” Dugan said. “I don’t think a final count is going to be available anytime soon.”

5:15 a.m. Lightest winds of the week bring better firefighting conditions: A red flag warning remained in place for the North Bay and East Bay hills as firefighters battling blazes in the Wine Country and beyond faced dry and windy conditions early Sunday.

The warning will remain in effect until at least 8 a.m. for the North Bay and East Bay Hills, but gusts should dissipate and winds will remain light throughout the day, according to Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Gusts of up to 25 mph were recorded Sunday in the North Bay and East Bay hills, but should decrease by mid-morning to about 10 mph in Napa and Sonoma counties, where some fires continue to rage. Schneider said winds could die down to 5 mph through the rest of the day.

The winds are the lightest recorded since a series of wildfires broke out across Northern California on Oct. 8, claiming at least 40 lives and destroying thousands of homes and other structures. The weather should stay hot, though, with Sonoma and Napa counties forecast to reach the mid to upper 80s on Sunday.

“You definitely want lower temperatures, but wind and relative humidity are the most important things right now,” Schneider said.

Even more hopeful news: there’s a chance that some rain will reach the North Bay Thursday, as the the southern part of a winter storm from the gulf of Alaska nears the Bay Area.

For now, there’s no estimate of how much rain is expected — or if the parched areas in the fire zones will even get measurable precipitation.

“It’s too soon to really say,” Schneider said. “Hopefully, it’ll be enough to help.”

Saturday

10:05 p.m. Sonoma County school closures: Santa Rosa Junior College will remain closed through Oct. 22, school officials decided late Saturday. Santa Rosa City Schools, the largest K-12 district in the county, will be closed through Oct. 20 at least. Several smaller districts outside Santa Rosa will resume classes as soon as Monday. For a full list of school closures in Sonoma County, go to the Office of Education website.

9:35 p.m. Update on Mendocino and Lake fires: The Redwood and Potter fires north of Highway 20 near Mendocino National Forest hit 35,000 acres and were 30 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The Sulphur Fire in Clearlake Oaks, Lake County, was 2,209 acres and 70 percent contained.

8:10 p.m. Tubbs Fire 50 percent contained: Four North Bay fires have now burned 94,370 acres total across Sonoma County, but firefighters are starting to slow them down, Cal Fire reports. In a countywide update, the state agency showed the Tubbs Fire 50 percent contained, the Pocket and Nuns fires 15 percent contained, and the Oakmont Fire, east of Highway 12 near Oakmont, 10 percent contained. Cal Fire is expecting full containment of all four fires by Oct. 20.

7:55 p.m. Disaster assistance expanded: Residents of Butte, Lake, Mendocino and Yuba counties affected by the Northern California fires can now register for disaster assistance with FEMA. The state on Saturday secured additional federal money for those counties, on top of assistance already made available to residents of Napa and Sonoma counties earlier in the week. Individuals, including residents and people whose businesses were damaged or destroyed, can apply for FEMA aid at DisasterAssistance.gov or by phone, (800) 621-3362.

7:30 p.m. Cal Fire updates: Incremental progress is being made on fires burning across the North Bay. As of 7 p.m., the most recent Cal Fire updates showed the Nuns Fire burning between Sonoma and Santa Rosa at 46,104 acres and 10 percent contained; the Tubbs Fire between Calistoga and Santa Rosa at 35,270 acres and 44 percent contained; the Atlas Fire in eastern Napa County at 50,403 acres and 48 percent contained; and the Pocket Fire north of Geyserville at 10,996 acres and 5 percent contained.

6:35 p.m. Millions of gallons of retardant dumped on fires: Cal Fire reported that aircraft have dropped more than 2 million gallons of retardant on fires up and down the state since Monday, just after the first North Bay blazes raged to life. The breakdown: 464,776 gallons on Monday, 262,112 gallons on Tuesday, 542,810 gallons on Wednesday, 582,433 gallons on Thursday and 396,475 gallons on Friday.

6:10 p.m. Mandatory evacuations lifted in Solano: County and Cal Fire officials have eased up evacuation orders for the Green Valley area of Solano County. As of 5 p.m., residents were being let back into two neighborhoods around Gordon Valley and Clayton roads to the Napa County line. At 9 p.m., neighborhoods around Green Valley and Suisun Valley roads were expected to be downgraded from mandatory to advisory evacuations. For details on evacuation locations, go to www.solanocounty.com. For a list of road that remain closed, go to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

5:20 p.m. Two new deaths: The Sonoma County coroner’s office reported two more fire deaths, bringing the total deaths in the county to 22, and the total for all North Bay and Northern California fires to 40. More names of victims will be released on Sunday.

4:35 p.m. Community meetings in Napa Sunday: The county has scheduled two meetings, one in English and one in Spanish, to update residents about ongoing fires and cleanup efforts. The Spanish language meeting will start at 1 p.m. Sunday at St. John Catholic Church, 60 Caymus St. in Napa. The meeting in English will start at 3:30 p.m. at the Napa Valley Unified School District auditorium, 2425 Jefferson St. Both meetings will be on Napa Valley TV and streamed online at www.youtube.com/c/NapaValleyTV/live.

4:20 p.m. Crowds pack Santa Rosa community meeting: Hundreds of people jammed into the Santa Rosa High School gym for a town-hall style meeting on the Sonoma County wildfires. Addressing residents were Gov. Jerry Brown and U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris. During a question-and-answer period, residents wondered when they would be able to return to their homes, or what is left of them, who would be cleaning up debris left from the fires, and when regions that were destroyed would be rebuilt.

“I want to know what the city will do to help. Will they make it so difficult financially or time-wise that it’s hard to rebuild?” said Bob Borbe, who lost his home in the ruined Coffey Park neighborhood. “How many homes were destroyed? I heard that contractors are already booked out three years.”

3:25 p.m. Two Napa victims ID’d: Two bodies found on the 1900 block of Soda Canyon Road in Napa County are believed to be Sally Lewis, 90, and her caretaker, Teresa Santos, 50, according to the Napa County sheriff. The bodies were found at 10 a.m. Saturday. Their discovery brings the death toll from fires in the county to six.

3:15 p.m. Mendocino compiling survivor list: The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office issued an urgent request for people who were evacuated from Redwood Valley, Potter Valley and Willits to contact the emergency operations center for the area and report themselves safe. The county has been overwhelmed by missing persons reports and though most of those people have been found safe, it’s a time-consuming process, the sheriff’s office said. Evacuees should call (707) 467-6428 and be prepared to give their full name, address and phone number; confirm that all residents at that address are safe; and provide the name of anyone who was not able to leave the property during the fire.

2:50 p.m. Sebastopol evacuation center closes: Analy High School in Sebastopol, which had been opened as an evacuation center earlier this week and reopened Saturday morning, has now shut down again, officials said.

2:39 p.m. State, federal officials talk relief: Gov. Jerry Brown joined U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris at a short press conference in Santa Rosa after the three were briefed on the North Bay fires. Feinstein, 84, told reporters these fires were unlike anything she’d ever seen. “There is no question that this is about the worst fire we’ve had in my lifetime,” she said. “It ought to be treated as such. The dollars have to come.”

2:10 p.m. Red flag warning extended: The National Weather Service extended the red flag warning for the North Bay hills to 8 a.m. Sunday. The previous warning was to end Saturday at 11 p.m.

1:33 p.m. New Napa County death toll: Two additional deaths have been reported in the Atlas Fire in Napa County, officials say. That brings the number killed in fires in that county to six, and the death toll in all the Wine Country and other Northern California fires to 38.

1:23 p.m. Sutter Hospital to stay closed: Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital will not reopen Saturday. Officials had earlier said the hospital would reopen at 3 p.m., but announced a delay in lifting the evacuation order. The hospital is located near Highway 101 on Mark West Springs Road.

1:15 p.m.: Death toll rises: The death toll in Sonoma County is now up to 20, bringing the total from the fires in the Wine Country and elsewhere in Northern California to 36, according to Sgt. Spencer Crum, a spokesman with the sheriff’s office. There are 223 people missing in Sonoma County. In Napa County, 74 people are unaccounted for.

12:35 p.m. Evacuation lift: Officials in Sonoma County will lift the evacuation order for Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital at 3 p.m. The hospital is located just off Highway 101 on Mark West Springs Road. Other areas around the hospital will remain under a mandatory evacuation order.

12:10 p.m. Spot fire explodes in Sonoma: Winds kicked up a small fire at Lovall Valley Road and Wood Valley Road, causing it to explode in 30- to 40-foot flames that marched downhill toward the town of Sonoma. In a matter of minutes the fire had chewed up several acres. A helicopter swooped in to dump water on the blaze, and ground crews rushed to the attack.

Noon. Aid secured: The Trump administration has approved the state’s request for direct aid to families and individuals impacted by the fires in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, and Yuba counties. Such assistance was approved Friday for residents in Napa and Sonoma. To request aid: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/

11:25 a.m. Food donation call: Santa Rosa city officials report on Twitter that food usually given to local homeless shelters has been diverted to the wildfire shelters in the area and now homeless shelters are in “critical need” of unprepared food.

10:50 a.m. Football game postponed: A high school football game in Santa Cruz County has been postponed because of poor air quality. The game between St. Francis High and Soquel High has been rescheduled for November.

10:30 a.m. Mail pickup: People who have been displaced by the wildfires in Santa Rosa can pick up their mail this weekend at two U.S. Postal Service locations in town. The Santa Rosa Fire Department is listing specific locations on its Facebook page.

10:10 a.m. Brown, Feinstein and Harris: Gov. Jerry Brown and California’s U.S. senators, Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, will attend a community meeting Saturday afternoon at Santa Rosa High School, the governor’s office said. The meeting will start around 2 p.m. at the school, 1235 Mendocino Ave. The meeting will follow a private briefing involving the governor, senators and local emergency officials and community leaders, as well as a news conference, Brown’s office said.

9:10 a.m. Napa County update: Napa County fire officials say there was only minimal growth in the Atlas Fire overnight, and that overnight winds in the area were not as strong as feared. The fire has burned more than 50,000 acres and is 45 percent contained. Officials say they have investigated 224 missing-person reports since the fires began, and that 74 people are still unaccounted for.

8:35 a.m. Sebastopol evacuation center: The main gym at Analy High School in Sebastopol has been reopened as an evacuation center. The gym, at 6950 Analy Ave., can accommodate about 400 people.

8:12 a.m. Power restoration update: Pacific Gas and Electric Co. say it has restored electricity to 93 percent of the 279,000 customers who had lost service because of the fires before Saturday. Gas service has been restored to 13,000 of the 36,000 customers who have lost service since Sunday night.

8:06 a.m. Homes burned in Sonoma: Several homes have burned within a mile east of the Sonoma town square. Capt. Jordan Motta of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said homes were burned on Wood Valley and Lovall Road, but that the exact number was not known.

7:15 a.m. Scene from Sonoma: The town square in the city of Sonoma was deserted early Saturday as firefighters battled heavy flames nearby, causing brown smoke to kick up in the air. Cars were seen leaving the town and a sign in one wine tasting room read: “The love in the air is thicker than the smoke.”

7:10 a.m. Residents evacuated: A flare up on two portions of the Nuns Fire early Saturday caused crews in Sonoma County to evacuate an estimated 3,000 residents in Santa Rosa and another 250 in the town of Sonoma, according to Cal Fire.

6:50 a.m. Update on the weather: Strong winds are expected to continue from Santa Rosa to Sonoma through Saturday afternoon, forecasters said. A red flag warning for the North Bay region will remain in place through Saturday evening, and winds of 20 mph have already been documented in Santa Rosa within the past hour, said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. “We do expect winds to sustain — and maybe even increase — over the next few hours,” he said.

6:30 a.m. Atlas Fire update: The blaze in Napa County has grown by more than 2,000 acres to 50,383 acres, according to Cal Fire. The fire is 45 percent contained.

5:55 a.m. Fire battle intensifies: Fire crews early Saturday are “extremely concerned about” the evacuated areas along Highway 12 and evacuated spots in the northeastern portion of the city of Sonoma, said Jonathan Cox, a Cal Fire battalion chief. Fires were burning “near and around structures” in both spots, he said. Firefighters are contending with heavy winds that resurfaced in the area overnight.

5:20 a.m. Recent evacuation order cause: The orders released early Saturday by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office are “due to the #NunsFire,” according to a tweet sent by Cal Fire.

4:55 a.m. New evacuation order: A new mandatory evacuation order was sent early Saturday for spots in eastern Santa Rosa. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has Highway 12 between Adobe Canyon Road in Kenwood and Calistoga Road in Santa Rosa, under a mandatory evacuation order, which includes both sides of the highway and all side roads. “Everybody needs to evacuate westbound on Hwy 12 to Santa Rosa immediately,” the order read.

4:45 a.m. Evacuation order in Sonoma: Officials in Sonoma County issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Sonoma Valley at around 2:45 a.m. Saturday. The areas under mandatory evacuation order include the following — from Seventh Street East from East Napa Road to Denmark Street, the north side of Denmark Street from Seventh Street East to Napa Road, Eighth Street East north of Denmark Street, East MacArthur Street east of Seventh Street East, along with Quail Run Way and Hamblin Road.

Click here for earlier updates on the Northern California wildfires.