When Michelle Leopold, owner of Marin Ace Hardware in San Rafael, opened for business at 7 a.m. Monday, she had no idea that within a half-hour, her parking lot would be full with evacuees from Sonoma and Napa county fires.

“By 7:30 a.m. there were no spots left in the parking lot,” said Leopold, whose business is just off the North San Pedro Road exit of Highway 101. “We had 20 or 25 cars there, evacuees and their dogs.”

Leopold, who doled out doughnuts, bananas and milk to the crowd and gave them ready access to the store’s bathrooms, said some of the evacuees left at 11 a.m. when the Marin County Sheriff’s Office opened a temporary evacuation shelter at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium at 10 Avenue of the Flags — just a few blocks away.

“We had people buying car cellphone chargers,” Leopold said. “We had a lot asking for dog leashes, but since we don’t sell leashes, we sold them rope.”

Multiple wind-whipped fires that ravaged the North Bay beginning Sunday night have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, disrupted SMART rail commuter service into the county and sent thousands fleeing for their lives into area shelters. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott said most of the fires started at about 10 p.m. Sunday and their causes are under investigation.

With 14 fires raging, about 675 people Monday checked into the Civic Center shelter, which has a capacity of 3,000 people. Authorities set up cots for evacuees who needed to stay overnight, and there was a contingency plan to open another shelter if needed, said Alison Sexauer, spokeswoman for the Marin County Emergency Operations Center.

Evacuees were able to take their dogs or cats with them to the Civic Center temporary shelter as long as they were small enough to fit in a cage or crate, she said.

“Marin County residents are urged to stay off roads and highways as much as possible to help first responders get to destinations where help is needed,” said Marin County spokeswoman Laine Hendricks.

By late Monday, the county posted a request on Facebook asking residents to cease donations as they conserved space for evacuees.

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit resumed limited emergency service Monday afternoon between downtown Santa Rosa and downtown San Rafael, rail officials announced.

Three-car trains ran both southbound and northbound free of charge Monday to assist those in need of transportation. Due to thick smoke hanging over Marin, light ash and other fire conditions, SMART will use the train safety horn at all crossings; staff late Monday was working to restore full service as soon as possible, officials said.

Earlier Monday, power poles with lines that cross SMART tracks were on fire, creating dangerous conditions. SMART’s Rail Operation Center is in the northern Santa Rosa area, but was not under immediate threat.

“We will run trains as soon as it’s safe to do so,” said Jeanne Belding, SMART spokeswoman.

SMART planned to run limited free service on Tuesday.

Early Monday, the smoke was so heavy in Lucas Valley, alarms went off in at least one home even though the windows were closed. The westbound lanes of Highway 37 were reopened at about 10 a.m. after a fire near Sears Point forced a closure in the early morning. Highway 37 eastbound reopened after 7 a.m., but westbound lanes remained closed as the fire continued to burn. Parts of Highway 101 in Sonoma County north of Santa Rosa also were closed.

By about 6 p.m., the 1,500-acre blaze was 15 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

Golden Gate Transit bus service from Santa Rosa also was canceled. The following routes were affected until further notice: 72X, 74, 76, 101 Southbound and the 101x.

Jenny Mack, spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente, said 130 patients in Santa Rosa were evacuated, with several sent to San Rafael.

“We have safely evacuated the Santa Rosa medical center due to fires burning in the area,” she said. “Many patients were transported to Kaiser Permanente in San Rafael and other local hospitals. All scheduled appointments and surgeries have been canceled for the day in Santa Rosa and the Napa medical offices.”

The American Red Cross staff are on-hand at several evacuation centers to provide lodging, meals and health services to residents affected by the fires. For a full list of Red Cross evacuation centers, go to bit.ly/2yc9qRu.

Nugget Markets in Tiburon, Corte Madera and Novato launched a matching fund drive at its check stands. The Woodland-based grocery store will match up to $10,000 to be directed to the American Red Cross, said Kate Stille, vice president of marketing and communications.

Kaiser officials said the organization planned to donate $250,000 to the Red Cross to aid in disaster relief.

Marin animal care officials are working on several fronts to house pets who evacuated with their owners from Sonoma and Napa counties.

A team from Marin Humane in Novato was dispatched to the evacuation shelter at the Civic Center to make sure that dogs and cats at the center had food, water, crates and leashes, said Lisa Bloch, spokeswoman for Marin Humane.

The animal shelter at 171 Bel Marin Keys Blvd. in Novato also was taking pets in for emergency boarding if owners preferred to leave them there, Bloch said.

“We understand that some people may not want to part with their pets,” she said. “For those who are able to part with them, we can take them for boarding on an emergency basis.”

Pet owners can call the Marin Humane’s emergency hotline at 415-250-7009 for more information.

Bloch said there was no immediate need for volunteers or for food, pet food or other supplies.

“People have been calling us offering to volunteer or with donations,” Bloch said. “It’s a real testament to the spirit of Marin County.”

Sonoma and Napa county evacuees in need of boarding for their horses were urged contact the Horesman’s Club at 600 Bugeia Lane in Novato at 415-246-9423, and Morning Star Farms at 885 Sutro Ave., Novato at 415-897-1633.

Marin residents able to volunteer stable space, contact Toni Shroyer in East Novato at 415-640-2754 or David McLaughlin in West Novato at 415-897-8411.

Lighthouse Christian Church at 1915 Novato Blvd. in Novato has opened its doors as a shelter. For more information, call 415-897-5556.

IJ wire services contributed to this report.