Kincade fire north of Geyserville tops 10,000 acres, prompts mandatory evacuations

Here are the latest updates on the Kincade fire burning in northeast Sonoma County.

6:26 a.m.

The entire town of Geyserville has been ordered to evacuate, according to an alert from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The Kincade fire burning north of town is at 10,000 acres.

Evacuation centers are at the Healdsburg Community Center and Windsor High School.

4:42 a.m.

The Kincade fire has now spread to 10,000 acres, Cal Fire said. The fire still has not been contained.

2:13 a.m.

The Kincade fire has now spread to 7,000 acres, Cal Fire said. The fire still has not been contained, and all existing evacuation orders are still in place.

2:02 a.m.

About 276 people were under the mandatory evacuation order Wednesday evening, said Rohish Lal at Sonoma County’s Emergency Operations Center. Lal, a spokesman for the county, said about 1,700 people were under an evacuation warning, meaning that people should be prepared to leave but aren’t required to do so. The Sheriff’s Office said it has halted issuing new evacuation orders for the moment, Lal said, but officials would continue monitoring the Kincade fire overnight to see if more evacuations would be needed.

1:40 a.m.

The National Weather Service reported a gust of 76 mph occurred near the Kincade fire. The highest wind speeds in the Bay Area have been in the North Bay on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

1:11 a.m.

In an emailed statement, PG&E said the Kincade fire is near the area affected by the power shut-off that the utility initiated Wednesday afternoon. PG&E said it does not have any more information about the fire.

Our 12:55 a.m. story is below:

A wildfire sparked in northeastern Sonoma County along the Lake County line Wednesday night, prompting mandatory evacuations north and east of Geyserville.

The Kincade fire had spread to about 5,000 acres by 12:30 a.m., according to state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg. Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers said the blaze near the Geysers area was burning at a “dangerous rate.” As of 11:30 p.m., there was no reported containment, according to Cal Fire.

The blaze started along Kincade Road near Burned Mountain Road in the area of the Geysers geothermal field. Winds in the area were blowing up to 60 mph from the northwest. Fire crews were forced to call off air attacks because of severe turbulence in the area, according to dispatch reports.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office issued mandatory evacuation orders about midnight for all of Red Winery Road, all of Alexander Mountain Road, Highway 128 from Geysers Road to River Road including the River Rock Casino and all roads off River Road. The office also issued an evacuation warning for northern unincorporated Healdsburg and Geyserville, advising residents to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.

McGuire said one of the biggest challenges firefighters were facing with the blaze was the sustained wind gusts in the area. He added that there has been increased firefighting staffing and resources sent to the area, calling it an “all-hands on deck effort.”