SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The number of deaths attributed to the devastating Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa rose Tuesday evening. Eleven bodies have now been recovered, with all the deaths related to the devastating, wind-fueled fire that tore into the Santa Rosa area Sunday night, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said in a statement. Two bodies were recovered from Angela Drive in Larkfield; two from Mark West Springs Road in Larkfield; one from Coffey Lane in Santa Rosa; one from Crystal Court in Santa Rosa; one from Mountain Home Ranch Road in Santa Rosa, near the Calistoga/County line area; one from Hemlock Street in Santa Rosa; one from Sundown Trail in Santa Rosa; and one from Wikiup Bridge Way in Larkfield.
“People were in bed, there was no time; some of the folks were sleeping at home in bed and had no idea because there was minutes, seconds warning,” Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott said in a news conference Tuesday about the fire-related fatalities in Napa and Sonoma counties. “This is just pure devastation.”
The tragic news follows the issuance of more evacuation orders Tuesday evening as the wildfires in Sonoma County began to flare up.
The latest mandatory evacuations to take effect were for Geyerserville residents on Highway 128 and the Russian River. At 10:37 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff’s officials said every residence between 1922 Hwy 128 and the Russian River — Nutter Road, Sellers Road, River Road, Fay Ranch Road, Ridge Oaks Road, Fox Ridge Road, Vineyard Road, Woodridge Road, Deerpath Drive, Ram Hill Road, Rockmouth Road, Colony Road and Lakewood Lane — should evacuate immediately. Advisory evacuations, meaning residents should consider readying for evacuation should the situation worsen, went into effect for downtown Geyserville, Palomino Road, Asti Ridge Road and Highland Ranch Road.
Late Tuesday afternoon, residents of the Annadel Heights area bordered north by Parktrail Drive and west by Summerfield Road, were told just after 5 p.m. they “need to evacuate now.”
Earlier Tuesday, as the Nuns Fire was rapidly approaching the Oakmont retirement community in Santa Rosa, its residents were urged to evacuate. In an alert sent just after 2 p.m., Santa Rosa police said “Oakmont is still under mandatory evacuation — all residents must leave now!”
The Nuns Fire north of Glen Ellen was 5,000 acres in size Tuesday morning and was threatening 5,000 homes, according to Cal Fire.
Sonoma police and sheriff’s officials in alerts sent Tuesday afternoon said mandatory evacuations had also been put in place for Bennett Ridge Road, Sonoma Mountain Road and Enterprise Road in the Bennett Valley area.
“If you are in these areas, you need to leave immediately for your safety,” Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said.
“We are working with Santa Rosa police, beginning to evacuate the area east of the Bennett Valley Golf Course, west of Annadel Park,” sheriff’s officials said.
Additional mandatory evacuations were issued late Tuesday afternoon for Ida Clayton Road from Highway 128 to the county line because of fire northbound, sheriff’s officials said.
Residents of the Pacific Heights neighborhood behind Molsberry Market in Larkfield were also ordered to evacuate late Tuesday afternoon, but Sonoma County sheriff’s official said in a later alert that the orders were issued by mistake because of a miscommunication.
“The area of Larkfield behind Molsberry Market was evacuated on Sunday night and remains closed,” officials said. “It was incorrectly reported earlier today as a new evacuation area. The Larkfield area is still not open to the public.”
The additional evacuations Tuesday came as another red flag warning was set to go into effect for much of Northern California.
A late-afternoon fire flare-up is seen east of Kenwood in the hills Tuesday night, Oct. 10, 2017. The view is from Monroe and Highway 12, which was closed with a roadblock northbound. (Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com)
“If you are in these areas, you need to leave immediately for your safety,” Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said.
“We are working with Santa Rosa police, beginning to evacuate the area east of the Bennett Valley Golf Course, west of Annadel Park,” sheriff’s officials said.
Additional mandatory evacuations were issued late Tuesday afternoon for Ida Clayton Road from Highway 128 to the county line because of fire northbound, sheriff’s officials said.
Residents of the Pacific Heights neighborhood behind Molsberry Market in Larkfield were also ordered to evacuate late Tuesday afternoon, but Sonoma County sheriff’s official said in a later alert that the orders were issued by mistake because of a miscommunication.
“The area of Larkfield behind Molsberry Market was evacuated on Sunday night and remains closed,” officials said. “It was incorrectly reported earlier today as a new evacuation area. The Larkfield area is still not open to the public.”
The additional evacuations Tuesday came as another red flag warning was set to go into effect for much of Northern California.
A late-afternoon fire flare-up is seen east of Kenwood in the hills Tuesday night, Oct. 10, 2017. The view is from Monroe and Highway 12, which was closed with a roadblock northbound. (Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com)
As of 5:35 p.m. Tuesday, Sonoma County officials said mandatory evacuations were in place for:
•Porter Creek Road
•Petrified Forest Road
•Shiloh Ranch Estates
•Ida Clayton Road – from Highway 128 to the county line
•East of Bennett Valley Golf Course – west of Annadel State Park
•Faught Road – near Shiloh Regional Park
•Montebello Road
•Bennett Ridge Road
•Sonoma Mountain Road
•Enterprise Road
•Wall Rd – North of Trinity Rd
•Cavedale Rd.
•Frederick Ranch Rd (Lakeville Area)
•Rincon Valley – North of Montecito Blvd from Brush Creek Road to eastern city limits
•Oakmont
•Sonoma Developmental Center
•Sonoma Valley – Mission Highland, Norrbom Rd., Gehricke Rd.
•Montecito Heights neighborhood
•Cross Creek Road
•Sky Farm Neighborhood
•Saint Andrews Drive
•North Fountaingrove Parkway
•East of Fulton Road from Guerneville Road to River Roa
•Rohnert Park Area – Roberts Road, Lichau Road, Pressley Road, Sonoma Mountain Road
•Cloverdale KOA
•Palomino Road, Cloverdale area
•Vanoni Rd to Gill Creek, all direction
•Arnold Drive at State hospital in between Madrone Rd. and Warm Springs Rd.
•West of Jack London State Park
•101 west to downtown Forestville – south of River Road and north of Pine
•All of Glen Ellen
>> Click here for the latest Sonoma County evacuation center information.
>> Current Sonoma County road conditions can be found here.
A community meeting about the Sonoma County wildfires — which include the Tubbs, Nuns, 37 and Pocket fires — was held Tuesday at Santa Rosa High School, according to a news release from Rebecca Wachsberg, county spokeswoman.
CAL Fire was expected to provide an update on the status of the fires, acres burned and resources dedicated. The Office of Emergency Services, the County of Sonoma, and City of Santa Rosa were to update on resources and services; Red Cross would provide a shelter update; Sonoma County Schools Superintendent Steve Herrington would provide a school closure and damage update; and PG&E would provide a utilities update. There would also be an update on cellphone and internet service, Wachsberg said, and an opportunity for the community to ask questions.
According to the latest information from Cal Fire, the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma and Napa counties has burned 27,000 acres and was zero percent contained. At least 550 residential and 21 commercial structures —many in Santa Rosa — have been destroyed in the wildfire.
At least 125 structures have been lost in the 31,000-acre Southern LNU Complex Fire — the Atlas, Nuns and Partrick fires in Sonoma and Napa counties — with no containment reported.
The Pocket Fire, off of Pocket Ranch Road and Ridge Ranch Road in Geyserville, was 1,200 acres Tuesday.
The 37 Fire, off Highway 37 and Lakeville Highway near Skaggs Island was 2,000 acres and 40-percent contained Tuesday morning.
Authorities Tuesday confirmed 13 fatalities in Napa and Sonoma counties as a result of the wind-driven wildfires that broke out Sunday.
Eleven people have been found dead in Tubbs Fire burn areas.
Sheriff’s officials also received 275 missing person reports and 57 of them of them were found safe. Missing person reports continue, Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
The Mark West, Coffey Park, Glen Ellen and Kenwood areas have been the most challenging fire zones in the sheriff’s office’s unincorporated county jurisdictions, Giordano said.
A sheriff’s deputy in the Mark West area remained with 40 people who sheltered in place in a field near a blocked road while fires burned around them, the sheriff said.
“I’ve heard some very harrowing stories,” Giordano said.
Giordano said 20 of his staff members lost their homes in the Tubbs Fire that started in Calistoga Sunday night and was quickly swept by the fierce, window-rattling wind into Santa Rosa.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
Patch will update this post as more information is gathered; please refresh the post for the latest.
