Woodside Fire burns along Sonoma coast, smoke pollutes air quality in the North Bay
Woodside Fire smoke drifts across the North Bay
Firefighters are getting the upper hand on the wildfire along the Sonoma coast, but the polluted air from the Woodside Fire is drifting across the North Bay.
JENNER, Calif. - Smoky air persists and is expected to worsen on Saturday in the North Bay from the wind-blown Woodside Fire, burning along the Sonoma County Coast. Late Friday, all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted, CAL FIRE said.
Woodside Fire burns along Sonoma Coast
CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Michael Sacheli on the firefight along the Sonoma Coast. He has the latest information on evacuation orders and warnings and says firefighters are working to contain the fire as the spread has slowed on Friday.
What we know:
CAL FIRE says the fire that started Thursday afternoon has burned 152 acres and is 20% contained, a drop in containment from an earlier 37%.
The fire is burning west of Highway 1 near the Timer Cove and Jenner neighborhoods, along the Pacific Coast.
All evacuation orders and warnings associated with this fire have been lifted, CAL FIRE announced just after 6:30 p.m. However, the road closures remain in place.
Highway 1 is closed as a result of the fire at Timber Cove Road and Stewarts Point -Skaggs Springs Road.
Evacuation orders had been in place for Zone SON-1D1 covering Salt Point State Park and Timber Cove, as well as the areas north of Fort Ross Road south of Kruse Ranch Road and Hauser Bridge Road, east of the coastline, and west of the south fork of the Gualala River, according to the Sheriff's Office.
A temporary evacuation shelter has been opened at Laguna High School (formerly El Molino) at 7050 Covey Road in Forestville, according to the county.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
CAL FIRE Battalion Chief Marshal Tubeville on Friday said a "strong north wind" had pushed the fire south. "During that process it ended up being four separate fires and there's also some other smaller fires," Tubeville said. He said the objective is to contain the fire west of the highway and east of the ocean and south of the Gerstle Cove Access Road and north of the Timber Cove subdivision.
The hope is to open Highway 1 within the next two days, Tubeville said.
Tubeville said crews worked throughout the night in rugged terrain to contain the fire. "We're gonna let the fire burn to the Pacific Ocean. It's also very steep to get firefighters in there," he said.
By Friday evening, CAL FIRE gave an update to say great progress was being made and that resources will remain overnight to work on strengthening containment lines and putting out hot spots.
No injuries have been reported from the fire. CAL FIRE's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit has jurisdiction over the fire.
Smoky, bad air persists
Hazy, smoky skies and polluted air persists over the North Bay. KTVU meteorologists are recording WNW 20 mph winds in the area, easily carrying the smoke to other parts in the north.
A Spare the Air alert by the Bay Area Air District has been extended into Saturday, causing unhealthy and very unhealthy air quality conditions. Healdsburg is showing levels of particulate matter in the red zone on the PurpleAir map late Friday afternoon. These levels tend to fluctuate rapidly.
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Woodside Fire prompts evacuations, Highway 1 closures along Sonoma County coast
A wildfire burning along the Sonoma County coast prompted evacuations and road closures Thursday as firefighters worked to slow its spread.
Events canceled
The poor air quality is affecting events across the area, where many people who are sensitive to smoke have been sheltering in place.
In Petaluma, the River Front Cafe's plans to have a live music performance by The Incubators never hatched. It was canceled due to smoke.
In Sebastopol, Golden State Cider, a totally open air facility, decided that it was just too smoky for them to be open on Friday. Also, in Sebastopol, the chamber of Commerce's Friday night movie event was canceled because of the smoke.
In Duncans Mills it was more of the same: Saturday's Northern California Mustang Horse Showcase at Russian River Rodeo Grounds was postponed due to smoke.
The Rohnert Park Farmers’ Market was called off for Friday evening.
In Healdsburg, Bloodroot Wines postponed its Summer Series block party, and Dry Creek General Store canceled its Friday night event.
In Santa Rosa: Fridays at the Hood concert series at Hood Mansion postponed its scheduled show. And Guerneville's 30th annual Lazy Bear Week had only one event out of several canceled.