Firefighters continued to gain control of some fires scorching Northern California on Thursday night, thanks in part to continued calm winds in some parts of the region.
Altogether, the fires have burned more than 180,000 acres and caused at least 31 deaths. Officials expect the death toll to rise as search efforts begin in earnest.
Hotels and shelters are packed with families wondering when they can get back home, or if they have a home to return to. As grim recovery efforts continue, neighbors and family members outside the region are starting to find out who perished in the fire. On Thursday night, Sonoma County released the names of 15 people who had died because of the Tubbs fire — many of them in their 70s.
The Tubbs fire, which has been responsible for 17 deaths in Sonoma County and destroyed at least 2,834 homes and 400,000 square feet of commercial space in the city of Santa Rosa alone, had burned 34,770 acres and was 10 percent contained by Thursday night, not a big change from that morning.
“The numbers aren’t on the face great, but they’re making progress,” Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Jones said Thursday morning. Santa Rosa was spared heavy winds overnight, Jones said.
There were no new mandatory evacuations related to the Tubbs fire overnight, but the town of Calistoga as well as large swaths of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County remained under evacuation orders, as the fire spread north and east Thursday.
Families won’t be able to get back to their homes for a while, Jones said. Crews have to remove debris and fix downed power lines, as well as trees that have been burnt out and may pose a risk of collapsing. In Sonoma County alone, about 16,000 homes are still without power.
The massive Atlas fire, threatening Napa and Solano counties, was 7 percent contained and covered 43,762 acres as of Thursday night, according to Cal Fire. Officials anticipated overnight winds, with a red flag warning for the area still in effect Thursday night.
Residents were allowed back into areas of Napa County affected by the fire, including parts of the Silverado Country Club and Monticello Park, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation orders in neighboring Solano County still remain in effect.
The Redwood fire in Mendocino County has burned 34,000 acres and was 10 percent contained as of Thursday night.
“Steep inaccessible terrain coupled with critical fuel moistures, and northwest winds will provide challenges for crews working on the fire,” a Cal Fire incident report read Thursday night.
Yuba County was hit with the 10,171-acre Cascade fire, 45 percent contained as of Thursday night. The fire claimed at least four lives, and the county has released a list of damaged homes.
