Hundreds Battle Sonoma County Fire as Evacuation Orders Remain in Place

Updated 7:05 a.m. Monday

Firefighters worked overnight with bulldozers and hand tools, constructing control lines around a fire in Sonoma County near the southeast end of Lake Sonoma. Three helicopters flew overhead, supporting that effort.

The blaze — named the Point Fire — touched off early Sunday afternoon and spread rapidly, driven by strong gusts of wind and burning through grass and dry brush.

The fire has since spread to at least 1,100 acres and is 20% contained as of around 6:00 a.m. Monday. Firefighters worked through the night trying to keep the fire from burning homes and other buildings near Bradford Mountain.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office ordered people to evacuate the area of Fall Creek Road to Stewarts Point Skaggs Spring Road to West Dry Creek Road. Nearby areas are currently under evacuation warnings.

Cal Fire said Monday morning that around 400 firefighters were assigned to the fire. Smoke from the fire spread over Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties on Sunday, triggering a Spare the Air warning from the air district.

The National Weather Service has also issued a Red Flag Warning for parts of the North Bay starting Monday at 11 a.m. and extending to 8 p.m. The warning is for high-elevation portions of Sonoma and Napa counties — as well as farther north and east — where wind gusts are forecasted to reach 30 miles per hour.

The weather service issues Red Flag Warnings when hot temperatures and fast winds combine to create conditions that can easily and rapidly spread fires.

KQED’s Brian Krans, Kevin Stark, Ki Sung and Attila Pelit contributed to this report.