Fire updates..

105 homes burned, 25,000 threatened by North Bay fires

Amy Graff

Hennessey Fire (merged with Gamble, Green, Markley): Napa County, 100,000 acres

Spanish Fire: Napa County, near Spanish Flat, 4,100 acres

Morgan Fire: Napa and Lake counties, 3,500 acres

Wallbridge Fire: Sonoma County, west of Healdsburg, 14,00 acres

Meyers Fire: Sonoma County, north of Jenner, 2,500 acres

---

In a matter of days, the LNU Lightning Complex -- named for the fires ignited by a rash of thunderstorms early this week — had charred 124,000 acres and was zero-percent contained, according to Cal Fire's latest status report posted 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The series of small and massive blazes ignited by a rash of thunderstorms last week are spread across Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Solano and Yolo counties, engulfing the North Bay in flames and smoke and spurring tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.

The fire has destroyed 105 structures, damaged 70 and threatens 25,000, Cal Fire said.

The agency described the fires' behavior as extreme, with stretched firefighting crews battling flames racing in all directions and being thrown long distances by high winds. The blaze threatens multiple communities.

An arm of the blaze took a dramatic turn early Wednesday, burning over hills and through valleys, racing toward the community of Vacaville, where residents were roused before dawn Wednesday by orders to flee. Police and firefighters went door-to-door in a frantic scramble to warn residents to evacuate as flames encroached.

Karen Hansen had fled late Tuesday as flames approached her small farm.

“The whole sky was red orange and it was coming over the hill there and it was massive. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it only took a few minutes to get here,” she said.

The family fled with some animals but had to leave two beloved horses. They returned Wednesday to find the house and barn destroyed, but Hansen was thrilled to see that her horses had survived.

“I’m not upset about the house. I’m just happy that my horses and animals are alive and my daughter,” she said.

Video and photos of the English Hills area show some homes have been destroyed. The owners of Yin Ranch, an event and wedding venue on Pleasants Valley Road, confirmed it is at least partially destroyed.

"The devastation on Pleasants Valley Road is pretty bad. Parts of it looks like Paradise, like the Camp Fire," Don Ryan, manager of the Office of Emergency Services, told the Daily Republic. "Lots of homes are burned down."

The fire jumped I-80 after 4 p.m., forcing a closure of I-80 between Fairfield and Vacaville and a partial evacuation of Travis Air Force Base. (I-80 reopened around 9 p.m. Wednesday.)

A section of the fire in Napa County was burning close to remote grape-growing properties owned by Villa Del Lago Winery.

“Our vineyard workers had to evacuate very quickly. And we heard this morning that there was zero containment, so that’s scary. It’s very steep, so I know it’s hard for firefighters to get up there,” said Dawn Phillips, who works in customer service for the winery.

Two fires in Sonoma County prompted evacuation orders for 8,000 residents near the Russian River Wednesday and residents of Healdsburg, which has a population of about 12,000, were warned late Wednesday night to be ready to flee.

In the Russian River area, the Walbridge Fire entered the northern part of Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, near the Bullfrog Pond area, according to KCBS Radio.

Cal Fire Operations Chief Chris Waters explained at a Wednesday press conference the fire is divided into three zones. The West Zone is primarily Sonoma County, the North is northern Napa County and the southern part of Lake County and the South consists of southern Napa County, Solano and a little bit of Yolo County.

Waters said the emphasis is on evacuations and beginning to build perimeters to stop the fire from spreading.

An evacuation center is set up at Crosswalk Community Church at 2590 First St. in Napa. (Find evacuation updates on the Napa County Sheriff's Office Nixle page.)

People can bring their pets to the Napa County Animal Shelter 942 Hartle Court in Napa.