Update: Eerie, odd scenes from Cobb Mountain

UPDATE 2:30 p.m. THE GEYSERS

Cooling burn marks blacken the ground right up to the edge of upper Pine Flat Road, evidence Wednesday of how far the Valley fire spread into Sonoma County before it was stopped by firefighters.

Pine Flat Road leads high above Healdsburg into the Mayacamas Mountains and The Geysers territory, where a massive Calpine geothermal power plant operates.

The fire Sunday spread west from Cobb Mountain to mountain peaks and across The Geysers’ property, blackening hillsides and causing apparent extensive damage. Several Calpine structures were lost, vehicles blackened and stretches of Geysers’ pipeline Wednesday were charred and partially melted. Throughout the property, busted power lines remained down.

The fire Wednesday in the area was being held in check as firefighters had set some containment lines. But Sunday, as the fire approached the region, Sonoma and Marin county firefighters responded and reached Pine Flat Road to find flames ready to drop down the ridge. They set numerous backfires during the night and stopped the fire’s advance, according to fire officials.

UPDATE 1:30 p.m. HOBERGS

Eerie scenes emerged early Wednesday afternoon along Angelly Drive, in the evacuated and fire-ravaged Cobb Mountain community of Hobergs.

As a light rain fell, a Monterrey fire crew worked on hot spots along the otherwise quiet rural lane, which was misty from the rain and smoke. Along one stretch of the west side of the road, six or seven homes stood, unharmed, while on the east side, maybe 10 in a row were burned away.

The Valley fire’s fickle nature came through, depicted by odd scenes. One leveled home still had a spared boat in the driveway. A blue house with a pink bicycle parked out front survived, although the blackened yard was indication the fire had come within a whisper of the residence. Next door, the house was gone but the garage survived.

And perhaps most ironic, on one property the house was destroyed but a wooden tree fort in a nearby tree survived.

Downed, uncharged power lines and poles remain throughout the community and while many utility crews were busy miles away in Middletown, which remained without power, repairs to lines in the rural, mountain community seemed a long way off.

UPDATE 12:45 p.m. MIDDLETOWN IN THE RAIN

The skies opened up over Middletown in the noon hour, bringing a heavy downpour and smiles and cheers from patrons at a downtown cafe.

Inside the Cowpoke Café, Chris Simon ate and watched the rain. “It’s a little too late but at least we finally got it. I hope it puts the fire out,” said Simon, who lost her St. Helena Creek house to the fire.

Cal Fire officials had expected a small amount of rain Wednesday afternoon per a daily forecast. But for at least a short while, there was a burst from the heavens, which could be a definite aid in the fire fight.

UPDATE 12:30 p.m. CALISTOGA EVACUATION SHELTER

At the Calistoga shelter Wednesday morning a heavy sprinkle of rain started to fall while volunteers handed out food gift cards to evacuees.

While many people have been at the Napa County Fairgrounds site since they were evacuated Saturday night from the encroaching Valley fire newcomers still were arriving, seeking help. Volunteers reported about 1,000 people had dinner at the shelter Tuesday night and 892 people slept there, many tucked into donated tents as protection from the pending rain. In contrast, 56 people spent Tuesday night at the shelter in Kelseyville.

Wednesday the mood seemed somber. Several people cried, although some from gratitude for the aid they were receiving.

Danielle Deweese, her boyfriend and toddler son are staying at the shelter. She said they barely escaped the fire as it raced up to their Cobb Mountain home. Before fleeing, she said she grabbed what seemed the most important things: baby pictures, her great-grandmother’s rocking chair and a rocking horse from her childhood. “I feel like we cheated death. We got chased by the flames as we left the house,” Deweese said.

UPDATE 12:15 p.m. MIDDLETOWN

Although officially an evacuated town, Middletown bustled with activity Wednesday as utility workers made repairs, firefighters checked hot spots, police officers patrolled for trouble and downtown businesses opened shop.

At the Cowpoke Café, owners were offering free meals to anyone in need and just before noon the restaurant was busy with 50-60 people . “Anybody that walks in, we’re feeding. I just want to help people who need food,” restaurant manager Shawna Wolfe said.

Tracey and Mitch Hawkins were eating. They’d come into town to get supplies for their fire-damaged vineyard near Lower Lake. “As you can see, Middletown is still here. People need to know they have a town to come home to,” Tracey Hawkins said.

Citizens with a need to get into town were arriving, after having passed through a checkpoint. Downtown businesses were open, including a bank and gas station and Hardester’s Market and Hardware. But a few blocks outside of downtown was the scarred evidence of the fire’s destructive power. While some blocks were untouched, other streets were marred with every-other home destroyed and in some stretches whole blocks were leveled.

Also amidst the flurry of activity were numerous news reporters, some doing their television reports standing adjacent of smoldering ruins. One Press Democrat reporter was stopped twice by police who wanted to check his credentials.

UPDATE 9:58 a.m. HOW FIRES RATE

The Valley fire is now the ninth most destructive fire in California history, though continued damage assessments could move it up the ranks, Cal Fire said Wednesday.

Casualties of the 4-day-old fire so far include a 72-year-old disabled Cobb woman who was unable to flee her burning home and four firefighters who suffered burns in the initial assault. But the 70,000-acre fire has, in addition, destroyed hundreds of structures, including at least 585 homes and hundreds of other buildings, Cal Fire said.

The Oakland Hills fire of 1991, in which 25 people died and 2,900 structures were destroyed, remains No. 1 on the list of the state’s most damaging fires, Cal Fire said. The week-old Butte fire, which has blackened nearly 72,000 acres in Amador and Calaveras counties, is currently 14th, according to Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant. Berlant said earlier this week that he expected the Valley fire would eventually be among the top five most damaging fires in state history.

9:51 a.m. ANCHORAGE INN INQUIRY

Lakeport officials said they investigated a hotel accused of gouging Valley Fire evacuees by charging them high-season prices, and concluded that did not happen.

“They have sort of a complicated system,” said Lakeport Councilwoman Mireya Turner, who also works with the Lake County Office of Emergency Services.

She said the Anchorage Inn’s room pricing structure accounted for the appearance of gouging, which led to angry denunciations on social media. That was the same explanation the hotel had offered Tuesday.

Turner said the hotel’s management took Lakeport’s city manager and police chief through its receipts “and our staff wasn’t able to find any evidence of gouging - they explained it to our satisfaction.”

9:20 a.m FIRE ZONE ARRESTS

Two men stopped by deputies near Cobb, which was evacuated because of the Valley fire, were arrested after a brief chase, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

Mendocino deputies were patrolling in the area late Monday afternoon when they were flagged down and told of a suspicious car near Hoberg’s Resort on Emorford Road. That area has been evacuated and is closed to the public, though homes and structures there remained untouched by the fire, Mendocino County sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said in a news release.

The deputies found the black Honda driving out of the area and attempted to stop the car, but the driver fled, starting a short chase that ended at a dead end near Highway 175 and Forestry Road, Van Patten said.

The four occupants were ordered out of the car. Deputies arrested driver James Dotson, 23, of Cobb on suspicion of vehicular fleeing, child endangerment and methamphetamine possession.

Passenger Richard Tillman, 27, of Cobb was wanted on two, no-bail arrest warrants involving probation violations out of Mendocino County and was taken into custody.

A 14-year-old and another adult in the car were released.

For complete wildfire coverage go to: www.pressdemocrat.com/wildfire

Staff writers and photographers Mary Callahan, Paul Payne, Angela Hart and Kent Porter contributed to this report.