Additional areas in Kenwood, Glen Ellen open

The hard-hit communities of Glen Ellen, Larkfield/Wikiup north of Santa Rosa and specified areas of Mark West Springs Road are the latest areas to reopen to fire-affected residents, as public safety officials continue to gain ground on 2-week-old wildfires around the region.

More than 3,600 personnel were still combating the last remnants of flames and conducting mop-up of burned areas as of Sunday morning, but all three blazes in Sonoma County had containment levels above 85 percent, with the state’s most destructive fire in history, the Tubbs fire, at 94 percent containment.

The Nuns fire was 89 percent contained and the Pocket fire, 86 percent contained, when the day dawned bright and clear Sunday, Cal Fire said. The state firefighting agency anticipates full containment by Wednesday.

Together, the wildfires have killed at least 23 people in Santa Rosa and burned through 142 square miles of Sonoma County, destroying an estimated 6,800 buildings and displacing thousands of residents. The fires began late Oct. 8, and during the early hours of the fires extreme winds drove flames through canyons and rugged terrain in areas of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.

Many areas of the fire zone have been cleared for limited re-entry in recent days, including Kenwood, Bennett Valley, Coffee Park, Fountaingrove and now, Larkfield/Wikiup and Glen Ellen, allowing residents to confront the state of their homes and attempt to recover whatever personal treasures may remain. Entrants must show identification at checkpoints and can only access their neighborhoods during daylight hours.

Officials are urging caution because of toxins and other hazards in the burn zone, particularly with regard to ash that may contain lead and other heavy metals or asbestos, some of which can become airborne or burn skin on contact.

Large swaths of terrain are still off-limits to civilians, particularly around the Riebli Road area and the north side of Highway 12 near Trinity and Cavedale roads, as public safety personnel ensure the areas are safe enough to re-enter. Adobe Canyon and Pythian roads are still closed.

For the second consecutive day, Huey helicopters were helping to resupply the region with power, airlifting utility poles to remote, hillside locations and assisting Pacific Gas and Electric crews with resetting them, PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said.

Out of 805 power poles that needed replacement because of fires, 650 have been completed so far, including a handful delivered Saturday in the Mark West Springs area.

Thirteen more were to be put into place Sunday, with helicopters using makeshift landing zones on Wilson and Porter Creek roads to collect their cargo, Contreras said.

The company also was hoping to have gas service restored by Sunday night to every structure able to receive it. Company personnel also were relighting pilot lights in homes where gas had been turned back on. The company said residents should not relight their pilots themselves.

Residents can call PG&E at 800-743-5000 to report the smell of gas, request gas service or relighting of pilot lights, or to request a safety check if they have lit their own pilot lights.

Specially equipped vehicles also were to be roaming the Fountaingrove area with instrumentation that can monitor conditions and detect any gas leaks that might be in the area in the wake of repairs and repressurizing of gas lines, Contreras said.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.