Thursday updates: Second known injury in 24 hours reported in Walbridge fire zone

4:30 PM: Tree trimmer injured, airlifted to a hospital after fall in Walbridge fire area

A tree trimmer was airlifted out of the Walbridge fire area Thursday afternoon after first responders were notified he fell and was badly injured while trimming a tree.

It was at least the second known injury within the fire zone in 24 hours.

The call for help for Thursday’s incident came in to Redcom, the county’s fire and ambulance dispatch center, at 12:27 p.m., prompting the Healdsburg Fire Department and a Bell’s Ambulance to go to the area, Healdsburg Fire Capt. John Sullivan said.

Neither Sullivan nor Redcom could provide the location the man fell from, though initial scanner radio reports indicated the incident happened on Palmer Creek Road. Redcom described the person who made the call as a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. foreman who was working with a tree trimming company.

“The ambulance met the injured subject coming down Mill Creek Road, west of Puccioni Road,” Sullivan said, adding that the tree trimmer was driven down in a white pickup truck by people he worked with.

The ambulance drove the man, who had an abdominal injury, up Puccioni Road, where the ambulance met the helicopter. The tree trimmer was then transported to the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with serious injuries, Sullivan said.

Neither Sonoma County public works officials nor PG&E, both which have workers clearing debris within the fire’s perimeter, could immediately say whether the injured tree trimmer was being contracted by them or their employee.

On Wednesday, a California National Guard soldier was helping fight the Walbridge fire when he fell down a steep 100-foot hill and needed to be airlifted out of the area.

He remained hospitalized Thursday afternoon with non-life threatening injuries, California National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Shiroma said.

11:25 AM: More Lake County fire alerts downgraded

In Lake County Thursday morning, two more Hennessey fire evacuation areas have been downgraded.

The evacuation order has been reduced to a warning for areas south of Butts Canyon Road, east of Highway 29 and north and west of the Lake-Napa County line.

The evacuation warning has been lifted for areas north of Morgan Valley Road, east of Highway 53, south of Highway 20 and west of the Lake-Colusa county line.

For the full alert: https://local.nixle.com/alert/8222716/.

8:20 AM: Walbridge fire now has fire lines all around it

The Walbridge fire now has fire lines cut all the way around it, Cal Fire operations chief Chris Waters announced early Thursday.

Fire lines are put in and then shored up to become safe containment lines. As of this morning, the fire was listed at 88 percent contained.

“We continue to mop up, patrol, haul back trash,” he said during an operational briefing. “And then residents are starting to move back toward the interior of the burn area and starting to settle back in.”

The Hennessey fire also has patrol line all the way around, Waters said. A last bit of hand-line was completed overnight on a section at the northernmost corner of the fire near the Lake County line.

Only two areas of the Hennessey fire, at the northern end, remain under evacuation warning Thursday.

The progress is welcome as the weather begins to turn hot and dry going into the weekend, which could pose a risk of hotspots reigniting. Firefighters will remain on high alert.

“This hot, dry spell we’re coming into, (we’re) still going to be staffed up, monitoring the fire line, continuing to provide mop up and patrol and resources to get through the weekend,” he said.

Watch the 8 a.m. briefing here:

8 AM: Walbridge fire containment now at 88%

Additional containment was achieved overnight in the Walbridge fire, which now stands at 88 percent corralled, according to Cal Fire early Thursday.

Wednesday night, the fire in northern Sonoma County was listed at 87 percent contained.

In Napa and Lake counties, the Hennessey fire increased from 76 to 78 percent contained overnight.

Overall, the Lightning Complex fires in five counties was listed at 81 percent containment and a steady 375,209 acres.

Firefighters on Thursday planned to continue clear bulldozer lines to connect the containment lines, mop up and douse any hotspots.

Read the full Cal Fire report here for evacuation warnings, road closures and county-specific emergency websites:

LNU Lightning Complex - AM Incident Update - 9.3.20.pdf

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reported helping rescue a National Guardsman who was injured assisting the firefight Wednesday.

The man, whose name wasn’t released, fell about 100 feet down a hill in a remote area off of Stewarts Point-Skaggs Springs Road.

The sheriff’s helicopter crew stabilized the man, who had a leg injury, and transported him a mile away to where an ambulance could retrieve him.

Cal Fire did not include the incident on its list of injuries from the fires, which includes four civilians and zero first responders being hurt.