Sonoma, Lake counties get first red flag warning of the season

The National Weather Service has issued the first red flag warning of the year for the North Bay, enveloping areas above 1,000 feet in Sonoma, Lake, Napa and Marin counties.

Dry, windy conditions, with gusts in the 30-40 mph range and higher peaks reaching 50 mph, prompted the warning, which takes effect at 10 p.m. Sunday and lasts through 8 p.m. Monday.

Despite meager rainfall over the winter and spring, Sonoma County’s first red flag warning of the season comes later than it has in the recent past. The county got its first such warning June 7 last year, and by June 23, 2018, the North Bay had already experienced several large-scale fires.

Sonoma County has seen two smaller, 100-acre fires this season and forecasters are warning residents to use extreme caution amid dry, windy conditions on Sunday and Monday.

“Properly discarding cigarettes, being careful with open flames, obeying any burn ban that local officials may enact and being ready to evacuate if told to evacuate” are critical during dangerous fire weather, said Anna Schneider, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Sonoma County has been under a burn ban since May 4.

Marshal Turbeville, a Cal Fire battalion chief, said the fog-free June has dried out large swaths of the county but temperatures haven’t quite matched those of last June, which could explain why this year’s first red flag warning came later than those in the recent past.

But he sees other, troubling similarities with Sunday’s warning to prepare for fire weather:

“It’s happening at night again,” Turbeville said, reflecting on the October 2017 wildfires and Kincade fire last October. “It’s reminiscent of 2017 and the Kincade fire — both started at night. 2017 was also a Sunday night.”

Turbeville said it’s important that people have their phones or other notification devices ready, and they are prepared, because the worst of the fire danger will come while most are sleeping.

PG&E, which cut off power amid red flag warnings last year as part of its strategy to reduce the chances of its equipment sparking wildfires, has no plans to pull the plug during the current red flag warning, a spokeswoman said Sunday afternoon.

So far this year, Cal Fire has tracked 91 fires. The largest, the Grant fire, was sparked June 12 and consumed 5,042 acres in Sacramento County, according to Cal Fire data.

Sonoma County saw 100-plus-acre fires south of Petaluma on back-to-back days in early June this year. The 141-acre Lakeville fire June 5 was followed June 6 by the 107-acre Gulch fire.

You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @tylersilvy.