Walbridge fire destroys 560 structures across 52,000 acres in rural Sonoma County

The Walbridge fire has destroyed 560 structures during its weeklong rampage in northwest Sonoma County, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the buildings destroyed by lightning-sparked fires in the North Bay.

The tally, confirmed Sunday night by Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers, offers the first definitive look at the destruction wrought by Walbridge, the 52,068-acre piece of the LNU Lightning Complex fires in Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties that have blackened 347,630 acres, destroying 871 structures and threatening another 30,500. Four residents have died, three in Napa County and one in Solano.

Already this group of three blazes took their spot as second-largest firestorm in California history.

Of the 1,857 firefighters working the infernos, at least 465 were assigned to the Walbridge wildfire, including 70 engines, 33 bulldozers, 12 hand crews and 21 water tenders, all pushing to slow southern and western advances toward Rio Nido, Windsor and Healdsburg, Powers said.

Despite the rugged, mountainous terrain where the inferno is concentrated in rural Sonoma County, firefighters battling Walbridge were able to create footholds, reaching 5% containment by Sunday night thanks to two days of modest fire growth. They were bracing, though, for another round of dry lightning and wind overnight into Monday morning that could spark fresh blazes or fan the flames of the existing blaze.

“Tonight, specifically, is our largest concern due to the red flag warnings and the dry lightning forecast to come into the area,” Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nicholls said during a press briefing Sunday evening, adding that he was worried about winds pushing the fire in new directions. “We could have significant growth in any portion of the fire.”

But fire and emergency officials were confident enough the work firefighters had put in to rescind evacuation orders issued Saturday morning, allowing an unknown number of people to return to their homes on the outskirts of the fire zone centered west of Healdsburg.

Along with the progress initial firefighters made while working 96 hours straight, Nicholls credited a “lid” of smoke that choked the North Bay Sunday and prompted air quality warnings for suppressing the Walbridge fire’s spread in the run up to a potential battle with more lightning storms forecasters predicted would be most powerful between 3 a.m and 5 a.m. Monday.

The unhealthy air also limited visibility and grounded air attacks on the fire that otherwise would have been brought to bear on the Walbridge conflagration, Nicholls said, noting firefighters did use two Blackhawk helicopters Sunday.

National Weather Service meteorologists had originally predicted a 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. window Sunday for the worst of the storms. Although the timing was pushed back, the expectations haven’t changed.

“I hope that we’re wrong when we say there will be lightning strikes,” National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Garcia. “But it looks like the dynamics of the atmosphere, the engine that gets things going, is going to come into place overnight (Sunday).”

Garcia said the ingredients were in place to create a series of storms that could rival those from last weekend, which rained down 96 powerful lightning strikes on Sonoma County alone. By 9 p.m. Sunday, Solano County already was experiencing cloud-to-cloud lightning, he said.

The largest of the LNU Lightning Complex fires, the 290,102-acre Hennessey fire in Napa County, was 22% contained as of Sunday evening. Meanwhile, firefighters had reached 95% containment on the 2,360-acre Meyers fire north of Jenner in Sonoma County and, overall, had reached 21% containment on the Lightning Complex fires.

Despite the threat of more lightning and wind, the slow pace of Walbridge fire’s growth — burning just 2,000 acres over the weekend — prompted officials to roll back evacuation orders, with Nicholls saying they preferred people be at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office eased evacuation orders early Sunday afternoon, allowing residents in a large swath of the west county to return home, but warning that doing so was “at your own risk.”

The areas, which included areas east of Westside Road north of Sweetwater Springs Road, and east of the Russian River south of Sweetwater Springs Road, had been evacuated Saturday morning.

“These areas are still at risk from the Walbridge fire,” according to the Sheriff’s Office’s Nixle alert. “We recommend you stay home for the day once you arrive. There’s going to be a lot of traffic in the area so please drive safely; our priority is getting everyone home safely.”

The Walbridge blaze, which Cal Fire officials have called a “highly complex operation,” was only minimally contained Sunday, as firefighters worked with bulldozers, hand crews and more to dig fire lines and starve the fire of needed fuel.

“We have resources working in there trying to connect the dots, trying to get a direct line on the fire,” said Chris Waters, Cal Fire’s operation section chief for the Lightning Complex fire. “Progress is being made, but it is still extremely challenging.”

Nicholls explained it’s just not realistic to unleash hoses on a wildland fire. Instead, crews essentially cut new roads into the landscape to deprive the fire of fuel, then set back fires to lengthen the buffer between the active fire and new flora to burn.

The same story is true across the state, where 14,000 firefighters are battling more than two dozen major wildfires, many sparked by lightning, according to Cal Fire. Active wildfires have burned almost 1.3 million acres as of Sunday night, the agency said.

When it comes to the LNU Lightning Complex fires, state Sen. Mike McGuire said earlier Sunday California officials would do everything they could to bring them under control.

“I want to assure you, no expense is being spared,” McGuire said during a Sunday afternoon news conference. “We need as many hands on deck as possible to be able to battle these historic wildland fires.”

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, confirmed during the same press conference that President Donald Trump had signed a disaster declaration related to the fires, opening up key funding for residents in need of assistance and government entities now grappling with the costs of multiple protracted disasters.

Supervisor James Gore, who represents north Sonoma County and parts of west county the Walbridge fire has torched, said he expects the blaze to continue for days and weeks. However, it doesn’t compare to the 2017 North Bay wildfires, or even the 2019 Kincade fire, wind-fed monsters that set upon the countryside with an almost unprecedented pace.

“These are very different events,” Gore said, explaining Walbridge is being fed by excess vegetation rather than powerful winds that drove the earlier fires. “Those Diablo winds turn a wildfire into an absolute natural disaster. Those dry, hungry, devouring winds, those are shock and awe moments. This is a hungry beast that has food everywhere. … I have a feeling this thing is going to keep eating for a couple of weeks. That’s what firefighters say.”

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Tyler Silvy at 707-526-8667 or tyler.silvy@pressdemocrat.com.