Hot, Dry Winds Hamper Firefighters Battling Blazes in Northern California
The fire in Sonoma County began Friday and was fed by tinder-dry vegetation and strong winds over the weekend. It destroyed a handful of modest vacation homes and threatened 125 more as well as a geothermal energy plant near Geyserville.
Fire officials said that four homes, eight outbuildings and 12 cars were destroyed by the fire Saturday night. Residents remained evacuated from the area Sunday and two firefighters suffered injuries, said Janet Marshall, spokeswoman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
As of Sunday night, officials estimated the blaze was only 15 percent contained and with weather forecasts for the next few days offering little hope for improvement, officials estimated fire would not be fully contained until Wednesday.
Major power lines from 21 generating plants in The Geysers, the world's largest geothermal power facility, cross over rugged terrain near the fire, creating the possibility of blackouts.
On Saturday, two-thirds of the plants and two of three transmission lines were shut down, said Kent Robertson, a spokesman for Calpine Corp. Pacific Gas and Electric, which owns the lines. The company rerouted electricity from other plants to keep the lights on and no outages were reported.
