Evacuations Ordered in California as Kincade Fire Explodes to 7000 Acres in Sonoma County - The Weather Channel

Evacuations in California as Strong Winds Fuel Wildfire Tearing Through Sonoma County

The Kincade wildfire spread rapidly in Sonoma County, California, overnight.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered.
Wind gusts in excess of 70 mph were reported near the wildfire.

Evacuations have been ordered in Sonoma County, California, after the newly-ignited Kincade Fire spread rapidly overnight amid strong winds.

The fire was first reported near the town of Geyserville on Wednesday evening and had exploded in size to 7,000 acres by Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. Geyserville is located just off of Highway 101 nearly 80 miles north of San Francisco.

(MORE: California Utility Shuts Off Power Due to Wildfire Threat)

Cal Fire said mandatory evacuations have been ordered for several locations in Sonoma County near the Kincade Fire. The number of people affected by the evacuations so far is about 276, Rohish Lal of the Sonoma County’s Emergency Operations Center told The Press Democrat.

The wildfire exploded in an area where high winds and low humidity were forecast to create dangerous fire weather conditions Wednesday night into Thursday morning. A wind gust of 76 mph was reported near the Kincade Fire, according to the National Weather Service.

Check back with weather.com for more information on this breaking news story.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

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