Point Fire: Sonoma Co. declares local emergency for 1,190-acre wildfire that destroyed structures
SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Sonoma County has declared a local emergency in response to the Point Fire which has burned nearly 1,200 acres and is 20% contained.
Declaring a local emergency allows the county to request state and federal assistance for response and recovery efforts.
The Point Fire is burning on the south side of Lake Sonoma, west of Geyserville.
It started right along Stewarts Point, Skaggs Springs Road and exploded to the east, burning toward Healdsburg.
MAP: Track wildfires across California
Favorable conditions with cooler temperatures and tamer winds overnight helped fire crews get containment levels up from 15 percent to 20 percent.
On Monday, their biggest concern is the wind, which is expected to pick up in the afternoon.
Three helicopters were brought in to help with the firefight overnight after the flames spread to an area south of Lake Sonoma on Sunday.
RED FLAG WARNING: Firefighters battle strong winds, fiery conditions in North Bay
"We did make some great progress but we have some great challenges today," Mark Marcucci, a Cal Fire Unit Chief for the Sonoma Lake Napa Unit said. "We're in Red Flag Warnings, and we're really looking at the Dry Creek Road area where the fire is coming off the ridge, there are a lot of homes between Dry Creek Road and the fire."
Flames fanned across Dry Creek Road and Mountain View Ranch Road around 11 p.m. Sunday night.
The fire is forcing more than 400 people to evacuate
At Monday morning's incident briefing, the 400 firefighters assigned to this fire were told to put their safety and the public's safety first.
A firefighter from one of Cal Fire's hand crews had to be rescued overnight with a serious neck injury. He was airlifted out from steep terrain just after midnight and taken to the hospital.
"Our firefighters are putting themselves in harm's way, we appreciate the community reacting very well with the evacuation orders with the Sonoma Sheriff's Department," Marcucci said. "That wasn't always the case."
Cal Fire confirms that some structures were destroyed in the fire.
RELATED: Sonoma Co. homeowners describe how firefighters saved homes from Point wildfire
On Monday, they're bringing in a damage inspection team to determine how many structures have burned and how many of those are homes.
"The fight is far from over, we're still bringing in resources from across the northern part of the state and we will do our best to give this fire some more containment by this evening but those winds are going to be our biggest challenge," he said. "We're cautiously optimistic but the wind is not in our favor today.
All evacuation orders are still in effect, as of Monday morning.
MORE: Spare the Air Alert in effect for Bay Area through Monday
Fire officials said those could be expanded or contracted today, depending on what the wind does.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Spare the Air alert for Monday in the region.
Anyone who may need assistance evacuating large animals can call Sonoma CART hotline at (707) 861-0699 for assistance.
MORE: Point Fire smoke triggers Spare the Air Alert, health concerns in Bay Area
The Point Fire burning northern Sonoma County has prompted the school district to call off summer school classes in Healdsburg on Monday, according to the County Office of Education.
Healdsburg Unified School District has canceled all summer school classes because of evacuations, power outages and smoke from the fire, the school district said.
Bay City News contributed to this story.
