Hospital Evacuated as Northern California Kincade Fire Spreads; Human Remains Found in S. California Burn Area

"If you are in the area between Windsor and Healdsburg near Milk Barn Rd and Limerick Ln EVACUATE NOW," the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office tweeted about 11:20 a.m. "If you have not evacuated, you NEED to do so now!"

About 12:30 p.m. Sunday, an evacuation warning was issued for parts of neighboring Napa County, too.

Meanwhile, 55 miles to the southeast, Interstate 80 was closed at the Carquinez Bridge about 9 a.m. Sunday after a fire broke out in Vallejo, California. The fire, known as the Glen Cove Fire, forced the evacuation of California State University Maritime Academy, or Cal Maritime.

Fire also broke out across the Carquinez Strait leading to evacuations in parts of the city of Crockett. The entire city was under an evacuation warning, meaning residents should be ready to flee at any moment. That warning was lifted about 12:30 p.m. The blaze, known as the Sky Fire, spread to 150 acres.

Shortly before 2 p.m., officials in Contra Costa County said two fires had broke out in Lafayette and they were growing quickly. Evacuations were ordered near Camino Diablo and Springbrook Road because of the fire. Another fire was burning at Pleasant Hill Road and Condit.

About 12:30 p.m., all lanes in both directions of Interstate 5 were closed in Sacramento because of a large grass fire near Arena Boulevard, the Sacrament Fire Department tweeted. . Closures start at I-80 if traveling Northbound. Closures start at Highway 99 if traveling Southbound.

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency because of "the effects of unprecedented high-wind events which have resulted in fires and evacuations across the state," according to a statement.

"We are deploying every resource available, and are coordinating with numerous agencies as we continue to respond to these fires. It is critical that people in evacuation zones heed the warnings from officials and first responders, and have the local and state resources they need as we fight these fires,” Newsom said.

An evacaution warning was issued midday for the city of Calistoga and surrounding areas of Napa County. Residents living north of Dunaweal Lane to the Lake County line and from the Sonoma County line east to Pickett Road were told to prepare for possible evacuation.

About 12 miles to the west, fire companies from throughout California took positions outside Windsor to try to prevent the fire from jumping Highway 101 and reaching the city's west side. As the blaze reached Foothill Regional Park, firefighters drove through neighborhoods with sirens blaring as a final warning to anyone who had ignored mandatory evacuation orders.

Pacific Gas and Electric announced Sunday afternoon it was shutting off natural gas to about 23,000 customers in northern Sonoma County near the Kincade Fire for safety reasons, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported.

Overnight, about 100 patients and 200 staffers moved out of the Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital around 4 a.m., the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "Everybody is accounted for and out the door,” hospital spokesman Shaun Ralston said. Patients were moved to other hospitals.

A few hours later, Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa also evacuated 110 patients to other Kaiser hospitals in Northern California after being placed under a mandatory evacuation at 4:30 a.m., according to a hospital spokesperson. The hospital had already begun a “controlled transfer” of patients at 10:30 p.m. Saturday as a precautionary measure. A Sonoma County evacuation center, the Finley Community Center, was also evacuated.

At least three wineries were burning, including the Soda Rock Winery in Healdsburg. There, a stone building erected in 1869 was completely engulfed in flames, according to the Chronicle. Buildings were also burning at Field Stone Winery and Moville Vineyards.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office closed Highway 101 in both directions.

(MORE: Extreme Wildfire Danger Expected in California Into Monday as High Winds Ramp Up Again in a Potentially Historic Event)

More than 200,000 residents in Northern California have been ordered to evacuate their homes because of the fast-growing Kincade Fire, the Associated Press reported, including the towns of Healdsburg and Windsor and parts of Santa Rosa. The evacuation zones extended all the way to the coast.

"Heavy smoke, debris and strong wind reported near Brooks and Arata in Windsor. If you are in Windsor you need to get out now," the Sonoma Sheriff's Office warned about 3:40 a.m.

Altogether, 79 structures have been destroyed, and 14 have been damaged by the Kincade Fire, which has burned more than 46 square miles, according to Cal Fire. Electricity has been shut off to an estimated 3 million people this weekend.

The Kincade Fire was only 11% contained early Sunday, according to Cal Fire. In addition to nearly 3,000 firefighters, there were 10 helicopters, 179 engines and heavy equipment including 24 bulldozers on the scene.

The fire was first reported near Geyserville on Wednesday and subsequently exploded in size. The cause of the fire was under investigation, but there were some indications that a PG&E power line may have sparked the blaze.

About 55 acres were burned by the Glen Cove fire in Vallejo, California, a news release from the city said.

In addition to Cal Maritimes, evacuations were ordered for Navone and Pueblo, Jordan and Swanzy and Waterview Terrace and Bayside Terrace.

The city also issued a mandatory water conservation notice saying it was unable to pump raw water for treatment. Outdoor water use was prohibited, and residents were asked to restrict indoor water use as much as possible.

The Sky Fire expanded to about 200 acres by noon, according to Cal Fire. It was about 50% contained.

Meanwhile, in Southern California, human remains were found Saturday in the scorched path of the Tick Fire that burned at least six houses.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Saturday it was too soon to know if the death is connected to the fire in Santa Clarita, just outside of Los Angeles. The death is under investigation.

The Tick Fire started Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders for 50,000 people. Most were allowed to return to their homes Saturday morning when the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station lifted evacuation orders. The blaze had burned about 7.2 square miles and was 55% contained.

Several other fires were also burning around the region.

Three fires that began early Sunday on Bethel Island and near Oakley, California, in rural Contra Costa County, led to the evacuation of residents of a mobile home park and a neighborhood, fire officials said. All evacuation orders were lifted about 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Two of the fires were fully contained and the third was 50% contained, the Chronicle reported.

Two new fires that broke out Friday prompted evacuations. The Miller Fire near Valley Center, about 38 miles north of San Diego, burned three structures and damaged one other. The fire had burned about 37 acres as of Sunday morning and was 75 percent contained. Some 100 personnel, 4 helicopters and 10 engines were battling the blaze.

The Sawday Fire had burned nearly 100 acres and was 85 percent contained. Evacuations were ordered on Friday but later lifted.

Pacific Gas and Electric is contemplating more power outages this week.

On Saturday, PG&E began to cut power to about 940,000 customers in parts of 38 counties in Northern California as a precautionary move aimed at preventing more wildfires. The blackouts have the potential to affect more than 3 million people when taking into account the number who live in each household and other factors.

The wind was expected to die down on Sunday, but forecasts say they could return on Tuesday. PG&E said that could lead to more shut-offs, according to the Chronicle.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Andy Vesey, a PG&E executive who oversees electric operations, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “We may have a weather system, not with this intensity, which may hit us early to middle” of this week.

Vesey said PG&E would aim to restore power before turning it off again.

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