New fires in Sausalito, Santa Cruz and Dublin force evacuations

Northern California firefighters are battling a fire that sprang up overnight in the mountains around Santa Cruz, prompting evacuation orders.

By Sonali Kohli

and Laura J. Nelson

Oct. 17, 2017 5:55 PM PT

Officials were contending with new fires in Northern California on Tuesday as progress continued on the blazes that have ravaged wine country.

Five firefighters were injured in a fast-moving wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains, one of several wildfires burning across California. The Bear fire in Boulder Creek had burned more than 150 acres Tuesday and was 5% contained, officials said. About 150 people have been evacuated.

To the north in Sausalito, firefighters battled two small vegetation fires near the 101 Freeway. The Marin County sheriff urged people living near the fires to evacuate but eventually lifted that order.

The southbound 101 Freeway was closed temporarily in the community of Marin City, according to the Mill Valley Police Department. The California Highway Patrol warned of delays on the freeway.

A third brush fire was reported in the East Bay city of Dublin. The city urged residents to stay away from the area. A shelter in place order was issued for the Dublin Ranch area. Alameda County fire officials said the blaze had burned 100 acres but 75% contained.

Elsewhere in the state, authorities evacuated at least a dozen people from Mt. Wilson on Tuesday morning, as a 30-acre wildfire burning in the San Gabriel Mountains threatened to damage the historic mountaintop observatory and an array of television broadcast towers, according to officials.

Meanwhile in wine country, more people returned to their homes on Tuesday. Officials continued the search for dozens of missing people, and fire crews gained additional ground on the deadly blazes that have scorched more than 210,000 acres and killed at least 41.

The four largest fires there were all more than 50% contained as of Tuesday morning.

The 52,894-acre Nuns fire, which gave firefighters the most trouble over the weekend, was 68% contained.

Crews made progress against the two parts of the fire closest to the cities of Sonoma and Santa Rosa, officials told firefighters at a morning briefing at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Some parts of the area remained evacuated.

“Today and the next few days, there’s a lot less smoke in the air and a lot less media attention here, but the job’s not done,” said Steve Crawford, operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.