Where there’s smoke…

A fire along the coast at Salt Point is casting a pall of smoke over west county

The sun sinks into the smoke above St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Sebastopol.

UPDATE: By 7:10 pm, according to Watch Duty, containment was 20%.

The smoke shrouding Sebastopol this evening is coming from the Woodside Fire at Salt Point on the coast between Fort Ross and Sea Ranch. The fire is located north of Fort Ross and has closed Highway 1 in the area.

An immediate evacuation order is in place for SON – 1D1. This area includes:

• Salt Point State Park

• Steelwater Cove Regional Park

• Ocean Cove Private Camp

• Timber Cove Subdivision

An evacuation warning is in place for SON – 1D2 (the mountainous forestland to the east, which stretches almost to Cazadero).

Laguna High School (on the former El Molino Campus) in Forestville is being used as a temporary evacuation shelter.

There were initial reports that the fire had leapt from 50 acres to 100, but a recent measure on Watch Duty has it at 74.4 acres. It is currently showing zero containment.

At 5 pm, the Sebastopol Times stopped by the Sebastopol Fire Station.

Gold Ridge had already sent engines, but at that point Sebastopol engines were still in town, though the firehouse was buzzing with activity.

“There’s a lot of resources on it,” Pattie Murphy, senior administrative assistant at the firehouse, said of the Woodside Fire.

The Sheriff’s Office is being deluged with calls about smoke, particularly from areas along the Russian River — and requests that callers desist and keep the lines clear.

Looking west from the western edge of Sebastopol. (Photo by Dale Dougherty)

CalFire Map