(Associated Press photo)
SANTA ROSA — The winds eased, some of the smoke began to clear and the forecast Monday offered a tantalizing chance of rain to thousands of firefighters trying to corral the wildfires that have laid waste to the nation’s most celebrated wine-making region.
The death toll now stands at 40 and 5,700 homes and outbuildings have been destroyed.
A firefighter, who had been delivering water to the fire lines, crashed before dawn in Napa County on a roadway that climbs from vineyards into the mountains. No other details were available about the accident, which is under investigation, said Mike Wilson, a fire spokesman.
After days of wind gusts that constantly fanned the fires, lighter wind offered a chance for crews to make greater gains, and thousands more people were allowed to go home more than a week after the blazes.
Many of those who returned to their homes found them either standing or reduced to ash and had knew their fate in advance. Satellite images, aerial photos and news reports with detailed maps of entire neighborhoods had given homeowners in populated areas a pretty clear idea of the fire’s path. Some had seen the flames coming as they fled. Some families in rural areas had to endure the mystery until they laid eyes on their property.
The return home was emotional, even for those whose properties were spared.
“When we came up to check on it, we were amazed it was here,” said Tom Beckman, who credited his neighbor’s two sheep with chomping vegetation surrounding his home and keeping the fires at bay.
“All the trivial things we have to work on — cleaning up, replacing the stuff in the fridge and freezer — that’s nothing compared to my friends who lost their homes,” Beckman said.
The smell of smoke remained thick in the air and spread to the San Francisco area, but skies were clearer in some places Monday. Some of that drift smoke worked its way into the Monterey Bay area over the last few days, including Monday where a slight grey haze clutched the Pajaro Valley.
In the historic main square of the wine and tourist town of Sonoma, a statue of the town’s 19th century founder was draped with signs thanking firefighters who have saved the town from disaster.
“The love in the air is thicker than the smoke,” read a sign on the bench that displays the statue of Gen. Mariano Vallejo, which was wearing a facemask.
Although the weather was still hot and dry, the calmer winds and the possibility of rain later in the week should help crews tamp down the deadliest, most destructive cluster of blazes in California history.
“Any sort of moisture is welcome at this point,” said Scott Rowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “In terms of fire, the weather outlook is looking to be improving.”
He predicted a fraction of an inch would fall late Thursday in Sonoma and Napa counties.
Firefighters continued to battle flames that have crossed a mountain from Sonoma County to Napa County. Three helicopters repeatedly dipped water buckets into a reservoir and made drops to stop flames from crawling downhill toward historic wineries in the Napa Valley.
Most of the people reported missing have been located, and authorities said many were false reports from people far away who could not get in touch with friends or relatives.
About 40,000 evacuees were still waiting for permission to go back to their communities, down from a high of 100,000 on Saturday.
“We are forecasting a weather system moving out Pacific Northwest late Thursday, that will bring some rain,” said Roger Gass, meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Monterey. “The air quality might shift for the worse over the next few days as the winds shift. But the good thing is that once the on shore flow comes up it increases the moisture in the area and bring cooler temperatures.”
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Tarmo Hannula of the Pajaronian contributed to this story.
