Weather hampers firefighters

SAN FRANCISCO – Firefighters were hampered by erratic winds and low humidity Monday as they made slow progress against a fire that has burned nearly 12,000 acres and four homes in Northern California wine country.

The fire, which started Friday northeast of Geyserville in Sonoma County, has been 20 percent contained, and full containment is not expected until Wednesday, said Janet Marshall, spokeswoman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The unpredictable winds and dry vegetation, plus the uneven and often steep terrain, have made the situation extremely dangerous for the 1,875 firefighters, Marshall said.

“These are very erratic winds, which can be blowing perpendicular to one another,” she said. “You never know where they’re coming from, and that’s a huge safety concern for firefighters.”

Two firefighters have been injured – but not critically.

In addition to the four homes, eight outbuildings and 12 cars have been destroyed. About 40 residents have been evacuated from the area about 60 miles north of San Francisco, including occupants of six homes ordered evacuated Monday morning, Marshall said.

The fire also is threatening major power lines from 21 generating plants in the Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal power facility.

Saturday, two-thirds of the plants and two transmission lines were shut down, said Kent Robertson, a spokesman for Calpine Corp., which owns the lines. The company rerouted electricity from other plants, and no outages were reported.