Nuns fire returns to threaten Eastern Santa Rosa

Brandon McCapes, Deputy News Editor • October 14, 2017

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation of Eastern Santa Rosa this morning as fires from Calistoga and Kenwood put the area at renewed risk.

The mandatory evacuation went into effect at 4:48 a.m. and includes areas East of Calistoga Rd. and North of Melita Rd. on both sides of HWY 12 East, authorities say.

Police roused residents of Skyhawk, Mountain Hawk, and parts of Rincon Valley this morning and urged evacuees to take shelter in unaffected parts of the city and evacuee centers such as the Finley Community Center and Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

The Tubbs fire destroyed much of northern Santa Rosa Monday morning and forced an evacuation of the entire city of Calistoga earlier this week.

The Nuns fire, which has raged in Annadel State Park, prompted the evacuation of Annadel Heights, Bennett Valley Rd., and Oakmont neighborhoods, though Cal-Fire has been conducting controlled burns in an effort to protect residential areas.

“This is still a very dangerous event,” Sheriff Robert Giordano said at a public safety briefing Friday night. “I really want to impress upon people: please stay out of the evac zones, stay out of the burned areas; it’s still extremely dangerous.”

About the Contributor

Brandon McCapes, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Brandon McCapes was asleep the night of the North Bay fires. He certainly didn’t start them. He was asleep, not pulling a “Nightcrawler.” Brandon grew up in Davis where he learned to be pretentious. After traveling around California, attending a stupid number of two-and-four-year schools, circumstances landed him in Santa Rosa where he wallowed in stagnancy until signing up for The Oak Leaf. Through manipulation, misdirection and malice, he became News Editor during the wildfires and Co-editor-in-chief Spring 2018. His hobbies include making up sources, asking leading questions and over-editing other people’s articles to make himself feel better.