NAPA IN FLAMES! Massive 'Tube' Fires Are Engulfing Both the Sonoma Valley and Napa Portions of California

Massive wildfires ripped through Napa and Sonoma counties early Monday, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people and shutting down major roadways as firefighters sought to halt the advance of infernos driven by powerful winds.


There was no immediate estimate of the damage or the extent of injuries, but vast swaths of land were burning in both counties.



Firefighters work to save structures on Soda Canyon Road in Napa, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle called the Tubbs Fire had burned at least 20,000 acres by 8 a.m. Scores of homes were lost in the Fountaingrove area east of Highway 101 and in the Journey’s End Mobile Home Park on Mendocino Avenue.


The Fountaingrove Inn across the street from the mobile home park burned, as did the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country, a Kmart store, a McDonald’s, an Arby’s, an Applebee’s and a Mountain Mike’s Pizza. And that was just the beginning.


Residents in the area described fleeing for their lives in the middle of the night from the fire, in cars or on foot. Hundreds of firefighters were on scene.