Cal Fire said the Woodside Fire had burned 152 acres and was 37% contained by late Friday, after evacuation orders and warnings forced changes along Highway 1 in Sonoma County. The fire map showed the blaze moving through coastal timber west of the road, with the main closure extending to Timber Cove Road.
SON-1D1 and SON-1D2
An evacuation order stayed in place Friday for SON-1D1, which includes Salt Point State Park and Timber Cove and covers about 350 households. A separate warning remained in effect for SON-1D2, which includes 265 households. Those notices mattered most for people trying to reach the coast, because the corridor normally draws heavier traffic in the summer camping season.
The fire began Thursday afternoon and burned in heavy timber across coastal bluffs and steep ravines west of Highway 1 within Salt Point State Park. By early Friday afternoon, Highway 1 through Salt Point State Park was nearly empty. Cal Fire engines, bulldozers, sheriff’s deputies and utility trucks were the only traffic moving through the stretch north of Fort Ross, while miles of yellow Cal Fire hose ran alongside the highway.
Laguna High School in Forestville
Staff at the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management shelter at Laguna High School in Forestville waited for evacuees who largely never came. Only two people were using the shelter by late morning, even though the order covered about 350 households and the warning covered 265 more. That gap suggests many people had already arranged to stay elsewhere, while others had not yet needed shelter space.
At Stewart’s Point Store, co-owner Hilla Ahvenainen said business had thinned as visitors stayed away. “We’ve got a lot of our regulars that are still coming in, but I’m not going to get the day-trippers, obviously,” she said Friday. “The campers all disappeared, so that part of the business is gone.” Employees spent much of the day serving coffee to firefighters and answering calls from travelers trying to figure out whether Highway 1 was open; Ahvenainen said, “I’d say 50% of our calls are that right now.”
Stewart’s Point Store
By early afternoon, coastal gusts approached 25 mph, and hot spots were sending fresh columns of gray smoke through blackened Douglas firs, pines and bay laurels. Ahvenainen said, “I’m just glad the fire is slightly under control,” adding, “That’s the more important thing.” The immediate question for motorists and coastal businesses is how long the Highway 1 closure and evacuation restrictions will last; Cal Fire continued working the fire late Friday, but no lifting time was given.
