As the Woodward Fire continues to burn through old-growth forests north of Bolinas, many residents are waiting for the evacuation warning to turn into an order before leaving town.
Bolinas Community Center manager Kate Ross was handing out food to residents at the food bank on Thursday under a blue sky with minimal smoke. She said she is ready to leave at a moment’s notice, but is not too concerned about the fire that grew on Thursday to 2,000 acres and threatened 1,600 structures.
“Many people have of course left but I still have a job to do,” said Ross, 37. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m not leaving until they tell me I have to … but if I have to leave that’s fine.”
She added that even though she is holding out, she is taking the threat seriously because she has never experienced a fire of this magnitude so close to home.
“This is the biggest fire we’ve had that I can recall,” she said. “We usually have flooding up here, but with that crazy lightning storm I’m not surprised it caused a fire.”
Even with the fire burning to the north, visitors still came and went. Cars with surfboards could be seen lining the sides of roads off Highway 1 entering Stinson Beach.
Marin County sheriff’s Sgt. Brenton Schneider said Thursday the fire is about 7 miles north of the edge of Bolinas. There is no way to know if an evacuation order will be issued. An evacuation center has been set up at West Marin School in Point Reyes Station.
“If we evacuated Dogtown or Bolinas, we are prepared to open an evacuation center in Mill Valley,” Schneider said. “All the preparations are completed.”
Bolinas Fire Protection District Chief George Krakauer said initial reports that the fire was 4 miles away caused panic among many residents. He said that he is not sure how many residents have heeded the evacuation warning.
“It’s about having a heightened awareness,” Krakauer said. “A lot of the people who are thinking it’s only 4 miles away already evacuated.”
He said while there is no immediate threat to residents in downtown Bolinas, they should cut vegetation around their homes to create defensible space, gather important belongings and prepare to evacuate at a moment’s notice if the winds pick up.
“It is slowly heading in our direction. The fire is burning through heavy timber and still remains in the area north of Bear Valley trail,” Krakauer said Thursday.
Kathleen O’Neill, a volunteer at the Bolinas Community Food Bank, said she knows two families who evacuated but came back once they realized it was just a warning.
“I live in downtown and the air is better than it was yesterday, or the day before,” O’Neill said. “I feel better about the fire but if it gets real bad the ocean is right there. I’ll head down into the water until it passes.”
Dustin Newell, a Bolinas resident, said while a lot of people left, he is waiting for an evacuation order as well.
“I’m prepared,” Newell said. “I was scared at first when I heard it was only 4 miles away but when I found out it had not passed Bear Valley I was relieved.”
Out near the end of Mesa Road, just north of Bolinas, BN Ranch owner Bill Niman was moving cattle from one field to another with his son Miles and worker Mauricio Cuevas. The move was done preemptively in case the fire spread farther south, they said.
Niman said he was moving about 50 cattle into a field owned by the Point Reyes National Seashore that has less vegetation to protect his animals.
Mauricio Cuevas, a rancher who works for BN Ranch, moves cattle from one field to another in Bolinas. Cuevas said its due to the Woodward Fire. Bill Niman, ranch owner, said moving them to a field with less fuel to burn as a way to keep them safe. pic.twitter.com/beQbTei7dq
— Lorenzo Morotti (@Enzomorotti) August 20, 2020
He said the ranching community is helping each other out but as long as the winds don’t blow south he is confident they’ll be OK. Still, he said he has prepared his ranch by cutting vegetation, preparing his water supply and fire equipment.
“We know how to protect our animals and structures, but we are not naive,” he said. “The buildings are clear of vegetation and not near the eucalyptus groves, which would explode with fire. Park officials said they were going to make a fire break. … If anything we will wrangle up the cattle and go down to the beach.”
Juan Carlos Quevedo is a rancher who has lived on the outskirts of Bolinas for 25 years. He said there are still many ranchers working even with the threat of fire.
“We’re not afraid, but we are ready to go if we have to,” Quevedo said while at the food bank picking up groceries. “But I don’t think there is going to be an evacuation.”