Kincade fire in Sonoma County fully contained

Nearly two weeks after it first erupted in the early hours of 24 October, the Kincade wildfire that swept through Sonoma County has finally been fully contained.

The fire was 100% contained at 7pm on Wednesday night, a day earlier than predicted by the California fire department.

“Firefighters are breathing a sigh of relief right now. It was one of the more difficult firefights we’ve had in a while,” Cal Fire Division chief, Jonathan Cox, told The Press Democrat.

The largest ever fire to sweep through Sonoma County began on 24 October near the base of a damaged high-voltage transmission tower owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

Since then, it has scorched 77,758 acres of land and destroyed 374 buildings, prompting the largest mass evacuation in Sonoma county’s history.

No one died in the blaze but four firefighters were injured while tackling the flames. Soda Rock and Field Stone wineries in Healdsburg were destroyed by the fire.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Comade progress on Wednesday in restoring power and gas to customers within the fire zone, having turned them off as a precaution.

The thousands of firefighters who tackled the blaze were from 506 agencies, including Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.