Blowing Embers Spread Fire To Multiple Petaluma, California Homes

Embers from a eucalyptus grove that caught fire Tuesday afternoon alongside Highway 101 in Petaluma spread to more than a dozen homes, destroying four of them, as police evacuated an entire neighborhood and closed northbound highway lanes at the start of the evening commute. The nearly two-hour highway closure, initially involving both lanes north of the Lakeville Highway offramp, was lifted at 5 p.m., when northbound traffic was backed up well into northern Marin County.
The fire, reported shortly after 3 p.m., started in grass near the freeway offramp at East Washington Street and was blown south by the wind into eucalyptus leaves along the Highway 101 shoulder, then exploded up into a row of the tall trees, Petaluma Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Holden said.