Sonoma County

The first phase will include residents who live in the areas west of Interstate 80 from Lyon Road to Vaca Valley Road , including Vaca Valley Road. Gates Canyon Road will remain closed.

The video shows Deputy Bryan Jensen responding on Aug. 15 to a dispute involving a couple inside an upholstery shop on River Road in Guerneville.

For thousands of evacuees, Tuesday brought relief, and a return to homes in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano Counties. 

Sonoma County downgraded their fire evacuation warnings for some zones, including the Meyers Fire area, which means that some residents can return home at their own risk. 

As of Monday morning, Cal Fire said 350,030 acres had burned and they had 22% of it contained. More than 1,000 structures have been either destroyed or damaged and 30,500 structures remained damaged.

The Santa Cruz fire is one of three “complexes,” or groups of fires, burning on all sides of the San Francisco Bay Area. All were started by lightning.

As of the latest update, CalFire said the fire had consumed more than 215,000 acres; nearly 500 structures have been destroyed and another 125 were damaged.

Known as the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, the biggest blaze of the group is the Hennessey Fire burning in Napa County. That particular fire has burned 105,000 acres and is  0% contained.

The combination of fires known as LNU Lightning Complex in Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties tripled on Wednesday to cover 124,100 acres by evening, when state officials said all parts were still burning out of control. 

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate - an exact number was not immediately available, but up to 12,000 in Sonoma County alone have been told to leave their homes for safety.

The Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management said the warning is in place areas north of Austin Creek Recreational Area, east of The Cedars, west of Mill Creek Road, and south of Stewarts Point-Skaggs Springs Road. 

After he was pulled over by a deputy, the suspect rammed his car in reverse into the deputy's vehicle while the deputy was still inside it. The deputy was unhurt. 

When medical personnel arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday denied Sheriff Mark Essick's request for approval to hire legal counsel to explore litigation against the county over a ballot measure that would strengthen the office that oversees his department.

The Sonoma County Deputy Sheriffs' Association says county supervisors broke state labor laws in placing a measure on the November ballot aimed at increasing the powers of the watchdog office that oversees the county Sheriff's Office.

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick appears poised to challenge a ballot measure that would give more powers to the watchdog office that oversees his department.

At empty fairgrounds, vendors are roasting turkey legs, spinning cotton candy and popping kettle corn.