Wildfire threatens vineyards in US

A 9,300-acre wildfire burned out of control in central California’s wine country today, as another blaze in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada destroyed 11 homes.

The Sonoma County fire, the largest burning in California, raced to within a few miles of vineyards and threatened as many as 200 homes.

“It’s blown up,” said Dana Cole, division chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ”Right now we have no control on the head of the fire.”

Ash from the fire fell at the Sausal Winery in Healdsburg as helicopters did laps over the area, scooping up water from nearby lakes to drop on the advancing flames.

More than 1,100 firefighters are battling the flames.

The fire started on Friday near The Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal power facility, which harnesses steam from the earth to provide electricity to Sonoma, Napa, Marin and Mendocino counties. The cause was not immediately known.

The rugged terrain is crossed by major power lines from the Calpine Corp plant, prompting the threat of blackouts. The plant was partially shut down and some transmission lines operated by Pacific Gas and Electric were not being operated, said David Eisenhauer, a PG&E spokesman.

The utility firm rerouted electricity from other plants to keep the lights on, Eisenhauer said.

No buildings were damaged and firefighters were able to save more than a dozen geothermal energy towers, each worth £160 million.

In the Sierra foothills of Calaveras County, another fire sparked by a burning motorhome on Friday destroyed 11 homes and forced thousands of people to evacuate rural areas. They were allowed to return yesterday.