Point Reyes, CA – The Woodward Fire incident, located in the Point Reyes National Seashore, has burned about 2,689 acres of dense vegetation in a sparsely populated area of coastal Marin County since it started August 18 It is 5% contained as of 5:30 p.m. August 23, with no structures damaged and three minor injuries to firefighters.
Officials involved with the Woodward Fire are relocating the Incident Command Post and Basecamp to 5800 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in San Geronimo, former site of San Geronimo Golf Course. In a fire response, such basecamps are strategically located to serve an incident and the communities. The first base camp location – the site of the Point Reyes National Seashore Visitor Center in Olema – was an ideal location at the start of the incident. By August 23, it was within the evacuation warning area. Relocating a basecamp to outside a potential evacuation zone is not unusual practice and ensures critical response resources are ready to respond to changing needs of the fire. The basecamp personnel appreciate the patience and support of the communities that are impacted by the wildfire and the associated impacts from supporting the fire.
The fire continues to burn south of Limantour Road, north of the Bear Valley Trail, and west of Shoreline Highway (State Route 1). The area is steep with limited access on foot, causing challenges for firefighters. With resources strained in the state due to the large number of fires burning. A red flag warning is in effect for Marin County through Monday afternoon, August 24, including a risk of dry lightning and erratic outflow winds over the fire zone.
An evacuation warning remains for the following areas:
- West of Shoreline Highway (State Route 1) between Sir Francis Drake Blvd in Olema south to Bolinas.
- West of Highway 1 and Sir Francis Drake Blvd (northern intersection) to the Point Reyes Lighthouse. This includes the communities of Olema, Inverness, Inverness Park and Sea Haven
- Sir Francis Drake to the Bay Area Ridge Trail, continuing to the Bolinas Ridge Fire Road and the McCurdy Trail – all areas west of those intersections.
The Woodward Fire was first reported at 2:27 p.m. August 18 just south of the Woodward Trail, a few miles west of the Bear Valley Visitor Center in Olema and about one mile inland from Limantour Beach. The cause of the fire was confirmed to be lightning.
Ongoing updates about the Woodward Fire can be accessed from the Marin County Fire Department Information Hotline at 415-473-7191 and on the department’s Twitter feed.