Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings Monday night after firefighters halted the progress of a 17-acre wildfire in a Santa Rosa area scarred by past devastation. The Ledson Fire broke out Monday afternoon just off Highway 12 in Sonoma County, prompting tense moments and immediate evacuati ons. Helicopters repeatedly dropped buckets of water to assist multiple fire agencies in stopping the blaze in its tracks. Jason Clay, a public information officer for the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, noted that veteran firefighters are very familiar with the terrain. “The fire is burning a little bit in two different burn scars, so it’s got a lot of heavy fuel and snags, from the 2017 Nuns Fire and the 2020 Glass Fire,” Clay said. Combined, the Nuns and Glass fires burned more than 120,000 acres and destroyed 2,800 structures. While the Ledson Fire is only partially contained at 35% as of 11 p.m. Monday, crews successfully stopped its forward progress at 14 acres. On Monday night, firefighters continued to build containment lines while monitoring for blowing embers and shifting weather. “You’re always concerned about the wind, and in time it could pick up overnight,” Clay said. “Winds aren’t too bad right now. They’ve kind of shifted a little bit, as this incident has gone on.” The blaze initially caused panic among residents who rushed home from work to see their hillside neighborhood in flames. They waited patiently at evacuation points for clearance to check on their properties and animals. “We’re a little freaked out. Just waiting for good news,” evacuee Madisyn Goerlitz said. “It seems like the forward progress is stopped.” Fellow evacuee Irene Tepper waited anxiously to retrieve her “two cats and a puppy.” Goerlitz was particularly worried about her 12-year-old cat, Winston. “He’s my little baby,” Goerlitz said while waiting for a neighbor or landlord to rescue the pet. Ultimately, all residents and their pets evacuated safely. Winston the cat was safely reunited with Goerlitz, who planned to take him to a veterinarian in Petaluma as a precaution. While some residents chose to return home Monday night, others opted to wait another day to ensure the fire wouldn’t flare up again. PGE Jul 11 PGE agrees to $22 million penalty deal over 2022 Mosquito fire San Francisco Jul 9 San Francisco supervisors back stronger penalties for illegal fireworks bay area weather Jul 9 National Weather Service urges Bay Area residents to prepare for dry lightning This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less