By Benjy Egel

The Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties, where wind-whipped fires are burning through tens of thousands of acres with little containment so far.

At least 14 are dead from fires in the region and 1,500 structures have burned.

Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said more than 50 structures had been destroyed, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths, according to The Associated Press.

Gov. Brown cited the threat to critical infrastructure as well as to thousands of people and homes in Monday’s emergency declaration.

Numerous buildings are on fire in the city of Santa Rosa, where evacuation orders are in place. The Hilton Sonoma hotel, a KMart and a large performing arts center are among structures completely engulfed, according to media reports, and Sonoma County officials said Monday morning that Sutter Hospital and Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa “are no longer operational and patients have been evacuated.”

Mass evacuations are taking place in Sonoma County, according to the county sheriff’s department, where flames from the Tubbs Fire have inundated Santa Rosa, Larkfield and Forestville. The fire jumped Highway 101 early Monday morning, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department, and had reached 20,000 acres as of 5:41 a.m.

“It was an inferno like you’ve never seen before,” Marian Williams, who caravaned with neighbors through flames before dawn as one of the wildfires reached the vineyards and ridges at her small Sonoma County town of Kenwood, told the AP.

Santa Rosa hospitals run by Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Health were evacuated while as many as 10 separate fires burned throughout Sonoma County. Several properties in Journey’s End Mobile Home Park have burned down, while the luxurious Fountaingrove Inn was reportedly destroyed. Seventeen Sonoma County shelters had been established as of 7:45 a.m.

Sonoma State University and Santa Rosa Junior College were closed for the day, as were several area school districts. Power lines and cell service were down in the area.

The Atlas Peak Fire started just south of Lake Berryessa at around 9:50 p.m. Sunday and ran through 5,000 acres of Napa County, according to Cal Fire, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.

Butte County’s LaPorte Fire, which began as the Cascade Fire in Yuba County, had scorched 5,000 acres as of 8 a.m. Monday. Officials had closed 33 roads as of 6:30 a.m. and set up an emergency shelter capable of hosting large animals at the Yuba-Sutter fairgrounds.

Strong northern winds spread the Cherokee Fire in Oroville from 80 to 800 acres in just two hours Sunday night, according to tweets from Cal Fire — Butte County, and had reached 1,000 acres by 6:13 a.m. on Monday. Evacuation orders have been issued for about five miles of roads surrounding the blaze, which began as a vegetation fire around 9:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Approximately 7,000-8,000 homes in Nevada County are being threatened in the uncontained 500-acre Lobo Fire, according to Cal Fire. The McCourtney Fire, near Grass Valley, had spread to 150 acres before forward progress was halted around 9 a.m. Monday.

In Mendocino County, one person was injured when the Redwood Complex Fire rushed up Redwood Valley toward Willits, according to the Ukiah Daily Journal. Schools in Ukiah, Willits and Potter Valley are closed Monday as families evacuate their homes.

The National Weather Service said widespread wind gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph were observed in the north San Francisco Bay region and isolated spots hit 70 mph. The winds were expected to subside at midday.

Forecasters issued a red flag warning from north of Redding to south of San Jose this weekend, cautioning that strong gusts would carry sparks for miles.

National Fire Prevention Week began Sunday night.