A fraction of an inch is predicted to fall late Thursday in Sonoma and Napa counties, though fire officials noted that if showers bring more wind than moisture, it could spell trouble for firefighters.
Crews continued to battle flames that have crossed a mountain from Sonoma County to Napa County. Three helicopters repeatedly dipped water buckets into a reservoir and made drops to stop flames from crawling downhill toward historic wineries in the Napa Valley.
Most of the people reported missing have been located, and authorities said many were false reports from people far away who could not get in touch with friends or relatives.
About 100 people remained unaccounted for. Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said he expects some of those will be found dead in burned-out homes.
Before they let people return to view the damage to their homes, authorities want to search thoroughly for remains and make sure the area is safe — a process that could take weeks, Giordano said.
About 40,000 evacuees were still waiting for permission to go back to their communities, down from a high of 100,000 on Saturday.
While police kept people from burned-out neighborhoods, some managed to sneak past road blocks to view the damage.
Janis Watkins wasn’t so lucky. She was turned back from Santa Rosa’s Wikiup neighborhood, where she wanted to see if the home she grew up in — built by her father — had survived.
She was almost certain it was lost, as well as a home where she raised her family in another part of the city.
“It appears that both my family homes are gone,” she said, tears in her eyes. “The landmarks of my life are gone. It’s a big emotional loss.”
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Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer in Sonoma, Brian Skoloff in Napa and Brian Melley, Janie Har and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this report.
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