Firefighters douse flare up near Hwy 37 outside Petaluma

Local firefighters, already worn thin after days of attempting to quell the inferno raging across Sonoma County, Thursday afternoon quickly doused a small flare up in the 2,000-acre Thirty Seven fire on Lakeville Highway. The blaze is 80 percent contained, fire officials said.

Reports of a plume of smoke in the area six miles south of the edge of Petaluma came in shortly before 2 p.m. Personnel found a fire burning between three to five acres on the property of the Sonoma Raceway, with a light wind in the area, according to initial emergency dispatch reports.

By 2:45 p.m., crews had knocked down flames and were mopping up.

“The fire jumped the line and got bigger,” Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department’s Chief Nick Silva said.

Personnel and 10 engines from Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department, Rancho Adobe, North Sonoma Coast Fire and Schell-Vista fire protection districts, as well as Marin County and Novato fire departments were actively working the fire. Much of the surrounding landscape was already barren and charred.

The Sonoma Raceway has opened its 50-acre campground to those displaced by fires, according to Facebook.