A separate fire in Sierra Nevada was also controlled by crews enough to allow a single lane on the freeway between Reno and Sacramento to be opened.
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For the second time in two summers, Cal Fire is battling a major wildland blaze in the rugged country near the southern end of Lake Berryessa.
The U.S. Forest Service says some mandatory evacuations have been called for in the rural area, but it isn’t immediately clear how many homes or people are affected.
The fire was 15 percent contained Thursday night as temperatures were slightly cooler and winds calmer, but dozens of homes and ranches remained threatened.
“Firefighting personnel continue to aggressively work in treacherous terrain, providing structure defense and improving containment lines”, Cal Fire said.
Fire officials are referring to the event as the “Wragg Fire”, named for the nearby Wragg Canyon. It was 5 percent contained.
Firefighters gained ground Saturday against a Northern California wildfire near Napa Valley wine country, and fire officials ended all evacuation orders and road closures.
After rapidly shifting winds pushed the fire through 4,000 acres since it ignited Wednesday, hundreds of firefighters swarmed the area near Lake Berryessa to help while residents in Cold Canyon, Mix Canyon and Quail Ridge fled.
“Many of the people live off the grid, they want to be left alone, and they have trees all over the place” which makes it harder to protect them from fire, Berlant said. Firefighters and equipment were arriving to help slow the fire’s spread and to protect a hotel and campground in its path. “We didn’t have a lot of growth today, which is good”.
The fire erupted Wednesday afternoon and was initially reported as being caused by a vehicle accident, but authorities said Thursday that the cause was still under investigation.
The drastic drop in acres burned in the past year is in large part because of an increase in the number of crews and aircrafts CalFire was able to obtain through the state declaring a drought emergency last year, officials say.
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The blaze began at around 2:30 pm & forced some communities to evacuate in and around Nevada County which is just 45 miles northeast from Sacramento.
