Evacuations and road closures have been ordered as a result of a wildfire burning west of the Yolo County town of Winters.
Advertisement
There have been no reports of injuries or any structures damaged, according to Cal-Fire.
Burning near Napa County’s largest reservoir, Lake Berryessa, a new wildfire doubled in size overnight and triggered a series of evacuations as flames tore through acres of oak trees.
Fire information officer Deborah McClain said Tuesday investigators determined the blaze started July 22 in a day camping area of Garapata Park where campfires are prohibited. However, fire crews have been working on plans to stop it from spreading, Cal Fire said. It is 25 percent contained.
In California’s Central Valley, crews got a lot more control over a stubborn wildfire that has destroyed three homes and is threatening another 400 northeast of Fresno. Those figures represent a growth of about 100 acres and a containment increase of 5 percent over Wednesday.
The 3.4-square-mile blaze started Saturday and quickly spread through steep, rugged terrain covered with dry vegetation and dead trees. Several more are threatened. Hot, dry temperatures often combined with winds have made firefighting conditions hard, destroying homes and forcing evacuations. Residents of about 630 homes southwest of Hamilton were evacuated while another 215 homes were warned to be ready to leave. “Twenty-two bulldozers tells you how rugged this terrain is and how remote it is”.
Officials predicted humidity in the single-digits in the Virginia Mountains with wind gusts up to 45 miles per hour. Crews will stay in the area around the clock until the fire is contained.
Another, farther north near Poodle Mountain, is 80 percent contained. By Wednesday, it had grown by more than 9 square miles.
About 850 personnel were assigned to the fire, McLean said.
The cause of the fire was being investigated.
Officials are asking for the public’s help to find whoever started the campfire that sparked the wildfire, which destroyed 57 homes.
Dave Ulibarri with Salt Lake County’s Unified Fire Authority said the blaze started early Wednesday on a mountainside above the city of Draper and spread quickly through dry grass and brush.
Many firefighters are familiar with the area because it burned in 2014, she said.
Shelters have been set up for people and livestock from about two dozen evacuated residences.
Progress has been made on fighting wildfires in western Wyoming, and most evacuation orders were lifted. The fire began July 11.
Advertisement
The only area still evacuated was Granite Creek in Teton County, where a wildfire was burning in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
