(PD) - The wildland fire that started last weekend in Yolo County has exploded into the largest blaze of the season and served as an early signal that a region traumatized by October’s deadly fires will spend the next several months warily watching the skies.

Officially called the County fire, the blaze near the town of Guinda on rural Highway 16 has now consumed 60,000 acres after spreading into Napa County. Virtually unchecked, it swelled by about 27,500 acres in a 24-hour period that ended Monday evening.

Falling ash and the sight and smell of smoke from that conflagration, as well as from the Pawnee fire in Lake County, have triggered a surge of calls and social media messages to the region’s fire departments, with residents anxious to make sure the flames aren’t drawing closer.