Lake Berryessa fire grows overnight to 6,000 acres

Jul 23, 2015

(SFGate) - A wind-whipped wildfire south of Lake Berryessa in Napa and Solano counties grew in the early morning hours Thursday, charring 6,000 acres since its start a day earlier, burning one home and threatening more, fire officials said.

About 500 firefighters were working to protect some 200 structures in the hills northeast of Wine Country, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Drought-parched terrain and erratic winds remained hurdles.

The blaze, called the Wragg Fire, was reported to be just 5 percent contained Thursday morning.

“It was a difficult night overnight,” said Lynne Tolmachoff, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire. “The winds have been definitely hampering efforts — it was breezy all night.”

KCRA meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn explains how the winds are impacting a wildfire burning near Lake Berryessa.

Aircraft support was scheduled to resume early Thursday morning, she said, noting that containment is the top priority.

"We do have a large number of homes evacuated. There’s definitely a push to get folks back home as soon as we can,” she said.

Residents in the communities of Quail Ridge and Golden Bear were under mandatory evacuation orders, and campgrounds and trails around the 15-mile-long lake were closed. Highway 128, which connects Napa Valley to the Central Valley, remained shut off south of the lake.

Winds in the area should decrease Thursday, said Brooke Bingaman, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. As of 7:30 a.m., winds near the fire were at 5 mph with gusts up to 10 mph, she said. That was a big drop from Wednesday evening, when winds were at 23 mph with gusts at 33 mph, according to Bingaman.


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