Firefighters are making progress on the Putah Fire burning west of Winters in Yolo County, increasing containment to 30% as of Wednesday morning, June 10, according to Cal Fire. The wildfire, which ignited Monday morning after a prescribed burn escaped control, has scorched 869 acres.
Highway 128, previously closed near the Napa and Solano county lines due to the fire, reopened in both directions around 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Evacuation advisories for three zones in Yolo County were lifted shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Despite these gains, forecasters warn that dangerous fire weather conditions are expected to intensify again Wednesday night into Thursday across inland portions of the North Bay and nearby areas impacted by the fire. The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning from 11 p.m.
Wednesday through 9 a.m. Thursday for the North Bay interior mountains and East Bay hills, including eastern Sonoma and Napa counties and parts of Lake County.
Overnight humidity levels could drop as low as 10% to 20%, while wind gusts may reach 35 to 40 mph, with isolated ridge-top gusts exceeding 60 mph—conditions that could fuel rapid fire growth and dangerous fire behavior.
Temperatures are forecast to remain well above normal Thursday and Friday, with highs reaching the low to mid-90s in Santa Rosa, Napa, and Cloverdale before a slight cooling trend heading into the weekend. Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
has advised that elevated wildfire risk has triggered Public Safety Power Shutoffs planned across parts of Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday. PG&E stated that shutoffs are required in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Tehama, and Yolo counties due to high winds and dry conditions, while portions of Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties remain under a watch where outages are considered likely.
The fire intensified Tuesday morning after powerful overnight winds pushed flames across containment lines amid dangerous fire weather conditions. Crews continue battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain near Highway 128 west of Winters, where firefighters have spent days carving containment lines by hand while aircraft drop water and fire retardant to slow the fire's spread.
Cal Fire reports that about 285 personnel are assigned to the incident, including 15 fire engines, 12 hand crews, four bulldozers, and eight water tenders. Firefighters are working to strengthen containment lines.
This is a developing story.