Firefighters have made significant progress on the Putah Fire, which has burned 869 acres and was 30% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire. The blaze, which started Monday morning after a prescribed burn escaped, prompted the closure of Highway 128 near the Napa and Solano county lines.
The highway reopened in both directions around 9 p.m. Tuesday, and evacuation advisories for three zones in Yolo County were lifted shortly before 7 p.m.
Tuesday.
Despite the improving containment, forecasters are warning that dangerous fire weather conditions are expected to intensify again Wednesday night into Thursday across inland portions of the North Bay and nearby regions 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.
Meteorologists predict that overnight humidity levels could plummet to as low as 10% to 20%, while wind gusts could reach 35 to 40 mph, with isolated ridge-top gusts exceeding 60 mph. These conditions are capable of fueling rapid fire growth and dangerous fire behavior.
Temperatures are also expected to remain well above normal Thursday and Friday, with highs forecast to reach the low to mid-90s in Santa Rosa, Napa, and Cloverdale before cooling slightly heading into the weekend.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has advised that elevated wildfire risk 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 across inland Northern California. 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 approximately 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, and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.