County Fire In Yolo, Napa, Lake Counties Grows To 60,000 Acres

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — The County Fire grew to 60,000 acres Monday evening and was continuing to burn in a tri-county area of Yolo, Lake and Napa counties, according to officials with Cal Fire. The massive wildfire broke out Saturday afternoon in the Yolo County community of Guinda as the region was under a red flag warning. As of 7 p.m. Monday, the County Fire was 5-percent contained and was threatening 700 homes and other structures.

The County Fire continued to burn actively throughout the day Monday, officials with Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit said.

"The potential for growth remains high as crews battle the fire in difficult terrain," the fire officials said. "Firefighters continued to work through the day to construct new containment lines and defend structures impacted by the fire."

Mandatory evacuations were in effect Monday evening for residents north of Highway 128 in Yolo County, not including the city of Winters; south of County Road 23; east of Berryessa Knoxville Road in Napa County; those served by Highway 128, between Monticello Dam and Pleasants Valley Road; and west of County Road 89, south of the community of Esparto (agricultural equipment permitted).

An evacuation advisory remained in effect for residents north of Quail Canyon Road; south of Highway 128; east of the Blue Ridge mountains; and west of Pleasants Valley Road.

Road closures were in effect at northbound County Road 87 from state Highway 128; Berryessa Knoxville Road from the Pope Creek Bridge to the Napa/Lake County line; eastbound state Highway 128 at Markley Resort; and westbound state Highway 128 at Pleasants Valley Road.

Pleasants Valley Road south from SR-128 remains open to serve traffic into Solano County.

An evacuation center is set up at Guinda Grange Hall in at 16487 Forest Ave., in Guinda.
No injuries have been reported, nor loss of structures.

Containment of the County Fire was previously estimated to happen by Friday. However, according to Cal Fire's incident management team with the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit, full containment is now expected by Tuesday, July 10.

More than 2,100 firefighters and other personnel are assigned to the blaze. Numerous air tankers from throughout California are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow, fire officials said.

Cooperating agencies includ: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Cal OES, California Highway Patrol, California Conservation Corps, Yolo County OES, Yolo County Sheriff, Solano County Sheriff, Napa County Sheriff, PG&E, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Bureau of Land Management, United States Forest Service and California National Guard.

A smoke advisory was issued for the San Francisco Bay Area due to the wildfire.

Photo courtesy of Joyce Hughes; taken Sunday from Lake Berryessa in Napa County