A prescribed brush fire that escaped control lines quickly turned into a wildfire, which has burned hundreds of acres in California’s Yolo County near the town of Winters, according to Jason Clay, public information officer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Putah Fire had burned 362 acres as of Cal Fire’s latest update at 4 p.m. It first reported by Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit at 11:34 a.m. on Monday, and it quickly grew to 25 acres along Highway 128 near the Solano and Yolo county line by noon.
Earlier in the day, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit was conducting a prescribed burn at the Putah Creek Fishing Access Site 2, which was expected to burn about 40 acres between Monday and Friday, according to a post on X.
“Increasing wind conditions caused it to escape the established control lines, so firefighters immediately transitioned from prescribed fire operations to wildland suppression efforts at that time,” Clay told USA TODAY.
The blaze grew to 120 acres by 1:38 p.m. as it burned “flashy fuels,” along the region’s hills, according to Clay. By 2 p.m., the fire grew to 300 acres.
Firefighters at the scene are working to get the fire under control, as aircraft continue to slow the head of the fire on the north side with fire retardant drops, according to Cal Fire. Helicopters are providing support by making water drops on the wildfire, as bulldozers work to establish control lines on the north side of the fire.
Cal Fire has currently deployed a “significant amount of resources to contain it,” according to Clay.
There are about 200 firefighters assigned at the incident, 10 fire engines, three bulldozers, six helicopters and multiple air tankers, according to Clay.
As of 3:45 p.m., the Yolo County Sheriff’s office has not called for the evacuation of the nearby town of Winters, which is less than 7 miles away from where the Putah Fire reportedly started. Caltrans has also closed all lanes along Highway 128 westbound from Pleasant Valley Road as a result of the fire.
Earlier in the day, the National Weather Service of Sacramento issued a Red Flag Warning for portions of the Sacramento Valley starting on Wednesday, June 10, to Thursday afternoon, June 11. The National Weather Service noted that gusty northerly winds and low humidity would create critical fire weather conditions.
This article originally appeared on USA Today
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