A prescribed burn along Highway 128 was followed Monday by a fast-growing wildfire near the eastern edge of Northern California’s Wine Country, where flames spread to nearly 362 acres and prompted evacuation warnings, a highway closure and an immediate structure threat.
The fire, named the Putah Fire, started at 11:34 a.m. along Highway 128 west of Winters, a small city near the Solano-Yolo county line about 30 miles west of Sacramento and northeast of the Napa Valley, Cal Fire said. It prompted evacuation warnings, an immediate structure threat and the closure of part of Highway 128.
In the dispatch audio, the incident commander for the Highway 128 prescribed burn reported a 3- to 4-acre wildland fire burning uphill. Cal Fire listed the cause of the fire as under investigation Monday afternoon, and authorities had not publicly confirmed whether the wildfire escaped from the prescribed burn or how it started.
The fire had been mapped at 361.7 acres by late Monday afternoon, according to Cal Fire. Air Attack also requested two Type 2 helicopters, one night helicopter coordinator and three night-flying helicopters because of fire growth and an immediate structure threat, Watch Duty reported…