LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters from around Northern California converged at the Napa and Lake County line on Tuesday to fight the area's biggest wildland fire so far this summer season, with more resources on order for Wednesday.
The Butts Fire was first reported at approximately 12:08 p.m. in the Pope Valley area of Napa County, with radio reports indicating it had crossed into Lake County by Tuesday night.
The last confirmed report on the fire's size given by Cal Fire Tuesday evening was 2,700 acres with 30-percent containment. A morning flyover is expected to give a more accurate number on total acreage.
The California Highway Patrol reported Tuesday night that Butts Canyon Road remained closed on the Lake County side at Langtry Estates and on the Napa County side at James Creek.
Earlier in the day, evacuations had started in the 7800 block of Butts Canyon Road to north of Snell Valley Road and in the Berryessa Estates.
During the evening, firefighters helped escort out a number of residents of the Berryessa Estates area who had not been able to get out earlier.
Radio reports indicated that Berryessa Estates – which is reported to have nearly 200 homes – was a No. 1 priority for firefighters due to the residences and the close proximity to the fire, which was said to be hanging on a ridge a quarter mile to the west.
Also on Tuesday evening, the Lake County Office of Emergency Services and the Lake County Sheriff's issued a voluntary evacuations advisory for the Butts Canyon Road corridor near Middletown.
A special Board of Supervisors meeting ended up being cut short, with Supervisor Jim Comstock leaving in order to help with the south county evacuations and the rest of the board deciding to hold over some of the items for future meetings.
Evacuees were able to shelter at an emergency shelter set up by the Red Cross at Middletown High School.
Red Cross representative Susanne LaFaver said supplies were brought in from Clearlake. She said there was a lot of support from the community, with food, water and dog food donated.
LaFaver said all evacuees were welcome, and that Red Cross was hoping they would come to the shelter unless they had found shelter with their friends and relatives.
One of the evacuees who made it to the evacuation shelter, Berryessa Estates resident Lou Leet, said she appreciated the cooperation between Lake and Napa counties. “They've been great about working with us so that we can stay with our animals.”
Leet said she hadn't yet heard about the status of residences in the subdivision.
Another Berryessa Estates resident, Gail Bickett, took refuge at the evacuation center.
“I grabbed a lot but I didn’t grab it all,” she said of her possessions, adding she is most worried about her pictures.
Evacuee Tina Marchetti works in Benicia, and said that on Tuesday she had nearly reached Napa when she got news of the fire. She said she could see the smoke and as she drove home it looked like it was her neighborhood.
She said she received a telephone message about the incident from the neighborhood fire council coordinator. Later she got another call reporting that a mandatory evacuation was under way.
“I have four cats that are stuck inside,” she said.
Comstock, who went to the shelter after leaving the meeting, said of the fire, “It's just exploding in that dry brush.”
He said he had learned that one Napa County structure had been destroyed and that the fire was in Lake County, headed toward Butts Canyon Road, Oat Hill Road and Morgan Valley Road.
Comstock said his son-in-law, who works for Cal Fire in Santa Cruz, had received an order to respond to the fire. “There is a big force coming.”
A large firefighting force from around the region had been on scene Tuesday, with air resources coming from around Northern California, along with numerous local and out-of-country strike teams and dozers, according to radio reports.
Reports from the scene overnight indicated the incident command had a large number of resources on order to continue the fight against the fire on Wednesday.
Firefighters continued their work through the night. Radio reports indicated there was a slight wind shift to possibly 10 miles per hour but overall the fire's fast pace and activity had appeared to slow significantly once evening arrived.
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