Staff, wire reports
Firefighters gained additional control last night over the rugged Wragg fire in Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, which has scorched an estimated 6,900 acres of drought-parched countryside near Lake Berryessa.
Officials from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported the blaze to be 20 percent contained as of this morning as more than 1,500 fire personnel tackled the flames, bolstered containment lines and provided structure protection.
The Davis and UC Davis fire departments now have six personnel assigned to the fire after sending a line emergency medical technician to the scene Friday. A Davis grass rig and UCD captain were assigned to the blaze earlier in the week.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency authorized the use of federal funds Thursday to help combat the fire, the approval making FEMA funding available to reimburse up to 75 percent of the eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling the fire.
Residents of the area received some relief Thursday evening as evacuation orders were lifted for the Golden Bear Estates area and County Road 87. The Quail Ridge community and Cold Canyon hiking trails remained evacuated as of this morning and about 150 structures are threatened by the fire.
Highway 128 between Wragg Canyon and Pleasants Valley roads are still closed to traffic. A Red Cross evacuation site at the Winters Community Center remains open, as does an evacuation center for large animals on County Road 31, though Yolo County Animal Services Sgt. Mike Nevis said only about eight smaller pets were housed there as of Thursday.
“Most of the people got their large animals out on their own,” Nevis said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although a vehicle accident that occurred around the blaze’s 2:20 start time Wednesday remains a possible cause.
Structure damage remained limited to the destruction of an outbuilding and a tent trailer, Cal Fire reported.
Additional information about the fire is available at www.fire.ca.gov or by phone at 707-967-1456.
Though located about 45 minutes east of Napa Valley wine country, Cal Fire Capt. Amy Head said no wineries are threatened.
“It’s pretty far away from the Napa Valley,” she said. “(People) are fine to go into the Napa Valley and do tastings.”
She said the evacuation center does not have a phone line but only between two and six people have been there at a given time. Most people who have been evacuated have gone to family, she said.
Television cameras captured cattle, deer and horses running for safety as the flames inched closer. Evacuee Leasa Roozen said her husband had tried to convince her that the fire wasn’t as close as it seemed but she wasn’t taking any chances.
“I don’t care, it’s close enough,” she told KGO-TV. “I want to get out of here.”
Marcia Ritz, owner of the Spanish Flat Country and Deli in Napa, said she was forced to turn around from a shopping trip when the flames broke out. A normally 45-minute commute took more than three hours.
“There were huge amounts of smoke,” said Ritz, whose store was not in the evacuation zone.
She worried about the impact the fire would have on nearby resorts.
“We have the resorts up here and in the summertime we depend on them,” Ritz said.
