A 64-acre wildfire in Napa, California has caused evacuations and road closures as Cal Fire works to contain it.
What We Know:
- The fire started Monday afternoon just south of Lake Berryessa and is 60 percent contained; nine homes have been evacuated and a large stretch of the nearby Highway 128 is closed, though no structures or buildings have been destroyed.
- This fire is the only active wildfire being handled by Cal Fire at the moment, though the National Weather Service issued a “high fire danger” red flag warning for the neighboring Modoc County for Tuesday.
#RedFlagWarning in effect tomorrow afternoon and evening in Modoc County due to increased winds and decreased humidity. This is #CriticalFireWeather and extreme caution should be taken when outdoors. https://t.co/upBwccxXFO pic.twitter.com/7ib6sxgA30
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 22, 2019
- The current Napa fire is near the site of the 2015 Wragg Fire, which burned 8,051 acres in just two weeks before it was contained, destroying multiple buildings and homes.
- The Los Angeles Times reported that as California enters its highest fire risk months, the Department of Interior is short hundreds of firefighters; 60 percent of California’s forest is owned and managed by the Department of Interior and Forest Service. The Department has struggled to recruit firefighters following this years’ long government shutdown; the Department has only hired 1,359 of the necessary 1,600 firefighters for the year.
Firefighters are working to contain the fire while warning Californians to prepare for the fire season to come.
