County Fire Continues to Grow Rapidly, Now at 44,500 Acres with “extreme” behavior
Although the fire isn't in a highly populated area, at least 116 structures are threatened.
The County Fire, previously known as the Guinda Fire, continues to rapidly spread across Northern California, growing to 44,500 acres in less than 48 hours with only 3 percent containment.
The fire began during dry heat and high winds in Yolo County and has since grown to Lake and Napa Counties as well. Although the fire isn’t in a highly populated area, at least 116 structures are threatened. 1,226 fire personnel are working on the site to set up containment lines.
Snapped this long-exposure photo of the #countyfire just outside Davis. Incredibly powerful fire, really hope everyone is alright. Thanks to the @CALFIRE_PIO crews for working hard this evening. pic.twitter.com/5aESctZcmW
— Vince Buffalo (@vsbuffalo) July 1, 2018
Mandatory evacuations remain in effect in the areas north of Highway 128, south of County Road 23, east of Berryessa Knoxville Road, west of County Road 89 and for residential areas served by Highway 128 between Monticello Dam and Pleasant Valley Road.
Here is what CalFire wrote about the current conditions of the fire:
Firefighters have worked throughout the night to establish control lines. The fire remained active overnight, with fire running up steep terrain. The fire is burning in tall grass, brush, and dense oak. Extreme fire behavior is still being observed.
The fire began on Saturday afternoon near the Cache Creek Casino. The giant flames could be easily seen just outside the Yolo County casino:
The high winds took a massive plume of smoke to blanket the Bay Area, turning the sky a ghostly orange:
A high-resolution look at the #CountyFire smoke plume flowing SW atop the marine stratus layer. Taken by MODIS this afternoon #cawx pic.twitter.com/eBkt7M9LZ0
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) July 1, 2018
Meanwhile, the nearby Pawnee Fire, which has now been burning for weeks in Lake County, broke through containment lines during the weekend. It had grown to 14,700 acres over the weekend with 75 percent containment.
We will continue to provide updates on this story.