Lake Berryessa Wildfire Burns 750 Acres: Firefighters Succeed in Containing Spread

A wildfire broke out near Lake Berryessa on Thursday. By around 1.00 am local time it had consumed about 750 acres, according to an announcement from CalFire.

Firefighters have succeeded in containing about 75 percent of the blaze, and had stopped its progress by midnight, the firefighting agency reported. Firefighters first responded to the fire around 8:30 p.m.which was then on the east side of the lake and the Putah Canyon Recreation Area,

The fire was aided by strong northerly winds which also blew smoke from the Putah Fire over Napa.

CalFire Capt. Tom Knecht had said earlier that by 10:30 p.m. the fire had expanded to about 500 acres off Berryessa Knoxville Road. The fire was still burning near the north side of the lake and threatened five Berryessa structures, he added.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said the Putah Fire was located in the 7600 block of Berryessa Knoxville Road. While no evacuations had been carried out by 10 pm, the Sheriff’s Office said to that road closures could be expected.

The strong wind gusts and low humidity means that a red flag warning has been in effect. The National Weather Service reported that 20 to 30 mph northerly winds were blowing in the Lake Berryessa area.

CalFire and Napa County Fire crews were fighting the blaze, using 11 engines, four bulldozers, and four water tenders.

No estimate was given as to when the Lake Berryessa fire was likely to be 100% contained.