Firefighters Attack Napa Fires Amid Growing Regional Threats

NAPA VALLEY, CA — Firefighters stopped a vegetation fire near Conn Valley and Rossi roads Sunday afternoon after flames burned about 1.5 acres and pushed north through grass and forest understory.

The fire was reported at 3:21 p.m. Sunday. By 3:55 p.m., the fire had reached reached approximately 1.5 acres. Firefighters stopped the fire's spread by 4:03 p.m.

The fire was one of several sparked across Northern California during the past seven days as critical fire weather approached the region.

Fire agencies mobilized and prepositioned resources to provide additional support for emerging incidents.

On Friday, CAL FIRE's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit sent an engine strike team to the CAL FIRE Tehama-Glenn Unit and Tehama County Fire Department to backfill resources deployed farther north to Siskiyou and Modoc counties.

Another fire broke out Wednesday morning near the 2700 block of Monticello Road in Napa when a vehicle fire spread slightly into nearby brush.

Crews from Station 25 quickly stopped the fire from spreading. Favorable weather and the recently completed Monticello Roadside Expanded Fuel Reduction Project also aided firefighters, according to CAL FIRE.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors funded the project, and the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation managed it, according to CAL FIRE.

A challenging fire season is stretching firefighting resources across the region as California crews deploy beyond state lines while departments at home reposition engines and personnel to cover emerging fires.

The recent Timber Fire is still burning in Monterey County in the Big Sur area, primarily in the Los Padres National Forest. That fire started Aug. 8 southeast of Loma Vista, near the Big Sur coast and Highway 1.

As of Monday morning, CAL FIRE reported the Timber Fire at 12,616 acres and 25% contained, with 1,368 personnel assigned and 661 structures still threatened. The fire has pushed into the Ventana Wilderness, and evacuation orders remain in effect in several Monterey County zones.

In neighboring Nevada, the human-caused Hawk Fire has burned more than 15,000 acres and threatened northern Reno, prompting a state of emergency in Washoe County.

About 42,000 people were under formal evacuation orders, while nearly 90,000 people had been urged to evacuate their homes as the fire advanced toward the city.

The fire was first reported Saturday, and windy conditions contributed to its spread. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo called the wildfire an "active and rapidly evolving situation."

California firefighters joined the response. The Oakland Fire Department, San Francisco Fire Department, Hayward Fire Department, and Fremont Fire Department deployed firefighters to Nevada as part of a mutual-aid response coordinated through the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

San Francisco sent two Type 6 engines, while Oakland also sent personnel and equipment.

The deployment comes as California fire agencies move resources around Northern California in anticipation of critical fire weather and additional wildfires.