UPDATE: Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, 6 p.m.
By Bay City News Service
A wildfire that has burned near Lake Berryessa in Napa County since Thursday night is 100 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
The fire that started around 8:30 p.m. Thursday near Berryessa Knoxville Road and the Putah Canyon Recreation Area on the east side of the lake has scorched 376 acres, Cal Fire said.
It was contained around 5 p.m., officials said. There were no structures damaged and no injuries, according to a Cal Fire dispatcher.
UPDATE: Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, 9:15 a.m.
The fire burning at Lake Berryessa has been 75 percent contained, according to Cal Fire Dispatcher Louis Karlow.
Karlow said the fire has burned 376 acres. Firefighters were still at the scene this morning.
BY BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE
A wildfire burning near Lake Berryessa in Napa County since Thursday night is expected to be contained by tonight, a Cal Fire dispatcher said.
The fire that started around 8:30 p.m. Thursday near Berryessa Knoxville Road and the Putah Canyon Recreation Area on the east side of the lake has scorched 376 acres, the dispatcher said.
Previous reports had indicated the fire had spread to 500 acres but the estimate of the area burned has been scaled back, she said.
As of mid-morning, the blaze was 75 percent contained with full containment expected by tonight, the dispatcher said.
No injuries were reported and no structures have been damaged in the fire, she said.
UPDATE: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, 11:10 p.m.
As firefighters continue to battle the wildland fire at Lake Berryessa, heavy winds toppled a tree along Solano Avenue at Oak Knoll north of Napa, causing the tree to crash into a parked car.
Cal Fire Engineer Ryan Bennie said the car was unoccupied at the time of crash, which happened within the past hour. Firefighters were still at the scene at 11 p.m.
The report of a fire on Silverado Trail turned out to be unfounded, Bennie said.
Cal Fire officials were not immediately available for an update on the Lake Berryessa fire, although there were reports that some structures were being threatened.
Some reports, such as http://calfire.blogspot.com/2013/10/ca-lnu-putah-500-acres-w-multiple-ranch.html are referring to the Lake Berryessa Fire as the Putah fire, a reference to the Putah Canyon Recreation Area at the lake.
According to Bay City News Service, some residents in San Francisco are posting on Twitter that they can smell the smoke from the Napa County fire.
We will continue to check on these stories
UPDATE: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, 9:49 p.m.
Multiple Cal Fire and Napa County Fire units are responding to the wildland fire on the east side of Lake Berryessa, according to Cal Fire Chief Steve Hawks.
"We're trying our best to suppress it, but with this much wind, anything can happen," Hawks said. "Fires are at their worst with this much wind, and they're hard to control."
A Napa County Sheriff's Office text advisory said there were no evacuations yet, but that residents should expect road closures.
The fire, which broke out at 8:44 p.m. at 7600 Berryessa-Knoxville Road, is burning in a wildland area between the east access road to Lake Berryessa and the lake. No structures are involved, but it is "rugged" territory," Hawks said.
"There's not a lot of access on the east side of the lake," Hawks said.
He added that the smoke patterns -- as reported by residents who called the fire station -- did not make sense since there was a north wind that should have been pushing smoke to Solano County. However, many residents along Soda Canyon Road near Napa have been calling to report smelling smoke, Hawks said.
He said his fire station, on Monticello Road, sent an engine out earlier tonight to investigate whether there was a second fire on Soda Canyon Road, but they did not find anything.
"So I have to assume that the smoke is coming from the Lake Berryessa fire," Hawks said.
Hawks said he has not yet called in the mutual aid fire departments in the city of Napa, St. Helena and Calistoga.
"It depends if we can deal with it in a relatively short period of time," Hawks said. "This has the potential to be a very large fire if the winds continue to blow."
Another report of a second fire was just called in at 10 p.m. on Silverado Trail at Oak Knoll. We will update on that as information becomes available.
PREVIOUSLY: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, 9:37 p.m.
Fanned by heavy winds, a major wildland fire has already consumed 500 acres near Lake Berryessa, witnesses said.
The fire reportedly started at about 8:30 p.m. on Steel Canyon Road at Lake Berryessa.
By 9:30 p.m. firefighters were reporting it had consumed 500 acres.
Numerous Napa residents are reporting the smell of smoke, as winds are blowing the smoke into the city.
Some reports were that a second fire was burning a structure in the Berryessa area as well. Patch is checking on that report.
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