Wildfire in Napa County misses wineries, threatens more homes

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A firefighter manages a back burn set to protect homes at the Butts Fire in Napa County on Wednesday. (Stuart Palley / EPA)

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The Butts fire burns in Napa County early on Wednesday. (Stuart Palley / EPA)

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A Cal Fire air tanker makes a retardant drop at the Butts fire in the Napa County near St. Helena on Wednesday. (Stuart Palley / EPA)

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Private hire helicopters make water drops on the Butts fire above Snell Valley as the afternoon winds kicked up Wednesday near Middletown, Calif. (Kent Porter / Associated Press)

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Fire crews move out to battle the Butts Fire in the Napa County near St. Helena. (Stuart Palley / EPA)

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California Department of Corrections crews clear brush along a road near the Butts fire in preparation for a firing operation in Napa County near St. Helena. (Stuart Palley / EPA)

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A Delta inmate crew with Cal Fire prepares to cut a line around the Butts fire along Butts Canyon Road on July 1. (Kent Porter / Associated Press)

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A Department of Corrections hand crew mobilizes to cut a containment line off of Butts Canyon Road near Middletown, Calif., on Wednesday. (Paul Chinn / Associated Press)

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Kelseyville firefighters prepare to pull back from the fire on Butts Canyon Road as the fire jumps the road Tuesday outside Middletown, Calif., at the border between Lake and Napa counties. (Kent Porter / Associated Press)

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Smoke rises from the Butts Canyon fire on Tuesday near Middletown, Calif., on the border between Lake and Napa counties. (Kent Porter / Associated Press)

By Joseph Serna

and Robert J. Lopez

July 3, 2014 7:35 AM PT

A wildfire burning in Napa County has forced hundreds of evacuations and scorched thousands of acres of parched vegetation, but it continues to miss the region’s famous wineries.

The Butts fire has charred 3,800 acres of brush, pine and oak trees in rugged terrain as it spread from Napa County into Lake County, state forestry officials said. The wind, however, has been pushing the flames north, away from Napa’s prized vineyards.

About 800 firefighters were battling the blaze Tuesday night, even as more crews from Los Angeles County and other areas of the state were ordered to respond to the fire, which was 30% contained. Crews are expected to fly over the fire Thursday morning to reassess the damage and update the size of the burn area.

In the air Wednesday, six helicopters and four fixed-wing tankers made repeated assaults on the wildfire as crews on the ground battled to cut containment lines with bulldozers and firefighters using hand tools, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

As of Wednesday night, flames were threatening about 380 structures. About 200 homes had been evacuated, officials said. Two homes and seven smaller structures have been destroyed.

The fire broke out Tuesday afternoon off Butts Canyon Road in Pope Valley, northwest of Lake Berryessa.

The blaze has burned the oldest cypress grove in Pope Valley, an unincorporated community in northern Napa County, and forced PG&E to turn off power to hundreds of residents, the Press Democrat reported.

Meanwhile, in Sequoia National Forest, the Ranch fire had burned about 150 acres Wednesday night in rugged terrain about 200 miles northeast of Bakersfield, the U.S. Forest Service said.

High temperatures and low humidity were complicating the battle to contain the blaze. About 200 firefighters, aided by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, were attacking the fire earlier in the day.

In northeastern California, lighting strikes sparked several smaller fires in heavily forested areas, fire officials said. Forest Service smoke jumpers and hotshot crews were being called in to fight the fires.

The blazes broke out as high pressure was causing hot weather across California, according to the National Weather Service.

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