Snell Fire: Butts Canyon 400 acres with the potential to grow to 5,000 acres.

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Snell Fire: Butts Canyon 400 acres with the potential to grow to 5,000 acres.

#SnellFire Update 09:00 9/9/18 - Butts Canyon Rd and Snell Valley Rd, 7 miles SE of Middletown (Napa County) is now 1,900 acres and 10% contained.

#SnellFire Update 20:00 9/8/18 - Butts Canyon Rd and Snell Valley Rd, 7 miles SE of Middletown (Napa County) is now 1,700 acres and 10% contained.

Fast-growing fire threatening Berryessa Estates in Napa County

08 SEPTEMBER 2018
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A wildland fire first reported on Saturday afternoon has begun to spread rapidly and has led to a call for evacuations in and around Berryessa Estates in Napa County.

The Snell fire was first reported shortly after 2:30 p.m. by a resident in the Jerusalem Valley area near Middletown, according to radio reports.

Cal Fire said the blaze is located in the area of Butts Canyon and Snell Valley roads, seven miles southeast of Middletown.

Firefighters accessed the fire off of Butts Canyon Road at Snell Valley Ranch, finding it to be about 10 acres and pushed by a west wind when they first arrived shortly after 2:45 p.m.

Within a half hour, the fire was up to between 20 and 30 acres, with a fast to dangerous rate of spread and more air resource requested.

Several tankers as well as Cal Fire’s Copter 101 and Copter 104 were working the fire according to www.flightradar24.com .

Just after 3:30 p.m. incident command estimated the fire was up to 35 acres and was located three-quarters of a mile northwest of the Berryessa Estates, a subdivision of close to 200 homes on Putah Creek north of Lake Berryessa in Napa County.

Less than 15 minutes later, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office issued a Nixle alert for a mandatory evacuation of Snell Valley Road, all roads to Snell Valley and Berryessa Estates.

At 3:50 p.m., the fire was reported to be 200 acres, with spotting ahead of the main fire, according to reports from incident command.

At that point incident command requested 10 four-wheel-drive engines to access the fire and 10 other engines to protect structures in Berryessa Estates.

At 4:20 p.m., incident command reported the fire was holding at 250 acres.

By 5 p.m., incident command reported that the fire was up to 400 acres, it had spotted across Putah Creek and was moving away from Berryessa Estates, with the potential to grow to 5,000 acres.

At 5:15 p.m., the Napa County Sheriff’s Office issued an additional evacuation order, this time for the west side of Berryessa Knoxville Road from the Pope Creek bridge to the county line.

Temporary flight restrictions have been put in effect in the fire area, according to radio reports.

Authorities said Snell Valley Road has been closed to inbound traffic, with one-way traffic outbound only.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said an evacuation center for residents of Snell Valley Road and Berryessa Estates has been set up at the Pope Valley Farm Center, 5800 Pope Valley Road.

Original Article: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php/news/57728-fast-growing-fire-threatening-berryessa-estates-in-napa-county

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

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Saturday, September 8, 2018