Overview
- The wildfire began as a planned prescribed burn near Highway 128 west of Winters that escaped control lines when winds increased, Cal Fire reported after reviewing the incident.
- Improved mapping put the fire at about 860 acres and Cal Fire listed containment at roughly 35 percent in its latest update.
- Firefighters have deployed several hundred personnel with engines, bulldozers, hand crews, helicopters and air tankers to connect and fortify control lines around the perimeter.
- Officials issued evacuation warnings for nearby ranch communities and closed parts of Highway 128, and PG&E prepared public safety power shutoffs affecting nearly 5,000 customers as a precaution.
- With a Red Flag Warning expected, agencies are prioritizing containment and an investigation into the burn decision and tactics, and residents should expect rolling road closures, possible outages and continued firefighting activity.