Smoke Eases as Firefighters Gain Control of Rumsey Fire in California

Milder winds Wednesday aided firefighters battling a wildfire that has roared through 37,600 acres of rugged terrain and threatened 160 rural homes.

Meanwhile, shifting winds steered the smoke away from Bay Area counties showered with unhealthy levels of soot Tuesday and Wednesday.

Pollution regulators today will lift an advisory urging Bay Area residents sensitive to smoke to stay indoors.

Containment of the blaze that covered areas of Napa and Sonoma counties jumped from 5 percent at sunrise Wednesday to 45 percent by nightfall, the California Department of Forestry reported.

"The winds subsided, which has helped out quite a bit," said Jim Mortenson, a California Department of Forestry spokesman.

Winds are expected to diminish more today, giving firefighters more of an edge in the wildfire fueled by brush, wind and temperatures in the 80s and lower 90s. Full containment was predicted by Saturday.

"The fire is not running anywhere," Mike Carr, another CDF spokesman, said Wednesday after flying over the wildfire in a plane.

More than 1,800 firefighters are battling the Rumsey fire, which began Sunday north of Lake Berryessa.

The wind shift Wednesday emboldened residents who had ignored a voluntary evacuation advisory so they could protect their homes in Lake Berryessa Estates.

The subdivision of some 160 homes near the north shore of the lake has been the only large community threatened by the fire.

"I don't think I'll leave unless they actually drag me off my property," Sally Kalaveras said Wednesday night after spending much of the day by her house, with her garden hose and tools ready for action.

Many of her neighbors took the day off from work or school to stand by their homes, which were dusted by a thick coat of soot from the fire, which moved as close as four miles from the houses.

Residents watched helicopters zoom by to drop water and fire retardant on the fire.

Nick Speridon had cleared a wide swath of brush around his house. "I've got a pretty good defense space," he said.

Other residents had other perspectives.

"I like the smoke and I like talking to the firemen," 11-year-old Dino Mosley said.

By nightfall, some of the 15 fire engines stationed around Berryessa Estates returned to their base camp because of the diminishing threat.

The fire had been spreading toward the subdivision but had stopped advancing to the south, said Napa fire Capt. Scott Sedgley.

Winds from the northeast had been blowing at 7 to 15 mph Tuesday and occasionally gusting to higher velocities, the National Weather Service reported.

The winds calmed Wednesday and are expected to be milder today even though temperatures may approach 90, said Steve Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service.

The fire risk was aggravated by a fall weather pattern in which dry winds blow from the Central Valley toward the ocean.

The winds, referred to as Santa Ana winds in Southern California, swept the smoke from the Rumsey fire into Marin, Solano, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties.

Teresa Lee, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, said the soot levels Wednesday were still above average in the region but had declined sharply from Tuesday afternoon.

The blaze began Sunday evening near the Yolo County farming community of Rumsey before spreading to nearby hills. Investigators believe the fire was intentionally set and are investigating the circumstances.