Napa County, California Fire Burns Lookout, Prompts Voluntary Evacuations
Swirling winds wreaked havoc on fire lines throughout the day, sending ash drifting onto the Napa Valley wine country town of St. Helena to the west and producing a smoke plume that could be seen as far south as San Francisco.
The Rumsey fire burned through trees, brush and dry grass in a steep and remote region of Napa and Yolo counties before reaching the edge of Lake Berryessa's northeast shoreline on Tuesday. On its way, it destroyed a fire lookout east of the lake on 3,057-foot-elevation Berryessa Peak.
Fire officials issued a voluntary evacuation for Lake Berryessa Estates, a community of 75 near the lake's northwest shore. Evacuees were being sent to a nearby school.
Despite the fire's spread, no other structures were lost and no injuries reported, a CDF fire spokeswoman said.
``The access is still very difficult,'' said Kaaren Stasko, a fire information officer with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ``We're dealing with extreme fuel. There's lots of growth.''
The blaze began Sunday evening near the Yolo County farming community of Rumsey before spreading to nearby hills. Its cause remains under investigation.
Also Tuesday, firefighters were getting the upper hand on three smaller fires in or near Northern California's wine country:
_ The Geyser fire that began Monday night atop Geyser Peak in Sonoma County was 50 percent contained after burning 150 acres. Full containment was expected Wednesday afternoon. The area is just east of Highway 101 between Geyserville and Cloverdale.
_ The Pine fire was fully contained after burning about 75 acres northwest of Geyserville. No structures were threatened.
_ The Valley fire near Bloomfield northwest of Petaluma also was fully contained after burning 75 acres.
No structures were destroyed in any of the three smaller fires. The cause of each also is undetermined.
