Napa County Wildfire Grows To 4300 Acres, Evacuations In Place
ST. HELENA (CBS SF) -- Over a thousand firefighters continue to battle the Butts Canyon vegetation fire in Northern Napa County that's consumed 4,300 acres since flaring up Tuesday afternoon.
The fire was 30 percent suppressed as of Thursday morning as 27 fire crews use bulldozers to prevent the blaze from spreading further in the rugged Pope Valley terrain full of grass, brush and oak trees.
Evacuations remain in effect for hundreds of residents in the Berryessa Estates subdivision as well as on Snell Valley Road to the Lake County line.
The Red Cross set up a shelter for evacuated residents Tuesday afternoon providing cots for adults and kennels for pets at Pope Valley School in Pope Valley and the Middletown High School in Lake County.
PHOTOS: Wildfire In Napa County
But some homeowners are rolling the dice, deciding not to evacuate.
Pope Valley resident Bill Gardner says he's ready to leave, just not willing.
"It does concern me right now. The wind is blowing in the wrong direction, and it's beginning to come back here," he said.
Seven structures and two homes have been burned in the fire.
Calm winds and mild temperatures Wednesday helped firefighters to keep the scorching wildfire from spreading faster.
Fire weather conditions can be influenced by the fire itself and the local topography. There may be a few 'hot spots' due to some of these local phenomena.
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High heat, low humidity and calmer winds are expected Thursday.
By Friday, high pressure will begin to strengthen reducing the sea breeze and humidity. Temperatures this weekend will also become much hotter and in the 90s.
CAL FIRE WILDFIRE DATA: