Firefighters continue to gain ground Wednesday, June 10, on the Putah Fire burning west of Winters in Yolo County, as crews increased containment and officials reopened Highway 128 after fire activity forced its closure earlier this week.
The wildfire, which started Monday morning after a prescribed burn escaped, has burned 860 acres and was 35% contained as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire acknowledged the role the controlled burn played in the Putah Fire, saying in a statement on social media the agency “takes full responsibility for the management of this prescribed fire that resulted in the Putah Fire and is committed to transparency and accountability throughout the incident.”
The statement went on to say that the prescribed burn, which occurred Monday, had been conducted “well within” the established burn window period and under weather conditions that met initially approved parameters. Unexpected wind conditions, however, caused the fire to spread.
“Prescribed fire remains an important tool for reducing hazardous fuels and improving community resilience to wildfire, and we carefully evaluate every operation to ensure lessons learned are incorporated into future projects,” the statement said.
Highway 128, which had been closed near the Napa and Solano county lines because of the fire, reopened about 9 p.m. Tuesday in both directions, officials said. Evacuation advisories for three zones in Yolo County were lifted shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday.
But despite improving containment, forecasters warned that dangerous fire weather conditions were expected to intensify again Wednesday night into Thursday across inland portions of the North Bay and nearby regions impacted by the fire.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning from 11 p.m. Wednesday through 9 a.m. Thursday for the North Bay interior mountains and East Bay hills, including eastern Sonoma and Napa counties and parts of Lake County.
The weather service forecast that overnight humidity levels could plunge as low as 10% to 20% while wind gusts could reach 35 to 40 mph, with isolated ridge-top gusts exceeding 60 mph, conditions capable of fueling rapid fire growth and dangerous fire behavior.
Temperatures were also expected to remain well above normal Thursday and Friday, with highs forecast to reach the low to mid-90s in Santa Rosa, Napa and Cloverdale before cooling slightly heading into the weekend, according to the weather service.
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A Vacaville Fire Protection District firefighter douses a hot spot on the Putah Fire, Monday, June 8, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
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Pacific Gas and Electric Co. also advised that elevated wildfire risk triggered Public Safety Power Shutoffs planned across parts of Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday.
PG&E said shutoffs were required in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties because of high winds and dry conditions, while portions of Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties remained under a watch where outages were considered likely.
The fire intensified Tuesday morning, June 9, after powerful overnight winds pushed flames across containment lines amid the dangerous fire weather conditions across inland Northern California.
Crews continued battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain near Highway 128 west of Winters, where firefighters spent days carving containment lines by hand while aircraft dropped water and fire retardant to slow the fire’s spread.
Cal Fire said about 285 personnel were assigned to the incident Wednesday, including 15 fire engines, 12 hand crews, four bulldozers and eight water tenders.
Firefighters continued working on strengthening containment lines Wednesday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at [email protected].
