After more than 10 days of suppression and clean up, Cal Fire announced early Friday that the Putah Fire near Highway 128 west of Winters was 100% contained.
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The 860-acre fire was originally a prescribed burn that escaped containment June 8. Strong winds pushed flames across operational control lines causing road closures and power outages in the nearby area.
Though the prescribed burn escaped the intended treatment area, the fire remained within the management boundary contained to a 6800-acre property, according to Cal Fire LNU Deputy Chief Ryan Isham in a video statement.
The initial burn was part of the annual Highway 128 prescribed burn. Established in 2018, it was decided that a prescribed burn would be conducted to eliminate dead and dying fuel along the highway after four consecutive years of this area being affected by large scale wildland fires.
The Highway 128 prescribed burn was scheduled from June 8-12, burning about 40 acres between Pleasants Valley Road and the Putah Creek Fishing Access Site 2. After the fire escaped containment, it eventually grew to a total of 860 acres.
By June 10, Cal Fire reported no significant new growth and continued strengthening contaminant lines ahead of red flag warning conditions going into effect the next day.
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Firefighters battled the burn through the elevated wildfire risk conditions, including triple-digit temperatures, gusty winds and low relative humidity in the area, to extinguish hotspots within the containment zone.
By June 15, the fire was 95% contained and patrol status was activated, officials said. Over the next several days, fire crews monitored the area and conducted fire suppression repair.
Cal Fire declared 100% containment at 12:45 a.m. Friday. No structures were damaged in the escaped burn and no injuries were reported.
You can reach Staff Writer Kyle Garcia Takata at [email protected].
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