Fire crews prepare for red flag warning as PG&E plans power shutoffs
By Esteban Reynoso
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WINTERS, California (KCRA) — Fire crews in Yolo County are preparing for Wednesday’s red flag warning by fortifying containment lines and prepositioning resources to respond to potential new fires.
Wind gusts near Winters have fueled the flames of the Putah Fire, which began as a prescribed burn, but jumped containment lines Monday morning.
“We were challenged overnight with very strong and gusty winds, and we had some areas where the fire slopped over some of our dozer, our hand crew lines,” said Jason Clay, public information officer for the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
The Putah Fire, which at one point prompted evacuation warnings, has been a priority for crews to bring under control.
The fire serves as an example of what crews are working to prevent.
Cal Fire is focused on containment efforts and preparing for the possibility of new fires.
“To get ahead of the red flag warning conditions that are gonna be in the area [Wednesday] so we want to get this containment up. So, we feel good about our perimeter, that it is secure so we don’t have any escape or anything else move forward,” Clay said.
Cal Fire is also prepositioning resources, including strike teams of engines, to be ready for initial attacks on any new fires.
“We preposition resources. Sometimes we have strike teams of engines that are in a region that could be utilized for initial attack on any new fire,” Clay said.
PG&E is also taking precautions, with plans for public safety power shutoffs that will impact nearly 5,000 customers across nine counties, including Colusa, Napa, Tehama, and Yolo.
“A lot of wind. That’s really the primary factor in driving these public safety power shutoffs,” said Jeff Smith, public information officer for PG&E.
Smith explained that the shutoffs are necessary due to the combination of “fire weather”.
“We’re already seeing these strong winds with hot temperatures, and really dry vegetation, which is why we decided that we needed to put plans in place to potentially call for this public safety power shutoff,” Smith said.
The shutoffs are expected to last until Thursday.
Cal Fire emphasized that they are ready to respond if any new fires emerge.
“Between the hand crews and the dozers, they’ve been able to add extra control line so everything is getting fortified right now,” Clay said.
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