Putah Fire – A fast-growing wildfire near Northern California’s Wine Country expanded to 362 acres Monday, forcing closure of Highway 128 in both directions from Lake Berryessa’s Monticello Dam and prompting evacuation warnings as crews reached 15% containment late in the
By Monday evening, the Putah Fire had spread across 362 acres, and the road it threatened—Highway 128—had already been shut in both directions from Lake Berryessa’s Monticello Dam.
Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit said the blaze was 15% contained Monday evening, with cooler, wetter weather helping firefighters. Gusty winds and steep, rugged terrain remained major obstacles.
The fire began at 11:34 a.m. along Highway 128 west of Winters, a small city near the Solano-Yolo county line about 30 miles west of Sacramento and northeast of Napa Valley, Cal Fire said. It flared in the same general area where Cal Fire had scheduled a prescribed burn earlier Monday.
In dispatch audio reviewed by the Chronicle, the incident commander for the Highway 128 prescribed burn reported a 3- to 4-acre wildland fire burning uphill and immediately requested a large response from aircraft and ground crews.
Cal Fire said authorities had not publicly confirmed whether the wildfire escaped from the prescribed burn or how it started. The agency listed the cause of the fire as under investigation Monday evening.
As the flames moved through dry grass near Lake Berryessa and the eastern edge of California Wine Country on Monday. June 8. 2026. the potential impact reached beyond the fire line. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said Highway 128 was closed in both directions because of the fire. Watch Duty also reported that incident command had requested evacuation warnings for Golden Bear Estates and Bobcat Ranch.
Inside the containment effort, Cal Fire said 10 hand crews, helitack crews and seven dozers were working to build and strengthen containment lines. The operation also relied on air support: air tankers dropping fire retardant and helicopters dropping water, Cal Fire said.
A weather system moving through the area brought more cloud cover. light rain and higher humidity. all of which helped crews. the agency said. Gusty winds continued to challenge firefighters. A National Weather Service forecast prepared for the prescribed burn called for west winds Monday afternoon with gusts around 35 mph. and expected Monday night gusts to reach up to 39 mph.
Earlier Monday. Watch Duty reported that Air Attack had requested additional helicopters because of fire growth and an immediate threat to structures. By early evening. multiple aircraft had been released. but a request for three night-flying helicopters and one helicopter coordinator had been canceled. according to Air Attack reports relayed by Watch Duty. Watch Duty reported that one air attack aircraft, one tanker and one helicopter were requested for Tuesday morning.
The prescribed burn itself had been approved for Monday under a “permissive” burn-day decision. with Cal Fire listed as the managing agency and a planned size of 45 acres. A state prescribed-fire listing described the area as mostly native grasses. with some non-native grasses and yellow star thistle. and said the burn would be contained between the highway and a mix of bulldozer line and hand line.
No injuries or structural damage had been reported as of Monday evening.
Highway 128 runs through ranchland and recreation areas near Putah Creek and Lake Berryessa. The region sits near the edge of Northern California’s wine country, where repeated grass and vegetation fires have marked recent fire seasons.
Putah Fire Highway 128 closure Lake Berryessa Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit evacuation warnings prescribed burn Winters Northern California wildfires