Firefighters progressing on Solano County blaze

More than 600 firefighters continued to battle the Quail Fire in Solano County between Vacaville and Winters on Sunday as the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the region, cautioning about strong winds and dry conditions.

The blaze had burned 1,837 acres and was 40% contained by 5 p.m Sunday.

“Our crews are building a containment line, and aerial resources are supporting by helping put out hot spots, get retardant around the fire,” said Tyree Zander, a spokesman for Cal Fire’s SonomaLakeNapa Unit.

Crews worked throughout the night coping with “steep, rugged terrain and critically dry fuel,” he said.

Cal Fire said 30 engines responded to the scene along with seven hand crews and nine dozers. “Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state are flying fire suppression missions as conditions allow,” it said Sunday in a statement.

San Francisco Fire tweeted that it sent five engines, 22 staff and a chief to Solano County at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

The fire has destroyed three structures and threatened another 100 structures, according to Cal Fire. It was not immediately clear what kind of structures had burned. Pleasants Valley Road was closed. Mandatory evacuations, which had affected at least 80 houses, were lifted as of Sunday

afternoon.

An evacuation center had been established at Three Oaks Community Center at 1100 Alamo Drive in Vacaville.

Solano County Public Health and the American Red Cross, which ran the shelter, screened evacuees for symptoms of the coronavirus. The Red Cross tweeted a photo of staffers ready to screen for coronavirus at the front lobby of the community center. But very few people showed up.

Satellite images had showed that smoke was blowing into Sacramento, according to the National Weather Service.

But “winds have dissipated most of the smoke, so it does not appear to be causing issues,” said Robyn Rains, assistant emergency services manager for Solano County.

She described the region as very rural, with minimum parcel size of 5 acres. “A lot of the (fire) area is canyon, and there aren’t homes in the canyon,” she said. Small horse ranches and orchards are common in the area.

Idamis Del Valle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said Sunday afternoon that winds were at 15 to 20 mph and predicted gusts between 20 and 35 mph Sunday evening.

As the Quail Fire grew quickly, Cal Fire’s Butte Unit/Butte County Fire Department announced it was sending a strike team — including five engines and one chief officer — to respond to the fire.

“Our county remains fully staffed and able to respond to all emergencies,” Butte County fire officials said on Twitter.

Firefighters were battling other wildfires around the region.

In Sonoma County, a 107acre wildland fire burned on the 600 block of Stage Gulch Road, just south of Petaluma. Around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Cal Fire officials reported that it was con

tained.

In Contra Costa County, a 135acre fire blazed on Saturday just off Willow Pass Court and Evora Road, located southwest of Concord. Photos shared by Cal Fire’s Santa Clara Unit showed white smoke rising from blackened land. The fire was fully contained Saturday night, and firefighters left by 10 p.m., according to Cal Fire.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernández contributed to this report.