Small forest blaze burns in gusty, dry north state

Firefighters battled small blazes near Sacramento and in the Sierra Nevada on Friday as forecasters warned of critical fire weather conditions in the interior of Northern California due to gusty winds and low humidity levels.

Red flag warnings were in effect for the Sacramento Valley, the northern San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills and mountains, the National Weather Service said.

A blaze near the community of Dunnigan, northwest of Sacramento in Yolo County, surged through 120 acres of grasslands but was 50% contained Friday afternoon.

In the Sierra Nevada, the Golden Fire was burning along State Route 49, known as the Golden Chain Highway, south of the small town of Camptonville.

Yuba County authorities said the fire reached 25 acres (10 hectares) before it was stopped from spreading and was 20% contained Friday afternoon. Tahoe National Forest reported that federal, state and local crews were battling the flames.

The red flag warnings

were set to expire Friday night but forecasters said dry conditions with lighter winds would continue through the weekend, followed by a return of hot weather by the middle of next week.

Well outside the red flag area, a wildfire in rural countryside at the southern

end of the San Joaquin Valley was 10% contained after scorching 595 acres (240 hectares), Cal Fire said.

In Southern California, fire risk was “elevated” in mountain and interior areas but much of the region was covered by the damp, seasonal “May Gray” marine layer.