As hundreds flee, Napa fire intensifies fears of devastating dry season

Video: Raw Video: Firefighters Battle Napa County Wildfire

Nearly 1,000 firefighters slowed the advance Wednesday of a massive blaze that spilled across nearly 6 square miles north of Napa Valley's famed wineries, burning nine structures, including two homes, and threatening nearly 400 others.

But the explosive spread of the Butts Fire, which broke out Tuesday in rugged terrain west of Lake Berryessa, underscored widespread concern that the dry winter has the potential to fuel one of the worst fire seasons in decades.

With rainfall at near-historic lows over the past 12 months - on the heels of two previous years with little precipitation - the forests and grassland of Northern California are exceptionally parched.

"No one can really remember it being drier than this," said Bill Stewart, a forestry specialist at UC Berkeley. "We're like two months drier than usual. This is like September, when everything is nearly bone-dry."

Amid the smoky haze that engulfed northern Napa County, hundreds of residents fled from rural Pope Valley not knowing what would become of their homes and community - and in some cases their pets and livestock.

"It's terrible trying to think what to take," said Beth Huckins, 54, who left the area with her husband, son, dog and a cat - but without the family's second feline. "I didn't know how much time I had."

She was alongside dozens who slept in cots outside the high school in Middletown (Lake County), where one of two evacuation centers had been set up for the displaced.

Brush burns out of control along Butts Canyon Road near Aetna Springs, Calif. on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. The Butts Fire has burned over 3,200 acres of mostly rugged terrain and destroyed as many as five buildings. less Brush burns out of control along Butts Canyon Road near Aetna Springs, Calif. on Wednesday, July 2, 2014. The Butts Fire has burned over 3,200 acres of mostly rugged terrain and destroyed as many as five ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 42 Caption Close As hundreds flee, Napa fire intensifies fears of devastating dry season 1 / 42 Back to Gallery

They could only watch while the golden hills of northern Napa and southern Lake counties darkened as flames charred ridgelines, scorched power lines and smothered trees.

Many more fires

Already this year, more wildfires have hit the state than usual. State firefighters, who battle the bulk of California's blazes, have counted 2,700 incidents between January and July - a 50 percent jump from the 1,800 wildland fires they respond to on average during the same period, according to state fire data.

Last month, an unusually early 2,600-acre blaze raged west of Kern County's Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra. In May, a series of conflagrations in San Diego County tore through some 14,000 acres, forcing more than 20,000 people to evacuate.

Normally, the fire season isn't in high gear until at least July.

In the Bay Area, 350 mostly small fires have burned this year. That compares to 225 on average during the same months, according to state data.

The Butts Fire, which grew to thousands of acres in a matter of hours, demonstrates just how much of a danger California's drought presents, fire experts said.

"This week's (hot) weather was not the factor that pushed this fire," said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, noting that temperatures in the Napa County hills were relatively mild, and winds light, when the fire started early Tuesday afternoon.

What made the fire take off, Berlant explained, was the lack of moisture in the vegetation, making for prime burning material.

Fire experts said the parts of the greater Bay Area that don't get much fog, such as the Wine Country, will be most vulnerable to fire this year.

More fighting fires

State firefighters said they're ready for the heightened threat. Cal Fire brought on 2,700 seasonal firefighters earlier than usual, in the spring instead of the summer, and has about 300 more than last year - a bump funded by state emergency drought funds.

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in California, pledging to provide the money needed to combat what was expected to be a tough year on the fire lines. With seasonal workers, year-round employees and inmate crews, the state's firefighting force stands at about 12,000.

Berlant said the elevated staffing has paid off. Though the agency has responded to more blazes in the first half of the year, the size of those fires stands at about 13,000 acres - 3,000 less than the average for the period.

By Wednesday afternoon, the nearly 1,000 firefighters who had descended upon the Butts Fire were attacking it from land and from the sky, with helicopters and several fixed-wing aircraft dropping water and fire retardant.

The flames had pushed from their origin in Pope Valley north to Lake County's Snell Peak, burning 3,800 acres. Of the two homes that caught fire, one was destroyed and the other damaged, officials said.

30 percent contained

Authorities estimated that the fire was 30 percent contained, but they expected to update that figure late Wednesday.

Pope Valley resident Lou Leet, 57, said she was at work in southern Napa County on Tuesday when she got the call that her home was in harm's way.

"I just high-tailed it up there, but I couldn't get in," said Leet, who also slept in the parking lot of Middletown High School. "I still have cats up there. I'm very anxious to see if they're OK."

Gary Stanley, 58, decided not to leave his home on Butts Canyon Road, even though fire officials were recommending evacuations.

"It was scary last night," he said Wednesday. "We spent six hours watching 300-foot flames."

Stanley was running low on fuel for his generator, so he thought he might have to eventually abandon his property.

The cause of the Butts Fire remains under investigation. The blaze is believed to have started near Butts Canyon and James Creek roads shortly after noon Tuesday.

Mandatory evacuations remained in effect late Wednesday along Butts Canyon Road as well as in the Berryessa Estates area. No injuries had been reported.

Online extra

For more on the state's water problems, go to www.sfgate.com/drought.