Valley fire grows to 73,700 acres

UPDATE: 3:30 p.m. BERRYESSA ESTATES

Residents of Berryessa Estates were allowed to return to the homes Thursday afternoon, the Napa County Executive Office said.

The rural subdivision near Lake Berryessa was placed under mandatory evacuation Sunday as the Valley fire moved into the northeast tip of Napa County. The evacuation was lifted for residents only, the county office said in a press release.

A road closure at Butts Canyon Road and Aetna Springs Road was lifted and moved north to Butts Canyon Road and Snell Valley Road. The entrances to Aetna Springs Road and James Creek Road were closed.

UPDATE: 1:35 p.m. VALLEY FIRE MEETING

Cal Fire officials have set a community meeting for 5 p.m. today at the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga to brief evacuees on the current status of the Valley fire.

The blaze, which has burned over more than 105 square miles, forced the evacuation of up to 19,000 people across Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties.

About 900 people are staying at the Calistoga fairgrounds evacuation center, with a few dozen more at a site in Kelseyville.

The Valley fire, which ignited Saturday afternoon, was at 73,700 acres Thursday morning and 35 percent contained.

UPDATE 1:25 p.m. THE GEYSERS

The Valley fire threatened but did not damage the city of Santa Rosa’s 40-mile pipeline that sends millions of gallons of highly treated wastewater daily to recharge the The Geysers geothermal fields.

The fire came within 50 feet of the fence surrounding the 1 million gallon holding tank at the of the pipeline, but caused no damage to the pipeline, tanks or pumping facilities, said David Guhin, director of the city’s water department.

When Calpine Corp. shut down operations and evacuated, it asked the city sometime Sunday morning to stop pumping the recycled water through the pipeline, Guhin said.

The city complied and began diverting the 9 million gallons per day to massive holding ponds near the Llano Road treatment plant, which at this time of year are nearly dry, Guhin said.

The city has about 1.2 billion gallons in storage capacity, so it can easily continue diverting the water for weeks, Guhin said.

The city is communication with Calpine and is getting close to determining when the flow will be restored, he said. It will likely be restored gradually as Calpine incrementally restores operations, he said.

Calpine said the fire damaged cooling towers at five of the 14 plants it operates in the area, the largest geothermal power project in the world. The company generates about 60 percent of the electricity needs for the North Coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon line. The electricity primarily is sold to PG&E, Sonoma Clean Power and Southern California Edison.

UPDATE 9:30 a.m. LAKE COUNTY

More than 3,500 firefighters have joined the efforts to stop the Valley fire, and their numbers are expected to grow.

Containment Thursday morning remained at 35 percent, and the fire grew by about 3,500 acres overnight to a total of 73,700 acres.

Wednesday’s rain “helped out tremendously” in curtailing the fire, though muddy roads and hillsides also “made things very difficult for the firefighters,” said Cal Fire Capt. Richard Cordova.

On Thursday morning the temperature remained relatively mild, but the weather is expected to warm gradually and could reach the upper 90s this weekend. As a result, firefighters are seeking to make plenty of progress before the heat returns.

“We’re trying to wrap this up as soon as we can,” Cordova said.

Much of the work involves extending containment lines, including in the regions near The Geysers geothermal fields and by Butts Canyon southeast of Middletown.

Nearly 500 new fire personnel arrived overnight, and “we will continue to get more in” until the fire is contained, Cordova said.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that additional human remains have been located in Valley fire burn areas of Anderson Springs and Hidden Valley Lake in Lake County.

Based on the location and evidence it is believed the victims are Bruce Beven Burns, of Hidden Valley Lake, and Leonard Neft, of Anderson Springs, sheriff’s Lt. Steve Brooks said.

Both men had been reported missing earlier this week.

Brooks said confirmation of their identities was still under way.

He said the remains were found during a search of the area on Wednesday by personnel from the sheriff’s office, Cal Fire, California Fish and Wildlife, and dogs and handlers from the California Office of Emergency Service Human Remains detection office.

A 72-year-old disabled woman named Barbara McWilliams, also of Anderson Springs, also perished in the fire. Her remains were discovered Sunday.

Four members of an elite Cal Fire helitack crew were injured Saturday when they were overrun by flames in the initial attack on the fire. They are said to be recovering.

The fire is now 73,700 acres in size and 35 percent contained. More than 3,500 firefighters are working on the six-day old blaze.

Anyone who has been unable to locate friends or family since the fire started on Saturday can contact the sheriff’s office at (707) 263-2690 to report them missing.

For complete wildfire coverage go to: www.pressdemocrat.com/wildfire.

Staff Writers Mary Callahan and Kevin McCallum contributed to this report.