Pope fire in Napa County 61 acres, 80% contained

A wildland fire in rural Napa County was 80% contained late Saturday and had decreased in size from 67 to 61 acres as firefighters developed a more accurate map of the blaze, Cal Fire officials said.

The Pope fire burned in grassy oak woodlands in steep terrain between St. Helena and Lake Berryessa. So far, no homes or structures have been destroyed or are threatened, according to Cal Fire.

The fire started just before 4 p.m. Friday east of St. Helena and southeast of Angwin in the area of Lower Chiles Valley and Chiles Pope Valley roads.

More than 80 fire personnel were working to increase their containment of the fire in advance of strong winds and dry conditions forecast for Sunday event, Cal Fire spokesman Will Powers said. Resources included 15 engines, four water tenders and two hand crews building containment line. Air attack resources are available if needed, he said.

Powers said they will be keeping close guard against any additional growth “especially during this upcoming event.”

“We’ll have crews on that fire, strengthening containment lines,” Powers said.

Dangerous fire weather prompted the National Weather Service to issue red flag warnings to take effect Sunday.

PG&E has announced it plans to cut power Sunday for more than 23,400 homes and businesses in the county Sunday so its power equipment doesn’t spark more fires.

The first red flag warning starts 11 a.m. Sunday and covers the North Bay mountains and East Bay hills, expiring 5 a.m. Tuesday. The strongest wind gusts, which forecasters predict could reach upwards of 70 mph — the fiercest of the 2020 fire season — will occur Sunday night into early Monday morning.

The second red flag warning covers lower-lying areas throughout Sonoma County — including the Highway 101 corridor and Sonoma Coast — and begins 8 p.m. Sunday and ends 11 a.m. Monday. Sustained wind speeds in the valleys are expected at up to 30 mph, with gusts reaching 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Monterey.

“Initial forecasts indicate this could be our largest (power shut-off) event this year so far. Our highest priority is to keep customers and communities safe and execute this event according to our plan and to then quickly restore power to all affected customers when it’s safe to do so,” Michael Lewis, PG&E’s interim president, said in a statement.

The potential outage in Sonoma County is estimated to begin between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday, according to Adriane Mertens, a Santa Rosa city spokeswoman. The shut-offs within city limits, where about 5,300 residents are expected to lose power, fall between the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. window, she said.

Outside of Santa Rosa city limits, the remainder are located in unincorporated areas on both sides of Highway 101, including east and west Sonoma County, according to PG&E.

To see whether you may be impacted, visit PG&E’s website: pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/addresslookup

In Napa County, where firefighters continue to increase containment on the Pope fire, 15,600 customers could expect a power outage, in addition to 19,600 customers in Marin County, PG&E said. More than 31,500 customers in Lake County could lose electricity, with shut-offs in the city of Lakeport expected to begin Sunday at 4 p.m. and last through Tuesday at 10 p.m., the Lakeport Police Department reported.

About 8,600 customers in Mendocino County may also experience an outage, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, with those shut-offs are anticipated between noon and 8 p.m. Sunday.

The National Weather Service predicted wind speeds that could knock down trees and power lines and also make driving difficult for high-profile vehicles like SUVs.

Staff Writer Julie Johnson contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.