A wind-whipped wildfire that had burned 6,900 acres and was 20 percent contained by Friday shouldn’t affect Benicia’s water supply, Public Works Director Graham Wadsworth said.
“The Solano County Water Agency (SCWA) and Solano Irrigation District have been providing information that the fire has not affected operations at Monticello Dam,” Wadsworth said.
He said while firefighters have been pulling water from the lake as part of their attack on the fire, the volume they’re using “is insignificant, so water supply will not be impacted.”
He said Benicia currently is using Delta water from the State Water Project’s North Bay Aqueduct as its water supply, “so water quality is not an issue.”
The fire’s cause is still under investigation, according to Friday’s report from Cal FIRE’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit. But some reports have linked it to a vehicle crash in the vicinity of California Highway 128 and Wragg Canyon Road.
Cal FIRE Division Chief Rick Vogt and Suzie Blankenship, spokesperson from Cal FIRE’s Santa Rosa office, said Friday the fire had grown to more than 10 square miles in size. A day earlier it destroyed at least one outbuilding and a tent trailer.
The fire caused massive evacuations and road closures as it burned toward Canyon Creek Resort, Golden Bear Estates, Quail Ridge and other residential communities near Winters.
But as more of the fire became contained, the Red Cross evacuation center that had been opened at Winters Community Center was closed by midday Friday. However, a large animal evacuation center remained open Friday.
Officials said 157 engine and truck companies, 15 water tenders, 52 fire crews, 13 helicopters, 35 bulldozers, four air tankers, 10 volunteer companies and 1,506 firefighters were battling the blaze.
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