NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters are battling a vegetation fire in Yolo County that has led to evacuations and a highway closure.
The Sand fire began at about 2:50 p.m. Saturday in the Capay Valley area near the town of Guinda, according to Cal Fire.
By 8:30 p.m., Cal Fire said the fire was reported to have reached 1,700 acres, with no containment.
So far, no structures have been damaged or destroyed, Cal Fire said.
However, evacuations have been ordered for all residents on County Road 41. Cal Fire said an evacuation center has been set up at the Boy Scout Camp in Esparto.
Highway 16 is closed from Highway 20 to the town of Brooks, officials said.
Cal Fire said the fire was moving at a rapid rate of spread and is on steep, brush-covered slopes.
Conditions in the area are reported to be hot and dry, with wind out of the northeast at around 20 miles per hour.
Numerous firefighting air tankers from throughout the state have been flying fire suppression missions on the Sand Fire as conditions allow, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said the assigned resources include 38 engines, five water tenders, four helicopters – one of them Copter 104 from Boggs Mountain in Lake County – along with four hand crews, five dozers and a total of 500 firefighting personnel.
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