The Atlas Fire was a 2017
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
burning in
Napa County
Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
north of the city of
Napa, near
Napa Soda Springs. It was one of
fourteen large fires simultaneously burning in eight Northern California counties, in what was called the
"Northern California firestorm". Governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
declared a state of emergency.
The fire, which started on October 8, had by October 12 burned of land, and was 77% contained.
By October 12, the fire stretched from
Lake Berryessa
Lake Berryessa is the largest lake in Napa County, California, United States. This reservoir in the Vaca Mountains was formed following the construction of the Monticello Dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s. Since the early 1960s, this reservoir h ...
south to Napa, but a
firebreak
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
was established across Atlas Peak Road.
It was contained on October 28, 2017. At that point in state history, the fire was the 14th most destructive and 15th deadliest. It burned a total of 51,624 acres, destroyed 783 structures, and resulted in 6 deaths.
Progression
The fire began about 10 p.m. October 8 on Atlas Peak Road
Atlas Peak
The Atlas Peak AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA just northeast of the city of Napa, California, Napa. The appellation sits on a higher elevation than most of Napa's wine region which limits the effects of the co ...
. It started south, fed by winds, gusting to 28 miles per hour, and low
relative humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...
at 12%.
On October 12, winds were forecast to reach 40 mph, but were lighter than expected, slowing the growth of the fire.
Evacuations
Evacuations started at
Silverado Resort, and at Vichy Avenue and Hagen Road area, then Montecito Boulevard and later at Monte Vista Avenue.
After the evacuation center at Crosswalk Church quickly reached maximum capacity, one was opened at
Napa Valley College
Napa Valley College, formerly Napa Junior College and Napa Community College, is a public community college in Napa, California. The tree-lined main campus is on overlooking the Napa River and includes a performing arts center, a child develop ...
and St. Apollinaris Catholic Church.
There are other evacuations centers such as:
* Allan Witt Park, 1741 W Texas St, Fairfield,
* Solano Community College, 4000 Suisun Valley Rd, Fairfield, and
* Fairfield High School, 205 E. Atlantic Avenue, Fairfield.
*
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...
open their campgrounds.
The evacuations for Solano County are Upper and Lower Green Valley, Eastridge, and the community of twin sisters along Suisun Valley road. The advisory is for the Lakes, and The Shopping Centers for Cordelia.
In
Sonoma, there were mandatory evacuation orders first at Seventh Street East, Castle Road, and Lovall Valley Road; then at East Napa Street. An evacuation advisory was issued for parts of the city of Napa.
See also
*
Tubbs Fire
The Tubbs Fire was a wildfire in Northern California during October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa County, California, Napa, Sonoma County, California, Sonoma, a ...
*
2017 California wildfires
In terms of property damage, 2017 was the most destructive wildfire season on record in California at the time, surpassed by only 2018 California wildfires, the 2018 season and 2020 California wildfires, the 2020 season, with a total of 9,560 f ...
*
List of California wildfires
This is a partial and incomplete list of wildfires in the US state of California. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the a ...
*
October 2017 Northern California wildfires
The October 2017 Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, North Bay Fires, and the Wine Country Fires were a series of 250 wildfires that started burning across the state of California, United States, ...
References
External links
1981 Atlas Peak fire
{{California wildfires by deaths
2017 California wildfires
Wildfires in Napa County, California
October 2017 in the United States