Lawn maintenance behind fast-moving wildfire in rural Solano
The 135-acre blaze is 75 percent contained; all evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted.
Photo: The glow of the Quail Fire burning in rural Vacaville is captured by a roving wildfire camera on Saturday, May 21, 2022. (Photo courtesy PG&E, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
By: Solano NewsNet staff
Fire investigators are probing the start of a fast-moving wildfire that broke out in rural Solano County near Winters on Saturday.
The fire started around 4 p.m. at a ranch along the 8400 block of Quail Canyon Road in rural Vacaville. Preliminary information indicates the wildfire was started by someone who was using a weed-trimmer, a source familiar with the investigation told Solano NewsNet.
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CAL FIRE), the state’s firefighting agency, are at the ranch where the fire originated and are probing whether there was any criminal negligence involved in the start of the blaze.
The fire quickly grew in size, charring 135 acres and triggering evacuation orders for some homes and businesses in the area.
At one point, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for all of Quail Canyon Road and for Pleasants Valley Road between Quail Canyon and Highway 128.
On Sunday, the Solano County Office of Emergency Services said all evacuation orders and warnings had been lifted. Firefighters from CAL FIRE and several fire agencies in Solano and Yolo counties made significant progress on the blaze by Saturday evening; by noon Sunday, the fire was 75 percent contained, officials said.
A Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) wildfire camera stationed in Winters showed several glowing hot spots from the fire as dusk set over the area.
It was the first significant wildfire to break out in Solano County this year. Last month, Solano NewsNet reported that forecast models published by the National Interagency Fire Center showed May and June as high wildfire threat months. The models were based on a combination of factors, including ongoing drought conditions that have yielded dense, but dry, vegetation throughout Northern California.
Saturday’s wildfire, named the Quail Fire, erupted less than 24 hours after a Red Flag Warning period expired in Solano County. Though windy conditions had eased by the start of the weekend, low humidity levels and otherwise dry weather created moderate wildfire danger for the region.
High wildfire danger conditions are expected to return Monday evening into Tuesday morning as elevated offshore winds bring strong gusts in the western part of the Sacramento Valley. In parts of north Solano County — including areas where the Quail Fire is still burning — wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour are possible, meteorologists warned.
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