Snell Fire Chars 103 Acres In Napa County

NAPA COUNTY, CA — With help from neighboring crews, Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake -Napa Unit firefighters stopped the forward progress of the Snell Fire at 103 acres, officials said shortly before 8 p.m. Friday.

"Firefighters from CAL FIRE LNU, Napa County Fire, and South Lake County FPD are working extremely hard and making great progress," Cal Fire wrote on Twitter at 7:55 p.m. Friday. "The fire is currently 103 acres and forward progress has been stopped."

"CAL FIRE dozers have also made great progress as they have made a dozer line around the perimeter of the fire to help strengthen containment lines for the Firefighters," the agency updated two hours later. "Firefighters will remain on-scene throughout the night working on strengthening containment lines and putting out hot spots. You can expect to see crews working the area over the next couple of days."

The wildfire broke out at 5:36 p.m. Friday near the 1100 block of Snell Valley Road near Walker Road and Butts Canyon Road in Napa County, southeast of Middletown and just north of Pope Valley.

By 6 p.m. the Snell Fire was 15 acres in size and by 6:40 p.m., it grew to 80 acres. It was being held up by topography — burning in grass and brush with steep, rugged terrain, authorities said.

Resources sent to battle the blaze included 18 engines, two air tankers, two helicopters, two water tenders, three hand crews and four dozers.

"If traveling in the area, please give way to emergency vehicles," Cal Fire officials said.

The fire was still 30 percent contained at 10 p.m. Friday, according to a status report from Cal Fire. There was a threat to structures and powerlines, and road closures in the area, the report said. Evacuations were reportedly in progress as weather and terrain hindered suppression efforts.

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