Wildfire that broke out Wednesday in rural Northern California's Napa County left hundreds homeless and destroyed two houses. The fire has not yet posed any harm to the famous vineyards of the county.
Daniel Berlant, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said that the fire in Pope Valley grew to nearly six square miles. The fire destroyed nine structures including two homes and 180 others remained threatened.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. However, the fire exploded because of dry conditions across the state caused by the drought, Berlant said. Officials are hoping for full containment early next week, reports the Associated Press.
"It has not come anywhere close to what we consider Napa Valley wineries," said Cate Conniff, a spokeswoman for the Napa Valley Vintners, a non-profit trade association, according to News-Sentinel.com. "It is moving in the opposite direction, and it continues to move that way. We're keeping an eye out on it."
At least 1,000 fire fighters have been deployed. However, the fire scorched over 4,300 acres the third day. "We're hoping that once the sun goes down, the temperature will as well and the humidity will also rise to give us another chance to increase containment," Berlant said.
"Fire is still growing at a faster rate than we can build containment lines. We're also seeing a bit of a warming pattern, and the winds are picking up as well," Berlant said. "This fire is taking a very aggressive run."
According to the fire officials, no injuries were reported.
Federal funds to help fire departments were secured, Gov. Jerry Brown said Wednesday.
