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NAPA COUNTY, Calif. (KTVU) - The Wragg Fire has burned almost 7,000 acres in parts of Solano, Napa and Yolo counties.
Although it has already burned a pretty wide swath across an area of ranches in Winters, no homes have been destroyed there. But there were a number of close calls.
All along the area off Pleasant View Road – it’s scorched earth.
The fire ripped through the area quickly and relentlessly Wednesday night.
People in the area had to evacuate. "All of a sudden we looked over the back of the house and flames were about 50 yards away," said Michael Ahumada. Evacuees from Golden Bear Estates were later allowed to return home, while Quail Ridge remains evacuated.
Ahumada is a cattle rancher. He's also a retired San Francisco firefighter, and those instincts took over.
"Right at the last minute I tried to make a last ditch effort. So we grabbed a water tank, went to the fire line and extinguished it. Kept pulling 5 gallon buckets out of the pool and put it out," he said.
Throughout the day ground crews checked the area for hot spots. It's one of two areas that have been evacuated as the battle to beat down the fire continues.
An evacuation center has been set up for large animals the edge of town. About ten horses so far are staying there.
The flames got so close to one woman's home, they reached underneath the front porch.
"I did not know if I would ever see my house again," said the woman who didn't want us to use her name.
She evacuated. Not knowing if there would be anything left to come back to.
"Terrified. Yeah. I've had a bad feeling all summer we're going to get a bad fire. We had a fire last year around the 4th of July. And the drought is in the fourth year," she said.
Firefighters got here in the nick of time.
"We're all very lucky. It seems the fire went up to all of our houses," said Ahumada.
The California Department of Insurance said today that the estimated 500 people who have been evacuated may be eligible for reimbursement of additional living expenses, including housing and food, through their homeowner policies.
Residents who need assistance with their insurance can contact the Department of Insurance's consumer services at (800) 927-4357 (HELP).