XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: mfoley@gmail.com   
      
   Illegal Mexicans set this fire to get revenge for the hiring of   
   American citizens to do farm labor.   
      
   (07-02) 09:57 PDT POPE VALLEY, NAPA COUNTY -- A massive wildfire   
   burning in a remote area of Napa and Lake counties grew to 3,200   
   acres by Wednesday morning, threatening nearly 400 structures   
   after destroying at least five during the initial conflagration   
   on Tuesday.   
      
   More than 1,000 firefighters attacked the so-called Butts Fire   
   from land and air as residents choked from smoke-filled skies   
   and prayed that Tuesday's winds and warm temperatures would give   
   way to cooler weather on Wednesday.   
      
   At least 160 homes were evacuated as the blaze pushed from its   
   origins in Pope Valley west of Lake Berryessa north to Lake   
   County's Snell Peak. Authorities estimated that the blaze was   
   just 30 percent contained.   
      
   Charred hillsides, scorched power lines and smoldering trees   
   remained in its wake.   
      
   Pope Valley resident Lou Leet, 57, was at work in southern Napa   
   County on Tuesday when she got the call that her home was in   
   harm's way.   
      
   "I just high-tailed it up there, but I couldn't get in," said   
   Leet, who spent the night on a cot in the parking lot of   
   Middletown High School, north of the fire. "I still have cats up   
   there. I'm very anxious to see if they're OK."   
      
   Beth Huckins, who lives near the Berryessa Estates subdivision,   
   said she watched from her home Tuesday as a large plume of smoke   
   grew, and knew it was time to get out.   
      
   "It's terrible trying to think what to take," she said. "I   
   didn't know how much time I had."   
      
   Her dog, Lucas, was at her side in Middletown. So was one of her   
   cats - in a crate. Another was still at the house.   
      
   Dozens of evacuees spent the night at the Middletown school -   
   one of the evacuation centers - either in the gym or in the   
   parking lot.   
      
   The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The blaze is   
   believed to have started near Butts Canyon and James Creek roads   
   shortly after noon Tuesday.   
      
   Mandatory evacuations remain in effect along Butts Canyon Road   
   as well as the Berryessa Estates area.   
      
   Fire crews took advantage of light winds and lower temperatures   
   Tuesday night to gain ground on the blaze and cut containment   
   lines. However, as temperatures climbed Wednesday, there was   
   concern that the conditions left by an exceptionally dry winter   
   would cause the fire to spread.   
      
   "The fire is burning like a fire would in October," said Scott   
   McLean, a battalion chief with Cal Fire, the state's   
   firefighting agency.   
      
   Evan Sernoffsky and Kurtis Alexander are San Francisco Chronicle   
   staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com,   
   kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky,   
   @kurtisalexander   
      
   http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Napa-fire-30-percent-   
   contained-5595203.php   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)