As we headed over to Lake Berryessa on Tuesday morning, we were fully expecting to hit some kind of traffic delay on Highway 128 just beyond the town of Winters. I already knew that Cal Fire crews were conducting a controlled burn along the hillsides above Cache Creek on Monday and Tuesday; so it wasn’t a bit surprising to find ourselves sitting in a line of cars waiting for a pilot vehicle to guide us through the work area. This stretch of road is right next door to Lake Berryessa, where the LNU Complex Fire destroyed homes, businesses, and woodlands across more than 300,000 acres during the summer of 2020. The aftereffects of the firestorm are still visible everywhere around the lake. So it’s understandable that fire breaks and weed abatement are a priority as warm weather season approaches.

Happily for us, our traffic delay was a fairly short one — and getting a quick look at the fire crews as they worked was an extra bonus.