Deadly fires rage through northern California forcing tens of thousands to evacuate
California firefighters on Tuesday battled a wind-fueled wildfire that had exploded in the northern California wine country, prompting tens of thousands of evacuations. A second blaze killed at least three people.
The Glass fire raged through Napa and Sonoma counties on Sunday and Monday, tripling in size to more than 56 sq miles without any containment. More than 110 buildings have burned, including homes and winery installations. Tens of thousands of people have had to evacuate.
The fire was driving through brush that had not burned for a century, even though surrounding areas saw a series of blazes in recent years.
Dry winds that gave the flames a ferocious push appeared to have eased by Monday evening and firefighters were feeling “much more confident”, said Ben Nicholls, a division chief with the California department of forestry and fire protection, known as Cal Fire.
“We don’t have those critical burning conditions that we were experiencing those last two nights,” he said.
The Glass fire is one of nearly 30 wildfires around California and the National Weather Service warned that hot, dry conditions with strong Santa Ana winds could remain a fire danger in southern California into Tuesday.
In a forested far northern part of the state, more than 1,200 people were evacuated in Shasta county for the Zogg fire. Three people have died in that fire, the Shasta county sheriff, Eric Magrini, said on Monday. He gave no details but urged people who receive evacuation orders: “Do not wait.”
Residences in the area are widely scattered. The county was torched just two years ago by the deadly Carr fire, which is infamously remembered for producing a huge tornado-like fire whirl.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Shasta counties on Tuesday morning.
Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.
Pacific Gas & Electric had cut power to more than 100,000 customers in advance of gusty winds and in areas with active fire zones. The utility’s equipment has caused previous disasters, including the 2018 Camp fire that killed 85 people and devastated the town of Paradise in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
By Monday night, the utility said it had restored electricity to essentially all of those customers. However, PG&E said about 24,000 remained without power in areas affected by two fires in Napa, Sonoma, Shasta and Tehama counties.
So far in this year’s historic fire season, more than 8,100 California wildfires have killed 29 people, scorched 5,780 square miles and destroyed more than 7,000 buildings.
The Glass fire began on Sunday as three fires that merged. Some 70,000 people are under evacuation orders, including the entire 5,000-plus population of Calistoga in Napa county.
The fires has already damaged several wineries and is threatening numerous others in the popular tourist region.
Napa Valley residents Matthew Rivard and Amanda Crean parked their car by a sign reading “Welcome to the World Famous Wine Growing Region” on Monday night and watched flames surround the Schramsberg Vineyards, known for sparkling wines.
Around three-quarters of a mile to the north-west, flames destroyed a farmhouse containing a trove of bottled wine and offices at the Castello di Amorosa winery, but its distinctive castle was intact, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. To the east, the threestar Michelin restaurant, the Grill at Meadowood, and a golf shop were destroyed at the Meadowood Napa Valley resort, the newspaper reported.
Some people were injured and Sonoma county sheriff’s deputies had to rescue people who ignored evacuation orders, officials said. The fires came as the region approached the anniversary of the 2017 fires, including one that killed 22 people.
A month ago, many residents were evacuated from the path of a lightningsparked fire that became the fourthlargest in state history.
“Our firefighters have not had much of a break, and these residents have not had much of a break,” said Daniel Berlant, an assistant deputy director with Cal Fire.
Santa Rosa resident Jack Pond was watching this week’s fires anxiously. Pond, 74, lost his home in the 2017 fires, and his daughter had to evacuate her house on Sunday. He has had everything packed up and ready to go in his car since Sunday. “We’re waiting for what we hope never happens,” he said.
“In the Tubbs fire, we left with just minutes to spare, driving through flames with sparks blowing across the road. I didn’t even take my dentures that time. I was toothless for months.”
Even though he knows he is being pragmatic in making sure he is prepared to evacuate, the decision did not come easy. The month they moved back into the home they rebuilt in 2019, they had to evacuate for the Kincade fire. He said since the fires began this year, he has been clenching his jaw and grinding his teeth without realizing it, resulting in headaches. “When we decided that we had better pack things up, for a minute, I just couldn’t move,” said Pond. “I just sat on the sofa and stared and just had no thoughts. I was catatonic. I didn’t want to get up and admit that this was a real event.”
Officials did not have an estimate of the number of homes destroyed or burned, but the blaze engulfed the Chateau Boswell Winery in St Helena and at least one five-star resort.