2 Firefighters Forced To Deploy Emergency Shelters In Glass Fire

NAPA COUNTY, CA — Two firefighters were forced to deploy their emergency fire shelters hours after the Glass Fire sparked in Napa Valley wine country, Cal Fire has revealed. Around 11:45 p.m. Sunday under intense fire conditions fueled by gusty offshore winds, the pair took refuge in their shelters, described as aluminized cloth tents that offer protection by reflecting radiant heat and providing a volume of breathable air.

Several support vehicles were damaged but the two firefighters made it through the incident, unscathed, Cal Fire said in a statement Wednesday.

More than 2,000 firefighters were assigned to the Glass Fire on the fourth day of the firefight.

Now at 51,266 acres, the Glass Fire remained 2 percent contained Wednesday night.

Officials confirmed 107 single-family homes have been destroyed in Napa County and 36 in Sonoma County. As for commercial structures such as wineries and other businesses, at least five have been destroyed in Napa County and one in Sonoma County.

Another 26,290 homes and other structures were still threatened Wednesday night.

The Glass Fire in Sonoma and Napa Counties continued to burn actively throughout the day Wednesday in the heat with extremely dry fuels Crews worked on structure defense while building and reinforcing containment lines, Cal Fire said.

Evacuation Orders

Napa County Office of Emergency Services said evacuation warnings were upgraded to mandatory evacuation orders at 7 p.m. Wednesday for:

• The areas between Old Lawley Toll Road and Pope Valley Road from Ink Grade Road to Aetna Springs Road.
• All areas north of Aetna Springs Road, extending west to the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail Head on Highway 29 to the Lake County line, between Highway 29 and west of Butts Canyon Road.
• All addresses on Highway 29 from Tubbs Lane to the Lake County line and Old Lawley Toll Road remain on an evacuation warning.
• West of Highway 29 from the Calistoga City limits to the Lake County line.
• North of Highway 128 from the Calistoga City limits to the Sonoma County line.

Earlier Wednesday, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for areas between Silverado Trail and state Highway 29 from Larkmead Lane to Zinfandel Lane, including areas within the city of St. Helena; and for all areas west of SR-29 from Whitehall Lane to Madrona Avenue, including the areas within the city of St. Helena.

All other evacuation warnings and orders in Napa County remain in effect.

All recreational areas in or near the Robert Louis Stevenson State park including but not limited to Table Rock Trail, Palisades Trail, and Oat Hill Mine Trail are closed.

State Highway 29 from Tubbs Lane to the Lake County line remained open to through traffic.

Evacuation centers are open in Napa at Crosswalk Community Church, 2590 First St., Napa Valley College, 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway.

Those seeking shelter should bring a face covering, practice good hygiene habits, and adhere to physical distancing.

Red Flag Warning

The Glass Fire sparked early Sunday amid a red flag warning in the North Bay. Now, the National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area has issued another red flag warning for the North Bay mountains which is set to go into effect at 1 p.m. Thursday and continue through 6 p.m. Friday.

The highest threat is to active portions of the Glass Fire or those areas with unsecured or open fire lines, weather officials said.

"Fire will spread rapidly due to the combination of hot temperatures, very dry fuels, breezy northerly winds and low humidity," according to the weather service.

Northwest winds arrive Thursday afternoon during the peak of the burn period along with very low humidity. Northwest winds increase Thursday night into Friday morning with gusts to 25 mph and little or no humidity recovery.

Breezy northerly winds continue through the Friday burn period as humidity stays very dry with continued hot temperatures. Humidity of 15 to 25 percent but locally 8-12 percent with little or no nighttime recovery in the hills.

Power Outages

Approximately 11,700 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers remained without power Wednesday because of the Glass Fire.

"... That’s due to the fire itself or at the request of firefighters, we proactively turned off the power for safety," PG&E Spokeswoman Deanna Contreras told Patch.

There are 6,500 affected Sonoma County customers in Santa Rosa and Kenwood; In Napa County, 5,200 customers in St. Helena, Calistoga, Deer Park, Oakville, Pope Valley, Napa and Angwin had no power.

"PG&E’s most important responsibility is the safety of our customers, employees and communities we serve," Contreras said. 'PG&E is working with first responders as they fight the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties to help make areas safe for first responders.

"PG&E will work to restore power safely and as quickly as possible in the areas where it’s safe for us to enter and assess the damage to our equipment to start repairs.

"We have been assessing damage in some areas, which is step in making repairs and restoring power."

For the safety of firefighters, Cal Fire requested that PG&E de-energize the transmission main from Middletown that was serving Calistoga. PG&E was onsite energizing the generators at the back-up power generation site on lower Washington to serve the area.

"As the mandatory evacuation order is still in effect, all residents who have not yet left should do so now," the city of Calistoga said Wednesday afternoon. "If you choose not to evacuate you must remain on your own property. Per the City of Calistoga, residents should not be out on City streets. No timeline has been established for repopulation."

WATCH: In-depth Glass Fire Update From Cal Fire

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Napa County Glass Fire Latest: 46K Acres Burned, 2% Containment
• 3 St. Helena Water Tanks Destroyed In Glass Fire, City Says
• Glass Fire Engulfs 36,000 Acres In Napa, Sonoma Counties
• Historic Chateau Boswell Winery Burns Down; More Landmarks Lost
• Glass Fire Threatens 2,268 Napa County Homes; More Evacs Ordered
  

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— CAL FIRE LNU (@CALFIRELNU) October 1, 2020

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.