Glass Fire: Crews Prepare For Another Red Flag Warning

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — As the battle against the Glass Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties enters its fifth day, firefighters are planning for more red flag wind conditions.

The Glass Fire gained 2,826 acres in ground Wednesday, as firefighters wrestled low humidity and warmer than average temperatures in both Sonoma and Napa counties.

The fire was 2 percent contained Wednesday night, unchanged from the night before, Cal Fire said in an update. The areas the 51,266-acre fire is burning in are stocked with dead and downed fuels such as vegetation and brush that threaten the fire line, according to Cal Fire.

The Glass Fire continued to burn actively as extremely dry fuels combined with warmer, drier weather. Crews continue to work on structure defense while building and reinforcing containment
lines.

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.

Firefighters Forced To Deploy Emergency Tents

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 morning.

More than 2,000 firefighters remain assigned to the wildfire that is the fourth major fire in three years in the North Bay.

Evacuation Orders

Officials confirmed at least 143 single-family homes have been destroyed in the two counties, with another 26,290 homes and other structures still threatened.

In Napa County, 107 single-family homes were a total loss; in Sonoma County, the fire burned down 36 homes on Santa Rosa's eastern edges.

While some evacuation orders and warnings in and around Santa Rosa were lifted or downgraded Tuesday, residents in Napa County, Calistoga, Angwin and parts of St. Helena remain under a mandatory evacuation order.

More than 6,000 residents of unincorporated Sonoma County remained under mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday, the sheriff's office said.

The Santa Rosa Police Department released the below maps which show the status of Glass Fire evacuation orders and warnings as of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday.

For information about Sonoma County evacuations, go to Local.nixle.com/sonoma-county-sheriffs-office/ and Srcity.org/glassfire.

For information about evacuations in Napa County, people can go to Local.nixle.com/napa-county-oes/.

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 were without 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."

WATCH: In-depth Glass Fire Update From Cal Fire

#GlassFire Fact Sheet pic.twitter.com/GzTpCOrbpF
— CAL FIRE LNU (@CALFIRELNU) October 1, 2020

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Bay City News Service contributed to this report.