More evacuations lifted for Glass Fire, California’s 10th-most destructive wildfire
After several days of more intense conditions, crews reported a calm night at the destructive Glass Fire in California’s North Bay area, which is now about two-thirds contained.
The blaze, now reported at 67,420 acres and with 66% containment, exhibited “minimal fire behavior throughout the night,” primarily “creeping and smoldering” within existing fire perimeters, Cal Fire’s Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit said in a Thursday morning incident update.
Repopulation has been gradual for the Glass Fire, which has destroyed close to 650 homes as well as numerous wineries in the region nicknamed Wine Country.
More evacuation orders and warnings were lifted or downgraded Wednesday. All mandatory orders within the city of Santa Rosa were reduced to warnings, along with some orders just outside city limits. The warning for the city of Calistoga was lifted, and various areas throughout Napa County including the St. Helena area had evacuation status downgraded.
Updated evacuation information for the affected jurisdictions is posted regularly to the Nixle webpages for the Santa Rosa Police Department, the city of Calistoga, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and the Napa County Office of Emergency Services. Updates are also available via the social media pages for those entities and Cal Fire LNU.
The Glass Fire on Wednesday surpassed 1,500 structures burned, making it the 10th most destructive wildfire in California history, according to Cal Fire records. Four of the 12 most destructive, and five of the top 20, started this August or September.
The devastation includes 332 homes destroyed in Sonoma County and 307 in Napa County, along with another 150 homes damaged between the two counties. Nearly 350 commercial structures have been lost in Napa, compared to 12 in Sonoma. Most of the remaining buildings destroyed or seriously damaged have been outbuildings or other minor structures. Damage assessment remains ongoing.
Cal Fire says about 13,000 structures are still considered threatened as of Thursday morning.
Earlier in the week, the National Weather Service predicted some light rain might fall in the Santa Rosa area this weekend. The forecasts have since dried up considerably, and no rain or showers are now expected in the North Bay. High temperatures will trend cooler though, into the 70s, benefiting the roughly 2,300 fire personnel that remain assigned to the Glass Fire.
Statewide, more than 15,000 firefighters are battling 22 major wildfire incidents, Cal Fire reported Thursday morning. This year has seen more than 8,400 wildfires burn more than 4 million acres, more than double the next most intense year. Across all those blazes, more than 9,200 structures have been lost and at least 31 people have died, the state fire agency says.
Cal Fire warned in its daily statewide summary that after cooler temperatures and light rain in the north reaches of the state this weekend, warm and dry conditions will resume next week — and there’s the possibility of another wind event. The Glass Fire, which sparked Sept. 27, exploded in size during its first 48 hours due to extremely gusty winds.
Climate change and California wildfires
Wildfires have always been part of life in California. The past four years have brought some of the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in the state’s modern history.
Nearly 180 people have lost their lives since 2017. More than 41,000 structures have been destroyed and nearly 7 million acres have burned. That’s roughly the size of Massachusetts.
So far this year, at least 31 people have died, according to Cal Fire.
Meanwhile, this year’s August was the hottest on record in California. A rare series of lightning storms sparked a series of fires, including the August Complex that has burned more than 1 million acres, making it by far the largest wildfire in California’s recorded history.
The 2017 wildfire season occurred during the second-hottest year on record in California and included a devastating string of fires in October that killed 44 people and destroyed nearly 9,000 buildings in Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte and Solano counties.
The following year was the most destructive and deadliest for wildfires in the state’s history. It included the Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 85 people, and the enormous Mendocino Complex.
