The north end of the Glass Fire, as seen from St Helena South camera at 225 p.m. PDT Oct. 6, 2020. Looking east. AlertWildfire.
Sixteen firefighters assigned to the Glass Fire near the Napa Valley in Northern California were evaluated for possible carbon monoxide exposure Tuesday morning October 6. One was transported to a hospital and the others were allowed to return to their duties.
CAL FIRE said the exposure occurred at a location off-site out of the fire area. The personnel were evaluated by members of the Santa Rosa Fire Department and medical personnel assigned to the incident.
CAL FIRE did not disclose where the firefighters were or what they were doing when the possible exposure occurred. Five ambulances were dispatched to the CAL FIRE incident command post at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa Tuesday morning.
The Glass Fire has burned 66,840 acres, 310 homes, and 12 commercial buildings.
UPDATE October 7, 2020 | 12:09 a.m. PDT:
Pat McLean, a spokesperson for CAL FIRE, said on October 7, “16 firefighters were evaluated yesterday. Fifteen were cleared to go right back to active duty yesterday and the 16th was evaluated at the hospital and has since been released back to full duty as well.”
When asked where the firefighters were when they were exposed to carbon monoxide, Mr. McLean said, “I don’t have that information. They were outside, they were not on the fire, nor were they at base camp.”
He said he did not have information about the source of the carbon monoxide. The incident is being investigated.
Map of the Glass Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 12:01 a.m. PDT Oct. 4, 2020. The white line was the perimeter three days before. Previous fires are shown in green.
In the eight days the Glass Fire has been burning in the Napa Vally area of northern California it has destroyed 297 residences, 273 commercial structures, and burned 63,885 acres according to CAL FIRE. An additional 18,000 structures are threatened as the portion of the fire east of Highway 128 continues to spread north.
West of Highway 128 the fire has not spread into the footprint of the 2017 Tubbs Fire north of Santa Rosa, but north of Kenwood between Highways 12 and 128 it grew for one to two miles into the Nuns Fire of 2017 but has not moved much in that area in the last three days.
East of Highways 128 and 29, a portion of the Glass Fire reached the LNU Lightning Complex that burned 46,000 acres a few weeks ago, but it is still spreading in an area north of Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, five miles north of Calistoga, and 6 miles south of Middletown. The fire was not very active directly west of Pope Valley Saturday.
Resources assigned to the fire include 23 helicopters, 408 fire engines, 66 dozers, 27 hand crews, and 49 water tenders for a total of 2,773 personnel.
The first part of the video below shows a dozer line or road on the edge of the Glass Fire. Then you will see where red retardant dropped by air tankers has slowed the advance of the fire. When it can be done safely, firefighters on the ground or on dozers will need to construct a bare-earth fireline where the fire has burned into or through the retardant. Aircraft dropping water or retardant do not put out a fire, they can only slow the spread, and only if the wind is not very strong.
The fire has burned well over 48,000 acres near the Napa Valley of northern California
Updated October 1, 2020 | 10:26 a.m. PDT
Map of the southern portion of the Glass Fire at 10:15 p.m. PDT Sept. 30, 2020. Two very large and destructive fires from 2017 are seen with green perimeters, the Tubbs and Nuns Fires.
The Glass Fire near California’s Napa Valley was very active again Wednesday, adding about 8,000 acres to bring the size up to 56,781 acres according to CAL FIRE Thursday morning. The agency reported that 143 residences and 105 other structures have been destroyed since the blaze started September 27.
The growth Wednesday was primarily in four areas:
The north end, north of Calistoga where it has burned across a narrow finger of the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. In this area it has come close to burning into the LNU Complex which was last active several weeks ago.
The west side, one to four miles south of Calistoga and Highway 29. South of the highway the fire is a couple of miles away from the 2017 Tubbs Fire. Firefighters have stopped it along a portion of that two-year-old fire scar.
West of Highway 29 and one to two miles northwest of Barro. This could be considered a large unburned island before Wednesday, but it is burning very actively today, Thursday. Multiple structures have been destroyed and more are threatened near Spring mountain Road.
The southeast side, three to five miles west of Rutherford. It has already burned into the 2017 Nuns Fire, but firefighters have not yet had success in stopping it in this two-year-old fire scar.
Map of the Glass Fire. The red line was the perimeter at 10:15 p.m. PDT Sept. 30, 2020. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours earlier.
The area is under a Red Flag Warning through Friday. Gusty north to northwest winds, very low humidity, and extremely dry fuels have produced critical fire weather conditions Thursday afternoon through Friday night. Northwest winds will increase Thursday night into Friday morning with gusts of 25 to 30 mph with little or no humidity recovery overnight. Breezy northerly winds will continue through the Friday burn period with continued hot temperatures. The relative humidity Thursday will be generally in the teens, with a high temperature at Santa Rosa of 96 degrees.
September 30, 2020 | 4:23 p.m. PDT
3-D map of the Glass Fire at 8:59 p.m. PDT Sept. 29, 2020.
CAL FIRE revealed September 29 that two firefighters deployed fire shelters at the Glass Fire September 27, 2020. The individuals were not injured, but several transport support vehicles were damaged.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Glass Fire, including the most recent, click here.
The weather Thursday and Friday could increase activity on the blaze. Strong winds and a Red Flag Warning are predicted for 1 p.m. Thursday through 6 p.m. Friday for 10-20 mph northwest winds with 25-30 mph gusts in the higher elevations.
Glass Fire burns into Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, the Palisades area of Napa County. CAL FIRE, Sept. 30, 2020.
The north end of the fire north of Calistoga has moved into much more rugged terrain — the southeast side of Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. The last time that area burned was 56 years ago during the C. Hanly Fire of 1964. In 2017 the Tubbs Fire, west of the Glass Fire, burned exceedingly well in the footprint of that 55,000-acre fire. Most of the rest of the Glass fire is burning in areas with no recorded history of fires in the last 70 years.
At last count 80 residences and 33 other structures have been destroyed, with over 21,000 still threatened.
CAL FIRE reports the Glass Fire has burned 48,440 acres near Santa Rosa and Calistoga, California. Data from a Tuesday night mapping flight could bump that figure up another 5,000 acres.
Resources assigned to the fire include 25 hand crews, 261 fire engines, and 16 helicopters for a total of 2,099 personnel.
Map of the Glass Fire. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:30 a.m. PDT Sept. 30, 2020. The red line was the perimeter mapped by an aircraft at 8:59 p.m. PDT September 29, 2020. To the north is the LNU Lightning Complex from a few weeks ago.A restored 1942 fire engine knocks down hot spots on the Glass Fire. Normally seen at the Eagle Field museum at Dos Palos, southeast of San Francisco, it was transported to the Napa Valley to help protect a museum member’s home near St Helena. Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo (@jcfphotog) courtesy of Jerry Sack, Miramar MCAS Fire.
#GlassFire in Deer Park, Napa Valley CA, fire damage on Mund Rd, the Mund Trailer Park is devastated with complete loss. Mutual aid fire crew from Pasadena CA monitoring 1/ pic.twitter.com/GgdtHggTjI
CAL FIRE reports that two firefighters deployed fire shelters at the Glass Fire September 27, 2020. The individuals were not injured, but several transport support vehicles were damaged.
The fire has burned over 50,000 acres in California’s North Bay near Santa Rosa and Calistoga.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Glass Fire, including the most recent, click here.
Structures have burned north of St. Helena and on the east side of Santa Rosa
Updated September 29, 2020 | 4:57 a.m. PDT
3-D map of the Glass Fire. Data from a fixed wing mapping flight at 10:15 p.m. PDT Sept. 28, 2020. Looking northeast.
On Monday the Glass Fire at Santa Rosa, California grew in all directions, even as the strong winds that initially spread the fire slowed. But the high temperature and the low relative humidity combined with low moisture in the vegetation combined to enable significant fire growth.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Glass Fire, including the most recent, click here.
At 7:52 p.m. on Monday CAL FIRE reported the fire had burned 36,236 acres. The information from a 10:15 p.m. mapping flight will probably result in another 11,000 acres being added to the total.
Map of the Glass Fire. Data from a fixed wing mapping flight at 10:15 p.m. PDT Sept. 28, 2020. The white line was the perimeter about 24 hours earlier.Map of the Glass Fire. Data from a fixed wing mapping flight at 10:15 p.m. PDT Sept. 28, 2020. Green lines represent the Tubbs and Nuns Fires of 2017.
Resources assigned to the Glass Fire include 26 hand crews, 80 fire engines, and 3 helicopters for a total of 1,466 personnel.
Updated September 28, 2020 | 5:22 p.m. PDT
The red line was the perimeter of the Glass Fire mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 10 p.m. PDT Sept. 27, 2020. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 2:48 p.m. PDT Sept. 28, 2020. The red dots could be extreme heat in the smoke column, or fire on the ground.
We have an updated map of the Glass Fire in the North Bay area, above, but it should be taken with a grain of salt. The red line was the perimeter mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 10 p.m. PDT Sept. 27, 2020. The red dots represent heat detected by a satellite 512 miles overhead at 2:48 p.m. PDT Sept. 28, 2020. The red dots could be extreme heat in the smoke column, or fire on the ground. The fire is burning so intensely that debris and burning embers in the smoke have their own heat signature, confusing the sensor on the satellite. But, we have much more confidence in the mapping from the fixed wing aircraft.
Hopefully we will get another fixed wing map Monday night.
Updated September 28, 2020 | 2:16 p.m. PDT
Note: the map below is not current, but it is the only one we have available based on actual observations, in this case, from a fixed wing mapping aircraft at 10 p.m. PDT September 27, 2020. At that time the fire had burned 11,000 acres.
Glass Fire, mapped by a fixed wing aircraft at 10 p.m. PDT September 27, 2020.
The other maps, below, are derived from sensors on satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above the Earth and can show heat from fire on the ground as well as areas of the smoke column with very intense heat.
We know the Glass Fire has spread beyond the red lines on the map above. It is well established east of Santa Rosa and south of Highway 12 in the Trione-Annadel State Park.
Structures at several wineries have burned and others are threatened.
Glass Fire: This map shows heat detected by a satellite at 2:30 a.m. PDT September 28, 2020. It shows heat from fire on the ground as well as areas of the smoke column with very intense heat. Do not use for making decisions. All locations are approximate.
Strong northeast winds have caused at least two wildfires to burn together, the Glass Fire and Shady Fire. The merged fires then spread rapidly from the Calistoga and St. Helena areas of California’s North Bay, southwest into the eastern side of Santa Rosa. At 6:15 a.m. CAL FIRE reported the blaze had burned 11,000 acres.
At about 5 a.m. what we will call the Glass Fire reached the Skyhawk community on the east side of Santa Rosa north of Highway 12, and by 6 a.m. firefighters were battling it near the intersection of the highway and Oakmont Drive.
The Glass Fire started north of St Helena on the east side of Highway 29. As the northeast winds increased, a fire occurred west of the highway. It was named Shady Fire, but may have been a spot fire from the Glass Fire. The two fires burned together and continued moving southwest toward Santa Rosa.
The fire has burned numerous structures and many more are threatened. This very dangerous fire is moving faster than authorities can make evacuation notifications. If you feel threatened do not wait for official notification.
Mandatory evacuations are in effect. For information:
The fire is being driven by strong, dry winds and fuels that have built up in an area that has not seen fire in many decades. Weather stations overnight recorded humidity in the low teens and wind gusts up to 30 mph near Santa Rosa. Winds are expected to decrease through the day on Monday, but the high temperature will be 99 with the relative humidity in the teens. A Red Flag Warning and a Heat Advisory are both in effect.
