The Glass Fire continued its rampage through Napa and Sonoma counties under hot, smoky skies, and a new red flag warning for high fire danger was issued until 6 a.m. Sunday, as gusty winds returned.
But in a bit of good news, rain has crept into the forecast for Friday and Saturday.
“It will be widespread,” National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Canepa said. “Three-quarters of an inch, up to an inch. And a general easing of temperatures. Things are looking up.”
Since it ignited Sept. 27 in hot windy weather, the Glass Fire has ripped through a key section of Wine Country, destroying 173 homes in Napa County and 120 in Sonoma County, as well as hundreds of other buildings, including some wineries. It has blackened over 63,000 acres and was 15% contained as of Saturday night.
The National Weather Service let a red flag warning for area around the fire expire Saturday morning after powerful winds failed to materialize, but it issued another warning Saturday around 4 p.m. for the North Bay hills above 1,000 feet — in the Glass Fire zone. Wind gusts of up to 35 mph were expected — by 9:30 p.m. Saturday, gusts of up to 29 miles per hour were recorded on Mount St. Helena near the fire zone — and the fire was “very active” Saturday, Cal Fire tweeted.
On Saturday afternoon, three large air tankers, including a 747, joined the Glass Fire fight. Smoke had prevented Cal Fire from using fixed-wing aircraft in recent days, but clearer skies allowed their return, said Donna Sager, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire. The tankers were dropping huge loads of bright orange fire retardant and joined a fleet of helicopters dumping buckets of water or retardant.
Cal Fire said hot, dry weather and an “unseasonably strong ride of high pressure” would “contribute to active fire behavior (and) containment challenges.” Temperatures in the fire area were more than 10 degrees above normal Saturday.
The main fire growth Saturday was in the Palisades area just west of Highway 29 in the vicinity of Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, Napa County Fire Chief Geoff Belyea said. The good news is that firefighters have been successful in fighting the fire off from Angwin. The fire also didn’t advance north toward Calistoga or on the southern end on the east side of Silverado Trail. Crews are making progress constructing fire lines on the west side of Highway 29 between Spring Mountain Road and Whitehall Lane, but the terrain is treacherous, Belyea said.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton said in a video update Saturday evening that “some fire” is moving into Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, which is between St. Helena and Calistoga and contains hiking trails and redwood trees.
As for Calistoga, it’s “looking a lot better,” Brunton said in a Facebook video posted Saturday after crews lengthened lines and protected houses and businesses. Angwin, home to Pacific Union College and a hospital, also had new lines set up and has the additional benefit of hosting a base for aircraft that drop water and retardant on the fires.
Angwin is “looking really good, still,” said Brunton said, who noted it was a high priority for firefighters.
Evacuation warnings were lifted for some sections of Santa Rosa on Saturday.
Smoke from the Glass Fire and other Northern California wildfires continued to make Bay Area skies gray and hazy Saturday, but they appeared a bit brighter and bluer and air quality readings were improved in some areas. The National Weather Service said the arrival of winds from the northwest should push out more smoke Sunday.
But a Spare the Air alert remains in effect through Tuesday.
Firefighters continued making progress on three other active California fires that, together with the Glass Fire, have burned a vast number of acres of Northern and Central California.
The August Complex wildfires in seven Northern California counties, now in its 47th day, grew to 984,804 acres, with 51% containment. Authorities added several areas to the regions under evacuation Friday.
Two inmate firefighters were injured in the Zogg Fire burning in Shasta and Tehama counties, Cal Fire officials reported Saturday. They were taken to a local hospital where one was treated and released and the other remained hospitalized. The fire has burned 56,305 acres, with 66% containment. Firefighters made enough progress against the blaze that they lifted some evacuation orders and allowed Whiskeytown Reservoir, which had been used by firefighting helicopters, to reopen.
“The fire had minimal growth in size and continues to burn in grass, woodland, chaparral and mixed timber,” Cal Fire said.
The Creek Fire in Fresno and Madera counties had burned 314,660 acres, with 49% containment. Sierra National Forest officials allowed people who fled the blaze in a popular recreation area on Labor Day weekend to make appointments to return and retrieve their belongings from campgrounds and cabins.
San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Mallory Moench and Lauren Hernández contributed to this report.
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