California wildfires rage as wine country blaze forces evacuation of hospital, thousands of homes
Ns News Online Desk: The Glass Incident has scorched at least 11,000 acres and spurred evacuations in Napa and Sonoma Countieshousands of homes and a hospital have been evacuated in California’s wine country as a fast-spreading wildfire has exploded in size Monday with another day of dangerous fire conditions in a badly scorched state.Cal Fire said the blazes, dubbed the Glass Incident, have now grown to at least 11,000 acres and remains 0% contained as it threatens neighborhoods and vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties, located about 75 miles north of San Francisco. The blaze started early Sunday.
“Two additional fires have started overnight and been merged with the Glass Incident,” the agency said Monday morning.The wildfire began as the Glass Fire north of St. Helena before moving at a “dangerous rate of spread.””We woke up in the middle of the night and saw flames,” Jan Zakin of St. Helena told KGO-TV. “I was in my underwear, there was a car on fire blocking access out, my dog ran away, I still haven’t found her, we left with nothing, just literally with nothing. We’re so lucky to be alive.”
No injuries have been reported yet, but over,8,500 structures are threatened, according to Cal Fire.Flames reached within a mile of the Adventist Health St. Helena hospital, where all 55 patients were safely evacuated by ambulance and helicopter over a five-hour period starting at 7 a.m. Sunday.“We had ambulances lined up from all over the Bay area,” hospital spokeswoman Linda Williams told Reuters.Evacuation orders stretched through both counties, with residents of some 600 homes ordered to leave and 1,400 placed on notice, according to Cal Fire. Some 5,000 people were impacted by the notices.
The Black Rock Inn in the small community of St. Helena and multiple homes in the city of Santa Rosa, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.The 4,500-resident Oakmont senior community was among areas evacuated, along with residents of a senior home.
“It was scary and I didn’t expect it to be so close,” Oakmont resident Doris Tietze told the Chronicle.
Two fires in Sonoma County that broke out later Sunday were believed to have been unleashed by the Glass Fire, KTVU reported. Those have since merged with the main blaze.
“The fire has been at a dangerous rate of spread and has expanded into Sonoma County,” the agency said.Neighborhoods in Santa Rosa were given evacuation warnings late Sunday by police as the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office also said “there are multiple fires on Los Alamos Road and St Helena Road” that prompted other evacuation orders.
