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ST HELENA, California: A wind-driven wildfire broke out Sunday (September 27) in the heart of Northern California’s Napa Valley wine country and spread over more than 1,000 acres (404 hectares), lo which forced the evacuation of several hundred homes and a hospital. authorities said.
The fire, dubbed the Glass Fire, broke out before dawn near Calistoga, about 75 miles (120 km) north of San Francisco, and raced into the adjacent cities of Deer Park and St. Helena, with flames advancing about a mile from the Adventist Hospital Health St Helena.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A structure engulfed in flames is seen during the Glass Fire in Calistoga, California on September 27, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Stephen Lam)
The 55 patients who were in the hospital at the time were safely evacuated by ambulance and helicopter over the course of five hours, starting around 7 a.m., hospital spokeswoman Linda Williams told Reuters.
“We had ambulances lined up from all over the bay area,” he said, adding that while the facility was surrounded by smoke, the skies over the hospital remained clear enough for helicopters to land and take off with patients who needed to be evacuated. by air.
She said it was the second wildfire-related evacuation of the 151-bed hospital in about a month, in the immediate aftermath of a massive cluster of lightning fires that swept through several counties north of the San Francisco Bay region.
A Cal Fire firefighter creates a firebreak during the Glass Fire in Calistoga, California, on Sept. 27, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Stephen Lam)
Evacuation orders were also released Sunday for Deer Park and several other Napa County communities, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) spokesman Tyree Zander.
Some 600 homes were under evacuation orders, and residents of approximately 1,400 other homes were warned to be ready to flee at any time. Some 5,000 people in total were affected by the evacuation notices, she said.
As of 1.30 p.m., flames fanned by winds of up to 50 miles per hour (80 kph) had burned some 1,200 acres (485 hectares) of rolling grassy slopes and oak forests, with zero percent containment, Zander said.
A firefighting helicopter releases water over a burning hillside during the Glass Fire in Calistoga, Calif., On Sept. 27, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Stephen Lam)
There were no immediate reports of injuries, but a Reuters photographer in Saint Helena saw several structures that had been burned.
Napa Valley, known worldwide as one of California’s top wine-producing regions, has been affected by a series of wildfires in and around the Bay Area in recent years.
The latest came when Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced that it was temporarily cutting power to transmission lines in parts of 16 counties in northern and central California as a precaution against increased wildfire risks posed by dry, windy, and hot.
Trees and vegetation are engulfed in flames during the glass fire in St Helena, California on September 27, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Stephen Lam)
The public safety power outages were expected to affect about 65,000 homes and businesses in the region, said PG&E, the state’s largest electric utility company.
A red flag warning for extreme wildfire risks was to remain posted for Napa Valley through Monday morning, Zander said.
CalFire said a fire weather alert would go into effect Monday across much of Southern California due to a return forecast of hot, gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity from San Diego to Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
