Vincent Moleski
The Sacramento Bee
NAPA, Calif. — Another Northern California wildfire started Sunday morning in Napa County after weather forecasters warned of fire danger due to high winds.
The wildfire, called the Glass Fire, was burning east of Calistoga and west of Angwin at 800 acres after Cal Fire first reported it at 4:45 a.m. The fire swelled to 1,000 acres by noon, reflecting the fast rate of growth that had firefighters anxious of nearby residences. By 4 p.m., it had grown to 1,500 acres.
Cal Fire’s Lake-Napa-Sonoma Unit said that the vegetation fire had a “dangerous rate of spread” and was pushing toward the community of Deer Park.
Several evacuation orders are already in place, including Deer Park, which has a population of about 1,200. All residents of Crystal Springs and North Fork Crystal Springs roads have been told to leave. College Avenue between Howell Mountain Road and White Cottage Road has also been evacuated. All of Freisen Drive and Lommel Road were also included in evacuation orders.
By Sunday afternoon, additional areas were given evacuation orders. All those on the east side of Silverado Trail between Deer Park Road and Meadowview Road were told to evacuate. Meadowood Napa Valley, a large hotel and golf club, was included in this order. An evacuation warning was also issued for the east side of the Silverado Trail between Howell Mountain and Taplin Road, an area which includes several vineyards.
Adventist Health St. Helena, a hospital in Deer Park, was forced to stop all medical treatment and transfer all patients out due to the fire.
Some structures appear to have been caught in the blaze. A photographer for The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa recorded video of a home swallowed up by flames, with its roof caved in.
An evacuation center is open at Crosswalk Community Church in Napa.
Firefighters have yet to contain the fire and are anticipating poor conditions.
“We are expecting winds throughout the day as forecasted,” Cal Fire LNU wrote in a social media update.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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