Cal Fire declares full containment of Glass fire
Firefighters have completely contained the 67,000-acre Glass fire, Cal Fire said Tuesday, more than three weeks after it ignited in the eastern Napa Valley hills and crossed into Sonoma County, destroying 1,555 structures in two counties.
The blaze, which broke out early Sunday morning Sept. 27 along North Fork Crystal Springs Road on Howell Mountain, crossed the Napa Valley and sparked in the Mayacamas Mountains before it cascaded into eastern Sonoma County. It burned along a path between burn scars from the 2017 North Bay firestorm.
Nearly 1,600 structures were destroyed in the blaze, including 338 homes in Sonoma County and 308 in Napa County, according to Cal Fire. The inferno reached 67,484 acres over a 23-day span before firefighters reached 100% containment.
Fire crews will continue patrolling the Glass fire burn zone to monitor hot spots and respond to any incident should one arise, Cal Fire spokesman Tyree Zander said. Smoke from hot spots could be visible in the coming weeks as fire weather conditions persist, prompting two consecutive red flag warnings this week alone.
“It’s 100% contained, but not 100% controlled,” Zander said. "The red flag warning is keeping everything dry and warm, so hot spots will come up through the roots and stumps (creating smoke) that people might see.”
A fully contained fire means a complete perimeter has been created, Zander said. A fully controlled fire is when there is no active burning or threat.
The bulk of the residential losses in Sonoma County were in the Skyhawk community in east Santa Rosa, but homes were burned around the Piedmont area east of north Calistoga Road and neighborhoods south of Highway 12 around Melita Road, Stonebridge and Oakmont.
Were it not for the heroic efforts of local fire crews and police who protected numerous homes and evacuated thousands of residents in a matter of hours, the toll may have been much greater.
About 33,870 Sonoma County residents were either evacuated or warned they might have to leave when the Glass fire posed the greatest risk to populated areas. More than 19,000 residents were forced to evacuate, including 12,925 people from Santa Rosa.
In Napa County, residents of the cities of Calistoga and St. Helena were both forced to evacuate, as well as the town of Angwin and parts of Pope Valley near Mount St. Helena.
Nearly 2,800 personnel were assigned to the Glass fire at its peak.
You can reach Staff Writer Yousef Baig at 707-521-5390 or yousef.baig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @YousefBaig.
