Glass Fire in California Burns 1 Acre Every 5 Seconds, Officials Say (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their Northern California homes in recent days as the fast-moving Glass Fire continues to grow.
The fire has tripled in size since it began Sunday, burning 36,236 acres and having 0% containment, Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nichols said at a Monday evening press conference. The Glass Fire sparked in Napa Valley early Sunday morning around 4 a.m. PT, growing at a rate of around 1 acre every five seconds between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to satellite images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
More than 70,000 people have been ordered to evacuate in Sonoma and Napa counties. At least 21 people have been treated at hospitals for burns, according to local hospitals in the area. A red flag warning remains in effect for the region until 9 pm local time Monday.
Flames tore through vineyards and structures near St. Helena, roaring over hills and jumping across both the Silverado Trail and the Lodi River, despite fire crews efforts to contain it, according to CNN affiliate KPIX.
While a number of structures have been damaged and destroyed by the Glass Fire, an exact figure was not yet available Monday evening. More than 8,500 structures were threatened across Sonoma, Lake, and Napa counties, according to a press release from Cal Fire.
Fueled by dry conditions and high winds, two other wildfires also erupted in the area Sunday night: The Boysen Fire just west of St. Helena and the Shady Fire near Santa Rosa, according to KPIX. Flames also engulfed California's famed Chateau Boswell Winery along the Silverado Trail in the St. Helena area, KPIX reports.
Three people have died as a result of a fast-moving Zogg Fire in Shasta County that has quickly grown to 15,000 acres, Shasta County Sheriff-Coroner Eric Magrini announced in a press conference on Monday.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would commit more money for suppression and prevention of wildfires. There is a historic amount of money in the current budget, Newsom said.
Details of Newsom's plan are expected in the coming weeks, but the governor said they will include predictive fire analysis that allows for pre-positioning firefighting equipment and teams based on weather patterns, infrared technology, more cameras and new equipment for both air suppression and traditional ground firefighting.
"There's a lot of progress. We are not just standing still," Newsom said in a press conference Monday. "We're not just victims of fate. We want to shape this future. We want to work on suppression and work on prevention and then work on adaptation strategies that are longer term as it relates to decarbonizing our economy."
There have been more than 8,100 wildfires in the state this year and firefighters continue to fight at least 25 major blazes, Cal Fire said in a news release Sunday.
Fire has prompted tens of thousands of evacuations in Sonoma County, Santa Rosa Fire PIO Paul Lowenthal told KPIX.
Many have also been forced to leave Napa County, where thousands are under some form of evacuation notification, Napa County spokeswoman Janet Upton told CNN Sunday night.
