The Glass Fire is officially, fully contained as of Tuesday, right on schedule per earlier announcements by Cal Fire. As with other wildfires, it has taken many days than might seem intuitively necessary to get from 97-percent to 100-percent, and here we are.
The good news about this fire โ which broke out on the morning of September 27 in northern Napa County and soon spread into Sonoma County, doing an equal amount of destruction to homes in both counties โ comes just as hillside residents in both counties are dealing with another Red Flag Warning and facing imminent public-safety power shutoffs yet again this week. This fire season, apparently, isn't going away quietly or without further stress.
#GlassFire East of Calistoga in Napa & Sonoma County is 67,484 acres and 100% contained. @CALFIRELNU https://t.co/8emg5vYHv7 pic.twitter.com/ICX8vq6ykQ
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) October 20, 2020
To the point about how long full containment takes: Just several days ago, despite near-complete containment, a spot fire appeared within the perimeter of the fire near Oakmont, in Sonoma County.
The Glass fire burned a total of 67,484 acres, not nearly as much as the large lightning-caused fires that broke out six weeks earlier in multiple parts of the Bay Area. But it proved significantly destructive for wine country nonetheless, burning about 600 homes and destroying multiple wineries and commercials buildings as well. It may end up going down as the worst wildfire in Napa County history, with at least 20 wineries suffering major damage.
On Monday, PG&E put parts of Napa and Sonoma counties on alert for potential power shutoffs beginning early Thursday and extending through Friday night.
If you're curious if your power is getting shut off, go here and enter an address.
The National Weather Service today upgraded its fire weather watch that was starting Wednesday to a Red Flag Warning that now extends from Wednesday night to Friday morning. Winds from the north/northeast are expected at around 10 to 25 miles per hours at higher elevations, with gusts up to 40 miles per hour.
Valleys are also expected to see similar winds, including in the East Bay.
The Fire Weather Watch from *Wednesday night into Friday morning* has been upgraded to a ๐ฅ๐Red Flag Warning๐๐ฅ.
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) October 20, 2020
Same timing as the Fire Weather Watch, with the addition of the East Bay Hills and the San Mateo Coast. https://t.co/qrhFmBM1ku pic.twitter.com/rSBvj3LJPr
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images