Glass fire now 15% contained after a day of steady aerial bombardment

Santa Rosa publishes damage assessment map online

9:30 PM: Santa Rosa damage assessment map goes live

The city of Santa Rosa has published an online, interactive map to help residents in evacuated areas of the Glass fire footprint learn the status of their homes.

The map, which went live Saturday afternoon, shows the locations of 29 destroyed structures and 12 damaged ones, as well as those that survived the fire that burned at the rural edges of the city below the Mayacamas ridge between Napa and Sonoma counties.

The highest concentration of fire damage was in the Skyhawk Community, with other losses scattered around the Piedmont area east of north Calistoga Road and neighborhoods south of Highway 12 around Melita Road, Stonebridge and Oakmont.

Residents can plug in their street addresses to learn the condition of their homes as well as view the map online at bit.ly/3lcspRk.

Residents affected by the Glass fire also may seek help beginning Monday at a Local Assistance Center being established at Maria Carrillo High School, 6975 Montecito Blvd., in Santa Rosa.

The center will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, offering help with replacement of documents like drivers licenses, insurance claims and rebuilding financing.

7:45 PM: Glass fire now 15% contained

The Glass fire straddling Sonoma and Napa counties has grown slightly to 63,450 acres acres but is now 15% contained, Cal Fire said Saturday evening.

The latest update follows a day of heavy aerial bombardment by large air tankers and 22 helicopters assigned to the week-old incident.

Ground forces also have continued to grow in recent days, with 2,773 firefighters — about 160 more than Saturday morning — attached to the incident by Saturday night, Cal Fire said.

4:30 PM: Renewed winds prompt new red flag warning

Just hours after the expiration of a 2-day red flag warning that had fire officials on full alert, the National Weather Service has raised new concerns about gusty conditions expected to continue through Saturday night into Sunday morning over the North Bay hills and the Glass fire area.

Meteorologist Brayden Murdock said winds could gust at slightly higher speeds than those anticipated during the breezy period that had been forecast for Thursday and Friday, expiring at 6 a.m. Saturday.

“We’re looking at up to 35 mph gusts, so not the strongest winds since the Glass fire started, but strong enough,” he said.

Temperatures around the century mark Saturday and ultra-dry fuel conditions already made for fire suppression challenges, but fire officials had hoped for subsiding winds once 6 a.m. came Saturday.

Unfortunately, winds kicked up again Saturday, making a second red flag warning necessary, Murdock said. It is set to expire at 6 a.m. Sunday.

3:10 PM: Evacuation warnings lifted for some of east Santa Rosa

Authorities have lifted evacuation warnings for some parts of east Santa Rosa, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

The following evacuation zones are no longer under evacuation warnings: Summerfield, Spring Lake, Northeast 2 and Northeast 3/Middle Rincon.

All current road closures remain in effect.

View a map of evacuation zones here.

3 PM: Air tankers return to battle Glass fire amid clearer skies

After being sidelined for the past few days due to smoky conditions, clearer skies in some areas are allowing large air tankers to aid firefighters battling the Glass fire.

“We’ll be utilizing aircraft on the Sonoma County side as needed, but our biggest push is in [northern Napa County] where we have our biggest fire concerns,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton in a video update Saturday. “... We’ve got clean air in there, we’re flying our fixed-wing air tankers dropping lots of retardant and helicopters dropping water.”

The air tankers include at least three of the very large DC-10s, which can carry up to 12,000 gallons of retardant, according to global flight tracking service Flightradar24.

Saturday is the first day air tankers have been used on the blaze since Wednesday, according Cal Fire spokesperson Donna Sager. As of Saturday afternoon, the tankers and other aircraft were mainly being sent to the Highway 29 corridor near Mount St. Helena, Sager said.

Sager could not immediately confirm how many air tankers or total fixed-wing have been assigned to Glass fire. Cal Fire reports 21 helicopters are fighting the blaze.

1:50 PM: Smoke consumes Napa Valley, ’leaving the area is the best idea’

Although the situation remains calm on the floor of Napa Valley, the air remains nightmarish, with hills 100 yards away difficult to see in any detail.

According to purpleair.com, Air Quality Index numbers in St. Helena are currently falling in the range of 410-470. That’s actually better than yesterday, but still deep into the unhealthy end of the chart. It’s only moderately better in Yountville and Napa, though by a twist of weather fate, it’s more like 150-170 in Calistoga, which is closer to active burn zones.

The Air Quality Index is a 0-500 scale, however readings can exceed 500 when conditions are extremely hazardous.

Most of the town of St. Helena has not been evacuated during the Glass fire. But hearing those AQI numbers, Ed Avol has some advice: Get the heck out.

“Even if there weren’t mandatory evacuations,” said Avol, a professor of preventive medicine at USC and chief of environmental health at the university’s school of medicine, “I think because of the excess concentrations, it’s probably a good idea for people to leave the area if they could.”

Avol noted that there are a wide range of short-term effects from prolonged exposure to smoky air, including coughing, eye irritation and the triggering of more dangerous events for people who are asthmatic or have lung disease. He said it’s hard to draw a straight line from bad air to longer-term issues such as cardiovascular respiratory diseases, but these concentrations of smoke and particulates almost certainly raise the risk.

What can residents do?

“Everything from sheltering in place, sealing doors and winds, running the air conditioner, running an air purifier, wearing a mask,” Avol said. “But again, when it’s up to 500, and up above 300, really, if at all possible, leaving the area is the best idea.”

1:05 PM: Sonoma County sheriff will not lift or downgrade evacuation orders Saturday

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office does not expect to lift or downgrade any evacuation orders for residents in unincorporated parts of the county on Saturday, the office announced in a Facebook post.

“After some detailed conversations with our partners at CAL FIRE, we unfortunately do not expect that we'll be able to lift any evacuation orders today,” the post read. “We're doing everything we can to get you back as quickly as possible and keep you informed.”

David Edney, a Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputy, said the sheriff’s office hopes to lift or downgrade more orders tomorrow. He said fire crews need to continue mopping up smoldering embers and clearing fallen trees before authorities can allow people to return home.

“It’s because they just haven’t cleared everything yet to make it safe,” Edney said.

12:45 PM: Oakmont residents “a few days closer” to returning home, Cal Fire chief says

Authorities are getting “a few days closer” to allowing residents of Oakmont in east Santa Rosa to return home, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton said Saturday in a video update on Facebook.

“Oakmont is looking fantastic, and we’re getting a few days closer to repopulation of that, but that won’t be for a little while,” Brunton said. “But it is on our radar, it is something we’re looking at. We just want to make sure it’s rendered completely safe and that we have infrastructure in place for people to repopulate that when the time comes.”

Brunton added that fire lines protecting Kenwood at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park are holding. Mop-up operations are currently in place for areas along Calistoga and St. Helena roads.

The most active part of the firefight remains in Napa County, including areas near Calistoga, the communities of Angwin and Pope Valley, and the Highway 29 corridor near Mount St. Helena.

11:30 AM: Evacuation orders issued for some parts of Mendocino County due to August Complex fire

Authorities have issued evacuation orders for some areas north and east of Round Valley in Mendocino County that are under threat from the massive August Complex fire, according to the Mendocino County Sherrif’s Office.

Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect for evacuation Zone N. That includes areas north of the middle fork of the Eel River, including the Eel River Ranger Station and Black Butte Store; west and south of the Mendocino National Forest boundary; and east of Williams Creek.

Mendocino Pass Road and Indian Dick Road are closed at the Eel River. Highway 162 is closed at Short Creek.

View a map of evacuation zones in Mendocino County here.

9:15 AM: Wind gusts still possible as red flag warning expires

Even as a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and Glass fire burn areas expired early Saturday morning, gusty winds remain a possibility while firefighters continue to battle the largely uncontained blaze.

“We’re actually still seeing (winds at) a few of the higher peaks gusting in the 25-30 mph this morning,” said Cindy Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Palmer said those gusts at higher elevations are expected to drop off into the day, which is why the weather service allowed the red flag warning to expire. However, winds that could spread flames may pick up again briefly in the late afternoon, she said.

Forecasters also expect hot and dry conditions to continue Saturday, with highs in 90s for the North Bay.

Palmer said local residents should start to see some relief from the heat Sunday, with temperatures dropping into the 80s. By Wednesday, temperatures could fall to the 70s across the North Bay.

On Sunday, winds from the northwest are forecast to push wildfire smoke currently choking the air away from some parts of the Bay Area. But for most of Sonoma and Napa and counties, the haze will likely linger into at least next week, as plumes from the Glass fire mix with smoke from the massive August and North complex fires burning in Northern California.

“The North Bay will continue to have issues, but if you’re more along the coast you could see improving conditions,” Palmer said.

The incoming winds are not expected to complicate firefighting efforts, Palmer said.

A Spare the Air alert is currently in effect through Tuesday, meaning air quality is forecast to stay at unhealthy levels through at least early next week.

8 AM: Glass fire grows 1,000 acres overnight, containment reaches 10%

The Glass fire grew more than 1,000 acres overnight, reaching a total of 62,360 acres as of Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Containment on the blaze increased to 10%, up from 8% by Friday night.

Cal Fire said flames burned “actively throughout the night” due to dry conditions and above average temperatures at higher elevations.

Jason Shanley, a Cal Fire spokesperson, said the fastest-growing part of the blaze overnight was in Napa County near Calistoga and the community of Angwin.

“That’s where a lot of the firefight was yesterday and will be today as well,” Shanley said.

A red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and Glass fire burn area expired at 6 a.m., meaning the fire risk posed by hot, dry and windy conditions is excepted to subside.

The tally of homes destroyed by the blaze remained steady with 120 losses in Sonoma County and 173 in Napa County. There are 28,835 structures currently threatened by the fire.

A total of 2,611 firefighting personnel are assigned to the blaze.

You can reach Staff Writer Ethan Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5412. On Twitter @ethanvarian