News

Details

Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 29 September 2020

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – As the Glass and Zogg fires continued to tear through parts of Northern California on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for three counties.

The Glass fire, which began early Sunday morning, more than tripled in size on Monday, with Cal Fire reporting by nightfall that it had burned 36,236 acres across neighboring Napa and Sonoma counties, with zero containment.

The fire, which has prompted tens of thousands of North Coast residents to leave their homes under mandatory evacuation orders, is threatening 8,543 structures. Cal Fire said Monday night that it has destroyed 113 buildings and damaged two others.

Farther to the north, the Zogg fire in Shasta County, which began Sunday afternoon, was up to 31,237 acres and no containment on Monday night, Cal Fire said. It has killed three civilians, is threatening 1,538 structures and has so far destroyed 146 buildings.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which concluded on Monday a public safety power shutoff to 65,000 customers across 15 counties due to the red flag warning in effect through the weekend, said it’s continuing to closely monitor the Glass and Zogg fires and is working closely with first responders and Cal Fire.

On Monday night, the company said approximately 24,000 of its customers in Napa, Sonoma, Shasta and Tehama counties impacted by wildfires are without power. In some instances, power was turned off in partnership with Cal Fire and for the safety of firefighters in active fire areas or due to damage caused from wildfire-related impacts to equipment.

Also on Monday night, Gov. Newsom issued his state of emergency declaration for Napa and Sonoma counties due to the Glass fire and for Shasta County due to the Zogg fire.

The governor on Monday also sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting a presidential major disaster declaration to assist state and local wildfire response and recovery efforts in the counties of Fresno, Los Angeles, Madera, Mendocino, San Bernardino, San Diego and Siskiyou.

California previously secured a presidential major disaster declaration to bolster the state’s emergency response to the Northern California wildfires as well as Fire Management Assistance Grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support the state’s ongoing response to fires burning across the state.

In addition, Gov. Newsom has declared a statewide emergency due to the widespread fires and extreme weather conditions, activated the State Operations Center to its highest level and signed an executive order to streamline recovery efforts in communities impacted by the devastating fires.

Through the night on Monday and into early Tuesday, scanner traffic indicated the struggle firefighters are facing with the Glass fire, as it makes runs over ridges, spot fires develop and some residents who refused to evacuate called in for help as the fire approached their homes.

Calistoga, which was placed under evacuation on Monday evening, appeared abandoned later in the night, according to Lake County News correspondent Gemini Garcia.

Garcia said the fire was burning along Silverado Trail at Highway 29. She said dozers were headed up Palisades Road near Calistoga. “It’s the only sound you can hear from any viewpoint.”

Fires burning now among state’s largest

In a briefing on Monday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom said 27 major wildland incidents were burning across the state.

Separately, Cal Fire reported that there have been more than 8,100 wildfires that have burned more than 3.7 million acres in California since the start of the year.

Since Aug. 15, when California’s fire activity elevated, there have been 26 fatalities and over 7,000 structures destroyed, Cal Fire said.

Five of the six largest wildland fires in recorded California history are now burning.

They include the August Complex in the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests, an area that includes northern Lake County, the largest fire in state history at more than 902,463 acres; the SCU Lightning Complex, the third-largest in history, which has burned 396,624 acres in Alameda, Contra Costa, Merced, San Joaquin, Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties; the LNU Lightning Complex, No. 4, at 363,220 acres, burning in Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano and Yolo counties; the North Complex, No. 5, which has burned 306,135 acres in Butte and Plumas counties; and the Creek fire, at 304,640 acres, burning in Fresno and Madera counties, is No. 6.

The 2018 Mendocino Complex, which burned 459,123 acres in Colusa, Glenn, Lake and Mendocino counties, is the second-largest fire in state history.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.