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California Wine Country Wildfire Forces Evacuation of Hospital, Hundreds of
Homes

Reuters

   A wind-drivenwildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern
   California'sNapa Valley wine country to spread across nearly809
   hectares, forcing the evacuation of a hospital andhundreds of homes,
   authorities said.

   Fire crews were out in force, scrambling to fend off flamesthreatening
   neighborhoods and vineyards at the northern end ofthe famed
   wine-growing valley and surrounding hillsides, about120kilometersnorth
   of San Francisco.

   The blaze, dubbed the Glass Fire, broke out before dawn nearCalistoga
   and raced toward the adjacent communities of Deer Parkand St. Helena,
   with flames reaching within a mile of theAdventist Health St. Helena
   hospital.

   All 55 patients there at the time were safely evacuated byambulance and
   helicopter over the course of five hours fromabout 7 a.m., hospital
   spokeswoman Linda Williams told Reuters.

   "We had ambulances lined up from all over the Bay area," shesaid,
   adding that although smoke shrouded the facility, theskies above were
   clear enough for helicopters' airlift efforts.

   It was the second wildfire-related evacuation of the 151-bedhospital in
   a month, after a massive cluster oflightning-sparked blazes that swept
   several counties north ofthe San Francisco Bay region in August.

   Authorities ordered about 600 homes evacuated on Sunday,with residents
   of 1,400 more warned to be ready to flee at amoment's notice, said
   Tyree Zander, a spokesman for the state'sforestry and fire protection
   department (CalFire). The noticesaffected at least 5,000 people, he
   added.

   By evening, flames stoked by winds gusting up to 80kph had scorched
   about 728 hectares of grassyrolling hillsides and oak woodlands, with
   little or nocontainment, Zander said.

   Fire at harvest time

   The cause of the fire is being investigated. There were noimmediate
   reports of injuries, but a Reuters photographer in St.Helena saw some
   structures that had been burned.

   The blaze erupted midway through the traditionalgrape-harvesting period
   in the Napa Valley, world renowned asone of California's premiere
   wine-producing regions. The area's475 wineries account for just 4% of
   the state's total annualgrape harvest but half of the retail value of
   all Californiawines sold, according to the Napa Valley Vintners trade
   group.

   Of Napa's 16 wine-growing districts, or sub-appellations,the Howell
   Mountain area may have faced the greatest threat,said Lisa Covey, a
   spokeswoman for Hall Family Wines, which keptopen during the day all
   its three tasting rooms in the county.

   Napa and other wine-growing regions have been hit bywildfires in and
   around the Bay area for several years. SusanKrausz, co-owner of
   Arkenstone Estate Vineyards in the HowellMountain community of Angwin,
   said it would take days or weeksto assess the impact of the latest
   blaze on valley vintners.

   "Most people have harvested," she said, but added, "Anytime's a bad
   time for a fire."

   Tom Kaljian, 78, a realtor who owns a house about halfwaybetween
   Calistoga and St. Helena, defied evacuation orders tospend the day with
   his wife hosing down their home and dry brushalong a fence line
   separating their property from the SilveradoTrail, a key north-south
   roadway.

   "We were told to get out of here, but I was trying toprotect our little
   abode, so we stayed," he told Reuters bytelephone.

   After firefighters told him the house was no longer indanger, he added,
   "I stopped watering at that point, and came inand took a nap."

   The Glass Fire came as the Pacific Gas and Electric Companysaid it was
   temporarily halting power to transmission lines inparts of 16 counties
   across northern and central California toguard against greater wildfire
   risks in hot, windy, dry weather.

   The public safety power shutoffs were expected to affectabout 65,000
   regional homes and businesses, said PG&E, thestate's largest electric
   utility.

   A red flag warning for extreme wildfire risks for NapaValley would run
   through Monday morning, Zander said.

   CalFire said a fire weather watch would start on Mondayacross much of
   Southern California, following the forecastreturn of hot, gusty Santa
   Ana winds and low humidity.

   California wildfires have scorched more than1.5millionhectaresin the
   first nine months of 2020, far exceeding any singleyear in state
   history, killing 26 people and destroying morethan 7,000 structures.

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