Glass and Shady fires cause major damage to North Bay
Fires cause homeowners in the North Bay to flee
Justin Sullivan, Creative Commons
The Glass and Shady fires in Napa valley have burned over 11,000 acres of forests, homes and wineries. A Red Flag fire warning is in effect for most of Northern California.
September 28, 2020
WEB EXCLUSIVE Two roaring wildfires erupted on Sunday morning in the North Bay, burning 11,000 acres and forcing many residents to evacuate.
Junior Anneli Dolan has a home in Glen Ellen, 15 minutes north of Sonoma. Her parents drove up to gather belongings and necessities in case they are called to leave in the future.
“The fires have been getting closer to my house and are spreading really quickly,” Dolan said. “Right now, it isn’t mandatory for our area to evacuate, but all our neighbors north of us have evacuated so we probably will have to soon.”
In addition to evacuation centers, 29 cities have been ordered to evacuate immediately, with five additional cities given a warning. The centers were made for people impacted by the wildfires who need shelter and are located all around California.
The Glass Fire started north of St. Helena on the east side of Highway 29, and as the winds got stronger, the Shady Fire began west of the highway. The two fires merged together and moved southwest to Santa Rosa, according to Wildfire Today.
“I have a house in Healdsburg, a town about 20 minutes north from Santa Rosa and the fires are very close, around 1 ½ miles away from my house,” sophomore Josie Flanagan said. “My dad is there right now and it has been extremely smokey, many neighborhoods around us have even had to leave.”
Over 53,000 residents have evacuated, with 150 homes burned down. This fire has broken a record and burned 3.75 million acres in California this year, almost double the amount of the previous record year.
“I know that there have been a lot more fires this year than last year,” sophomore Stella Neuman said. “It’s really scary that such a large amount of homes have been destroyed.”
So far the fire has not been contained at all but firefighters are attempting to contain it. There is no known cause of the wildfires and it is currently under investigation.
“I am hoping that things will get better soon and am thinking of everyone who has been affected by this fire,” Dolan said. “I am especially grateful for all the firefighters who are out there trying to protect us.”
