Death Toll Rises in California Blazes as High Winds Approach

(Bloomberg) -- Even as firefighters in Northern California’s wine country battle a blaze that forced the evacuation of entire towns, a forecast of extreme heat and dry winds threatens to breath new life into the inferno.

Fire officials are bracing for an increase in winds that they said could further fuel the Glass fire in Napa Valley, charred nearly 57,000 acres and destroyed more than 240 homes and buildings since early Sunday. Wind gusts of 25-30 miles (40-48 kilometers) per hour were forecast for Thursday afternoon through Friday evening while temperatures in the city of Napa hit 102 Fahrenheit Thursday.

“We have heightened fire conditions with heavy winds, hot temperatures and high humidity,” Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton told reporters Thursday afternoon.

Four people have now been killed in a separate blaze, the Zogg Fire, burning further north in Shasta County, authorities said Thursday. It’s charred more than 55,000 acres.

California has been battered for weeks by rounds of extreme weather that state officials say have been fueled by climate change. In August, a record-breaking heat wave triggered the state’s first rotating power outages since the 2001 energy crisis. More than 8,100 wildfires have burned a record 3.9 million acres this year, choking cities with smoke, killing at least 29 people and destroying more than 7,200 structures.

The Glass Fire began as strong, dry winds raked the hills above Napa Valley, near the town of Calistoga, whose residents were ordered to evacuate. But in recent days, calmer and cooler weather helped slow the fire’s growth. Only 1,840 acres burned overnight Tuesday, and by Thursday morning, firefighters had contained 5% of the blaze. The next wind event could stymie that progress.

“We’re looking at a very similar wind event as when this fire first started moving out,” said Incident Commander Billy See with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, at a press conference Wednesday. “We’re preparing for the worst-case scenario, and we’re hoping for the best. So firefighters are going to be working around the clock securing those lines.”

In anticipation of the heat, California’s grid operator urged energy conservation Thursday due to expected high electricity demand. The operator also asked power providers and transmission owners to restrict maintenance to ensure adequate power supplies.

The fire is raging northeast of Santa Rosa, an area devastated by the 2017 Tubbs Fire that was among the most destructive in California history. Properties damaged in the famed vineyard region included the Chateau Boswell estate, the Meadowood resort and the Castello di Amorosa winery.

Fire-fighting resources have been spread thin because of the high number of wildfires across the state and help is coming from as far away as Wisconsin, Brunton said.

California’s peak wildfire season traditionally runs from September through November. It has grown longer and less predictable in recent years, with blazes coming as late as December.

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