Two California wildfires that ravaged Napa's famous wine region and killed three people exploded in size Tuesday as a fire chief said firefighters face weeks battling to contain the blazes.
The Glass Fire enveloping some of northern California's world-famous vineyards has scorched nearly 73 square miles (more than 188 square kilometers) and destroyed about 95 structures, including at least 80 homes.
The fire is only two percent contained, despite the efforts of some 1,500 firefighters.
Footage taken by a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection helicopter crew shows the fire wreak devastation over a mountainside northwest of the town of Angwin, which has a population of 3,836.
Celebrated Napa wineries such as Chateau Boswell and part of Castello di Amorosa have been lost to the flames, which reached the fringes of Santa Rosa - the largest town in neighboring Sonoma County.
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Fire Fighters watch as the edge of the fire creeps across a field towards a line they scrapped into the earth with hand tools as the Glass Fire continues to burn Tuesday in Napa Valley, California
Some thousands of bottles of wines are seen destroyed at the Castello di Amorosa winery after it was damaged by the Glass Fire in Calistoga, California, Tuesday
The Glass Fire enveloping some of northern California's world-famous vineyards has scorched nearly 73 square miles
Charred bottles are seen in the remains of the a warehouse in the Farm House at the Castello di Amorosa winery which was gutted by the Glass Fire in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday
Santa Rosa fire chief Tony Gossner said it would take weeks to bring the flames under control, warning 'it's going to be kind of long, and it's going to be painful'
The Zogg Fire, which ignited on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, forced the evacuation of more than 1,200 people, spreading over 23 square miles by Monday
Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated from towns including the entirety of wine tourism destination Calistoga.
'It looks like a bomb went off,' 61-year-old resident Joe Ortega told the San Francisco Chronicle. 'The trees go up like matches.'
Will Abrams and his family's have had to flee the area for a third time in as many years, after their home in Santa Rosa was destroyed in the 2017 fires.
He said: 'This time we hurried up and packed up the car, and we were in gridlock traffic on 12 while the flames were approaching from behind. It was just obviously traumatic on a personal level, but also just that so little has changed since the fires of 2017 in terms of preparedness and prevention.
'I'm trying to prepare my kids and let them know that climate change is part of life and they're going to have to deal with it as they get older and also trying to provide them a sense of safety and security. It's not easy. But we should not accept this is the way it's going to be.'
Cal Fire official Jonathan Cox said 80 houses have been destroyed between the Napa and Sonoma County
Local civilians work to extinguish a fire creeping towards the edge of St Helena Highway as the Glass Fire continues to burn in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday
Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated from towns including the entirety of wine tourism destination Calistoga
Celebrated Napa wineries such as Chateau Boswell and part of Castello di Amorosa have been lost to the flames, which reached the fringes of Santa Rosa
The fire was sparked Sunday by unknown sources, and spread rapidly through dry vegetation due to high winds that have since eased. Temperatures remain high in the region
Cal Fire official Jonathan Cox said 80 houses have been destroyed between the Napa and Sonoma County.
Santa Rosa fire chief Tony Gossner said it would take weeks to bring the flames under control, warning 'it's going to be kind of long, and it's going to be painful'.
Billy See, a Cal Fire incident commander, said at a news conference on Tuesday: 'We’re trying to protect the city of Santa Rosa as best we can and control this fire.'
Mike Christianson and his wife, Mluz Torres, who were at an evacuation center Tuesday, had watched the fire engulf their Napa County home.
He said: 'It was within five minutes, the entire side of the hill was on fire. All trees, all burning, all roaring like a jet.
'And at that moment, we realized that it was time to go. So we grabbed a few things, jumped in the car.'
The region is still reeling from devastating wildfires in 2017 when 44 people died and thousands of buildings were razed.
Firefighters watch as the fire rages down a hillside in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick acknowledged 'some significant fire fatigue' in the community during a news conference Tuesday
Damaged fermentation tanks are left behind at the Fairwinds Estate Winery that was destroyed by the Glass Fire in Calistoga, California, Tuesday
Scott Weems, a local civilian, rides an all-terrain vehicle between homes threatened by the Glass Fire in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday
Smoke rises over a vineyard as the Glass Fire burns in Calistoga, California, Monday. The fire is only two percent contained, despite the efforts of some 1,500 firefighters
Residents of the Oakmont Gardens senior home evacuate by bus as the Shady Fire approaches Santa Rosa California, Monday
Further to the north, in what has already been a historically devastating wildfire season for California, a blaze in a heavily forested area of rural Shasta County has killed three people and destroyed nearly 150 buildings.
The circumstances of their deaths are not known. More than 1,200 people have been evacuated for the Zogg Fire, which has burned more than 72 square miles (nearly 203 square kilometers).
Zogg incident commander Sean Kavanaugh said winds from the north have subsided, giving firefighters an opportunity to get resources around the large fire.
He said: 'The weather has given us a break. We're going to take the opportunity where we can, with the change in the weather, the calmness.'
That area, too, has seen recent fire devastation. It was torched just two years ago by the deadly Carr Fire - infamously remembered for producing a huge tornado-like fire whirl.
A firefighter approaches a fire line he scrapped into the earth with hand tools as the Glass Fire continues to burn in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday
The Farm House at the Castello di Amorosa winery is seen gutted by the Glass Fire in Napa Valley, California, Tuesday
A kitten cowers in the burned landscape left by the Zogg Fire near Ono, California, on Sunday
The region is still reeling from devastating wildfires in 2017 when 44 people died and thousands of buildings were razed
Private firefighter Bradcus Schrandt gives an injured kitten water at the Zogg Fire near Ono, California, Sunday
Both fires were sparked Sunday by unknown sources, and spread rapidly through dry vegetation due to high winds that have since eased. Temperatures remain high in the region.
The new blazes come during a record season, with five of California's six biggest wildfires in history currently burning and 3.8 million acres scorched.
Climate change amplifies droughts which dry out regions, creating ideal conditions for wildfires to spread out-of-control and inflict unprecedented material and environmental damage.
Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday warned that California is only 'now moving into the peak of the wildfire season,' with Santa Ana winds sweeping south toward Los Angeles, where another major heat wave is expected.
Evacuations have been complicated by the coronavirus, which has hit the Golden State hard with more than 810,000 confirmed cases.
