Some Residents Return To Napa, Sonoma Counties As Evacuation Orders Are Eased

Emergency officials eased some evacuation orders in Sonoma County Friday as crews battled the Glass Fire, which has stretched into rural and rugged areas of the region. 

Areas to the east and south of Santa Rosa have been downgraded to an evacuation warning. Emergency officials have cautioned that residents should be ready to evacuate again at a moment’s notice, depending on changes in conditions. 

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for parts of Napa and Sonoma counties through Friday evening due to high temperatures and windy conditions. The winds remained calm through much of Friday, favoring firefighters in their effort to control the blaze. At a Friday morning press conference, officials said the conditions are expected to improve in the coming days, with lower temperatures and higher humidity. 

As of Friday morning, the Glass Fire had burned more than 60,000 acres and was 6% contained. At least 120 homes have been destroyed and another 69 damaged. 

Some evacuees began returning to the area Friday, now blanketed with thick smoke. 

Reilly Keenan, a junior winemaker at Keenan Winery, witnessed the flames as they climbed up Spring Mountain Road toward the winery.

Keenan Winery was spared, but others weren’t so lucky.

“I know that we lost up to five wineries up there [and] countless homes,” Reilly said. “I think we're only just learning the true extent of what's been destroyed right now. There's still fire up there as we speak.”

Others chose not to leave, and instead protect their property and the property of family and friends. 

Erick Caldera-Yanez filled a gas can at a station in Calistoga to refill his generator, and planned to bring some fuel to neighbors who also stayed behind.

“By giving them gas or doing the small things, it helps big time,” he said. 

Caldera-Yanez is adamant about staying put. He says he won’t leave unless there’s “a fire at least two feet in front of me,” or if law enforcement orders him to clear out.

Reilly Keenan

Reilly Keenan, a junior winemaker at Keenan Winery, witnessed the flames as they climbed up Spring Mountain Road toward the winery.Scott Rodd / CapRadio

Reilly Keenan is a junior winemaker and sales director at Keenan Winery in Spring Mountain. While much of their wine and harvest were spared from the flames, he still worries about what this fire will mean for Spring Mountain’s wineries.

“It's a fairly brutal position to look at this from, but what happened in the last couple of days is very good for the mountain itself. But for the people and the people that come visit Spring Mountain AVA [American Viticultural Area], I think it's going to be a negative because we lost five very important wineries that draw thousands of visitors every single day.

Spring Mountain is a very remote AVA, so you really have to commit to visiting it if you're gonna spend your time as a visitor wisely.

[2017] had the same effect. We had a drop off in visitors. Napa did as a whole. But Spring Mountain is just kind of way out there. So the more thriving wineries we have, the better it is for everyone around. So the loss of anything is going to impact all of us.”

Shari Gardner

Shari Gardner lives at Keenan Winery, where her husband, Matt Gardner, is the general manager. Her family evacuated on Sunday as the fire approached them.

“We've always lived in an area that is potentially fire-prone. There hasn't been a fire where we live in over 100 years, probably 150 years, in that little part of Spring Mountain. But every summer, we always knew there could be a fire. There's lots of vegetation around us, which we love. It's one of the reasons we love it so much out there. But it is a fire hazard.

The frequency and intensity of the fires and the way this fire has behaved is something new. And from the firefighters I've talked with, that's sort of what they've been saying. They're just sort of a little bit confused about how to best address these fires. They're just hungry, I guess. I don't know how to describe it. It is really scary.”

Erick Caldera-Yanez

Erick Caldera-Yanez filled a gas can at a station in Calistoga to refill his generator, and planned to bring some fuel to neighbors who also stayed behind.Scott Rodd / CapRadio

Erick Caldera-Yanez grew up in this region, and has seen fires strike here before. He stuck around near Calistoga to help others who chose to stay.

“I was here in the first fire, the Tubbs one, and we didn't leave. We witnessed it all. I mean, the winds, it’s just nuts how far it can take it. It picked up to Santa Rosa like all these ones. 

I was heading to work in this [Glass Fire]. I work in St. Helena and at 3 in the morning, you start seeing the embers on the side of the mountain, and literally three days after, it's back in Santa Rosa. The wind shift is amazingly crazy.

You can't mess around with Mother Nature. It's something we should all be very precautious about.”