In Pictures
In Pictures: Glass Fire in California quadruples in size
More than a thousand firefighters struggled to contain the flames ragging through California’s wine country.
A wildfire in Northern California’s Napa Valley more than quadrupled in size overnight to 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) as thousands of residents received mandatory evacuation on Monday.
The blaze, named the Glass Fire, ignited on Sunday morning near Calistoga about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of San Francisco and was fanned through the area’s famed vineyards by dry wind gusts. More than 1,000 firefighters have struggled to contain the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
It was the latest inferno in an historically destructive year throughout the US West. In California alone, wildfires so far have scorched more than 1.4 million hectares (3.7 million acres), far exceeding any single year in state history. Since August 15, fires in the state have killed 26 people and destroyed more than 7,000 structures. Climate change has contributed to wildfires’ growing intensity, scientists say.
