SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After months of investigation, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention has concluded it cannot determine the cause of the destructive Glass fire that raged through the North San Francisco Bay Area in 2020.
The blaze erupted in the early-morning hours of Sept. 27 in Napa County and went on to consume more than 67,000 acres, or 105 square miles, and destroy more than 1,500 structures before full containment.
"After a very meticulous and thorough investigation, which included months of follow-up on information provided by the public, not enough evidence was available to conclusively identify the cause," the state agency wrote in a news release sent Friday.
That means the cause is officially labeled "undetermined" and the formal investigation has ended, "pending any additional information or evidence that could lead to the determination of the cause."
Cal Fire said the "extreme rates of fire spread" caused by dry tinder, strong wind, warm temperatures and low humidity "contributed to the difficulty in determining the cause of the fire."
No deaths were reported in connection with the Glass fire, but structure loss made it the 10th most destructive fire in California history, Cal Fire records show.
The fire destroyed close to 800 homes across Sonoma and Napa counties, and hundreds of commercial structures — some of them picturesque wineries, in the region nicknamed Wine Country.
