California wine country ablaze as new wildfires force evacuations

Firefighters in the US state of California battled destructive new wildfires in wine country north of San Francisco on Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already badly scorched state. The new fires erupted on Sunday in the famed Napa-Sonoma wine region and in far Northern California’s Shasta County, forcing hasty evacuations of neighbourhoods. One blaze, since 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 a thousand firefighters have struggled to contain the flames, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). In wine country, flames engulfed the distinctive Chateau Boswell Winery north of St Helena, The Black Rock Inn in the small community of St Helena and multiple homes in the city of Santa Rosa, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Residents of a senior home were among those evacuated. The Adventist Health St Helena hospital suspended care and transferred all patients elsewhere, according to a statement on its website. The wine country blaze had burned 44 square kilometres (17 square miles) as of early Monday, according to Cal Fire. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">