California Gov. Newsom tours damage wreaked by Glass Fire

ST. HELENA, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday toured the damage wreaked by Glass Fire, kicking off his news conference at an elementary school in St. Helena saying he was visiting yet "another disaster."

His visit comes a day after he declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma and Shasta counties. 

But he touted a new partnership with the US Forest Service to manage land and continue fire suppression efforts. 

And he continued to talk about what humans could do to decarbonize and reduce global warming. 

"We're hoping to raise consciousness that climate change is real," Newsom said. 

The Napa County region is also personal for Newsom. He mentioned he visited a cousin along his travels. Newsom and his wife own stock in the Plumpjack Group, a consortium of wineries jointly owned by several investors, including Plumpjack Winery located in Napa. 

As of Thursday, the fire had scorched about 56,781 acres, or nearly 90 square miles, and was just 5% contained. So far, there have been no deaths associated with this fire. 

But more than 100 homes and several wineries and landmarks have been destroyed by the blaze, which KTVU reported started Sunday emote vineyard on a secluded hillside in Napa Valley. 

Neighbors told KTVU the property belongs to Cakebread Cellars, a well-known winery on Highway 29 in the heart of the Napa Valley. A spokeswoman for the company said in a statement that they are "cooperating with and providing information to Cal Fire."

Newsom last toured a fire-ravaged site just about two weeks ago on Sept. 15. He and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris visited the scorched property from the Creek Fire across from Pine Ridge Elementary School in an unincorporated area of Fresno. 

There are about 30 wildfires raging through California and Cal Fire on Thursday announced that two of the largest lightning complexes that began in August, the LNU Complex and the SCU Complex, are 100% contained. Currently, Cal Fire reported that more than 96,000 residents are evacuated across the state.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been over 8,100 wildfires that have burned well over 3.9 million acres in California.