Firefighters concerned restricted visibility may hinder air attack on Glass Fire

NAPA, Calif. (KTVU) - Firefighters in Napa and Sonoma counties braced for another long, tough day on the fire lines of the Glass Fire. 

Cal Fire officials said Friday the blaze has already consumed 60,000 acres since it sparked on Sunday with very little containment, which now sits at 6%. 

Fire officials said there has been a dramatic rise in the number of homes and businesses destroyed in the wildfire. 

Though overnight winds were much calmer than firefighters had anticipated, the Glass Fire was very active on the north end near the communities of Angwin and Pope Valley and on the west side of the fire past the community St. Helena.  

Cal Fire officials said there is still a lot of fuel that can burn and the wildfire is following the topography of the hillside.

Most of the contained area is in Sonoma County near the Santa Rosa city limits. 

Paul Lowenthal, assistant fire marshall for the Santa Rosa Fire Deparment and Cal Fire PIO for the Glass Fire incident said, "based on the potential for another round of winds overnight because we're in the Red Flag Warning, we're expecting increased fire activity on the south side of the fire. Right now Santa Rosa continues to look pretty good... however the communities of Glen Ellen and Kenwood, still remain at risk."

Heavy smoke from the wildfire has posed some challenges for fighters. On Thursday, Cal Fire was unable to use air tankers to make drops on the Glass Fire because of visibility. If the smoke doesn't clear, firefighters will again be limited in their air attack on the fire, a vital component in fighting wildfires. 

Lowenthal said that firefighters did get additional resources. There are now 2500 firefighters and support staff fighting the Glass Fire. The day before, there were were 2100.