ST. HELENA, Calif.: A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern California’s Napa Valley wine country and spread across more than 1,000 acres (404 hectares), forcing the evacuation of several hundreds homes and a hospital, authorities said.
Fire crews were out in force, scrambling to fend off flames threatening neighbourhoods and vineyards in the northwest corner of the famed wine-growing valley, about 75 miles (120 km) north of San Francisco.
The blaze, dubbed the Glass Fire, broke out before dawn near Calistoga and raced toward the adjacent towns of Deer Park and St. Helena, with flames advancing to within a mile of the Adventist Health St. Helena hospital.
All 55 patients who were at the hospital at the time were safely evacuated by ambulance and helicopter over the course of five hours,…