Glass Fire Update: Calistoga Homeowners On Edge As Glass Fire Continues To Threaten
CALISTOGA (KPIX 5) -- It was another day of watching, waiting, and hoping in the areas around Calistoga Thursday as the Glass Fire continued to threaten homes from multiple directions.
"I drove down here about two hours ago, and it looked like it just started. So I flipped around to get packed and ready to leave," said Calistoga resident John Langhoff, who had just run into a fire on the west side of the valley.
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Fire actually crept through the hills on both sides of Napa Valley Thursday. In places like Jericho Canyon, which is just outside of Calistoga, sheriff's deputies were demanding that people leave.
"I'm trying to decide what the owner of the vineyard that I work at is going to do," said Paul Toti of Calistoga. "I'm part of the team, and he's got his son and two other people."
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Barely five minutes away in downtown Calistoga, Buster Davis was hosing down his barbeque business.
"Psychologically it takes a lot out of you," Davis said. "I hate to see it happen, but that's the way this is right now."
Davis, who has operated his business for the past 20 years and survived the 2017 Tubbs Fire in 2017, told KPIX 5 he has worked too long and too hard to just walk away now.
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"This is...this is my life! Ain't nobody gonna tell me to go away and come back and 'Maybe we'll protect your place,'" said Davis, his voice choked with emotion. "And so it's easy for them to say, 'Leave, come back later.' Well damn, I might come back to nothing!"
Calistoga has found itself sitting in the middle of several fire disasters, going back to 2017.
"The Tubbs Fire, which was our last big one, started around the corner here," Toti said, pointing to the road that gave the 2017 fire its name. "That's Tubbs Lane about 200 yards in that direction."
"Yeah, we were evacuated three weeks in '17," Langhoff remembered.
Now the Glass Fire continues to loom just beyond the edge of town. With red flag conditions in effect through Saturday, Calistoga homeowners aren't likely to sleep better any time soon.
"I'm thankful for the firefighters," Davis said. "I'm thankful for all of the infrastructure that we have that's doing their job."