SAN FRANCISCO -- California is poised to hit a milestone: 4 million acres burned this year by wildfires that have killed 31 people and incinerated hundreds of homes in what is already the worst fire season on record.
Flames have scorched an area larger than Connecticut and fire crews at a blaze in the wine country north of San Francisco were on high alert Friday as forecasters warned of extreme fire danger into today.
However, powerful winds didn't materialize early Friday, allowing fire crews a chance to make some gains, but winds up to 30 mph were forecast to push through the hills of Napa and Sonoma counties as the Glass Fire, which exploded in size earlier in the week, threatens more than 28,000 homes and other buildings.
"So far we have not seen the velocity of the winds that we were expecting," said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mark Brunton. "But there will be gusts and ... we do have hot embers and it won't take much to take that and blow it into a very dry receptive fuel bed. That gives us cause for concern."
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Winds were blowing at higher elevations on the western side of the fire and crews expected a long battle to keep flames from jumping containment lines and to prevent spot fires from leaping ahead to spark new blazes.
"It's going to be a big firefight for us over the next 36 hours," said Billy See, an assistant chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
More crews and equipment were deployed in and around Calistoga, a town of 5,000 people known for hot springs, mud baths and wineries in the hills of Napa County about 70 miles north of San Francisco.
The area was also experiencing high temperatures and thick smoke that fouled the air throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.
Gov. Gavin Newsom toured fire-ravaged Napa County on Thursday and said the state was putting "all we have in terms of resources" into firefighting, particularly over the windy period.
"I've got four young kids in elementary school and I can't imagine for the children and parents, the families, that may be seeing these images, what's going through your minds," said Newsom, standing in front of a burned-out elementary school building.
The Glass Fire is the fourth major blaze in the region in three years and comes ahead of the third anniversary of an Oct. 8, 2017, wildfire that killed 22 people.
Around the state, 17,000 firefighters were battling nearly two dozen major blazes. Virtually all the damage has occurred since mid-August, when five of the six largest fires in state history erupted. Lightning strikes caused some of the most devastating blazes.
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Cal Fire Deputy Chief Jonathan Cox said wildfires have scorched 3.9 million acres in California since Aug. 15. That figure works out to more than 6,000 square miles.
"It's likely that over the next day or two we will crest the 4-million-acre mark. The biggest year before this year was 1.54 million," Cal Fire Chief Thom Porter said. "We are dwarfing that previous record and we have a lot of season left to go."
The death toll increased to 31 people after a person burned in the LNU Lightning Complex died from their injuries, Cal Fire said in a statement. A cluster of fires sparked by lightning in mid-August in the San Francisco Bay Area was fully contained Thursday.
Fire officials said the Glass Fire was their top priority. Since erupting Sunday, the fire has destroyed nearly 600 buildings, including 220 homes and nearly the same number of commercial structures.
About 80,000 people were under evacuation orders and officials warned that more were possible.
