Quiet Night on the Glass Fire Front, Smoke to Begin to Clear

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Winds remained light once again late Friday and early Saturday, and for the second night under Red Flag Warnings no significant flareups occured on the western and southern portions of the Glass Fire in Sonoma County.

Further north in the mountains northeast of Healdsburg winds did gust to 30 mph at times, but those winds did not reach most of the fire zone. Breezes were light enough in fact for crews along the edges of the fire to conduct backfiring operations in some locations to limit the ability of the fire to spread.

The Red Flag Warning was allowed to expire at 6AM across the North Bay although forecasters say they do expect one final burst of winds Saturday afternoon and evening.

Some cooling will take place near the coast on Saturday as onshore breezes begin. That cooling will reach many inland areas on Sunday as the high pressure ridge that has brought our heat breaks down. Smoke will begin to clear by Sunday as well, and a general onshore flow of air and reduction of new smoke should result in much improved air quality over the next day or two.

By next weekend many models are showing the arrival of the first rain of the season. If moisture from Hurricane Marie (currently SW of Baja) gets pulled into the storm system, there is a chance of significant rain as far south as the Bay Area on Saturday or Sunday. More details to come this week.

Graphics show the smoke forecast for 7AM Saturday, 5PM Saturday, and 1AM Sunday.