⁍ A wind-driven wildfire erupted on Sunday in the heart of northern California’s Napa Valley wine country.

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⁍ The blaze forced the evacuation of several hundreds homes and a hospital.

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⁍ All 55 patients who were at the hospital were safely evacuated by ambulance and helicopter.

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– More than 5,000 people in California’s Napa Valley have been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire threatens hundreds of homes. The so-called Glass Fire erupted before dawn Sunday and within a mile of Adventist Health St. Helena’s 151-bed hospital, forcing the evacuation of all 55 patients, Reuters reports. Some 600 homes were under evacuation orders, with residents of another 1,400 homes warned to be ready to flee at a moment’s notice, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Some 65,000 homes and businesses in the region are expected to lose power as a result of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s decision to shut off power lines in 16 counties as a precaution against heightened wildfire risks. The Napa Valley, world renowned as one of California’s premiere wine-producing regions, has been plagued by a series of wildfire outbreaks in and around the Bay area over the past several years. The latest came as the Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced it was temporarily shutting off power to transmission lines in portions of 16 counties across northern and central California as a precaution against heightened wildfire risks posed by hot, windy, dry conditions. The public safety power shutoffs were expected to affect some 65,000 homes and businesses in the region, said PG&E, the state’s largest electric utility. A red flag warning for extreme wildfire risks was to remain posted for Napa Valley through Monday morning. CalFire said a fire weather watch was due to go into effect on Monday across much of Southern California due to a forecast return of hot, gusty Santa Ana winds and low humidity.