Wildfires ravage Northern California

Tens of thousands evacuated as Wildfires ravage Northern California at least 10 dead

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In Wildfires ravage Northern California several raging wind wipe out fires killed at least 10 people and forced massive evacuations Monday. All the area around California’s world-famous wine country, as Govt. declared a state of emergency. Also officials estimate at least 1,500 homes and commercial buildings destroy.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott inform an estimate 20,000 people evacuate as 14 large fires are zero percent contain. The fires are burning throughout an eight-county swath of Northern California, including Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties.

At least 10 people have died as a result of the burning wildfires, officials said Monday night.

The California Fire Public Information Officer tweet that two people are confirm dead in Napa County. Also in addition to one death in Mendocino County.

Other fatalities are expected, according to Pimlott, but damage areas are difficult to assess as the fires continue to burn.

The city of Santa Rosa has enacted a curfew from sunset until sunrise in mandatory evacuation zones. People in those evacuation zones will be subject to stop, and potential arrest if they refuse to leave those areas.

“Right now with these conditions we can’t get ahead of this fire and do anything about the forward progress,” Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann inform at a news conference.

A spokesperson for Pacific Gas and Electric told The Associated Press that 114,000 customers were without power.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office inform there were multiple fires reported around the county, including a “very large fire” that jumped a freeway and spread into the east side of Santa Rosa.

Multiple fires broke out Sunday night as strong winds buffet the area. Emergency lines full with callers reporting smoke in the area, prompting officials to ask that the public “only use 911 if they see actual unattended flames, or are having another emergency.”

The Tubbs Fire between Santa Rosa and Calistoga alone grew from 200 acres to 20,000 acres by Monday morning.

“This fire is explosive,” he said, adding that hundreds, if not thousands of structures get affect.

Chris Coursey, the mayor of Santa Rosa, said Monday evening in a press conference that his “heart goes out to everyone who has suffered loss in the last day or so.”

“I’m lucky, my house is fine, my family is fine, my city is not. And it’s gonna take a long time for us to recover from what’s happened today,” Coursey said. “Santa Rosa is a strong city. We’re a resilient city, we’re an indivisible city. And we’re going to need to hang together as we get through this.”

In neighboring Napa County, officials were battling a 200 acre fire south of Lake Berryessa, located about 65 miles west of Sacramento.

Fire officials said the Atlas Fire broke out at 9:50 p.m. local time and was zero percent contain.

Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean tell  these conditions “very volatile.”

“People need to be careful,” McLean update.

Belia Ramos, chairwoman of the Napa County Board of Supervisors, inform officials they not have a count on how many properties were affected, either by the fire directly or by evacuations.

“We’re focusing on making evacuations and trying to keep people safe. We are not prepare to start counting. Certainly with day just breaking now, we are starting to see the structures that affect,” she inform shortly after sunrise.

“The gusts are very, very — they’re tremendous and it’s what makes this fire unpredictable. It’s something that we’re having to be very cautious about,” she update.

Downed trees were blocking parts of one rural road and fires were burning on both sides of Highway 12 as gusts reached up to 60 mph.

“The winds picked up to 40-plus miles per hour probably, very windy, and it changed direction and it move straight down the valley.

The fires were also near some wineries in the famed Napa Valley. It was not immediately clear if the Francis Ford Coppola Winery affect by the ferocious blaze, but some wineries on Silverado Trail have some damage.

Windsor Fire Chief Jack Piccinini inform the Associate Press that nearly every one of Sonoma County’s fire resources is use, but it is not enough.

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Wildfires ravage Northern California

“Everyone in Sonoma County is spread out fighting these fires. But they do not have enough resources to handle something like this. The only thing we can do is hope the wind will come down,” he inform.

Community centers, the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and other local centers open for evacuees.

“In Wildfires ravage Northern California, a situation like you did not see before,” said Marian Williams. He help with neighbors through flames before dawn as one of the wildfires reach the vineyards. And ridges at her small Sonoma County town of Kenwood.

Fires also burned in Yuba, Butte and Nevada counties all north of the state capital. Cal Fire tweet that as many as 8,000 homes were threaten in Nevada County, which lies on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.

The National Weather Service issue a warning of dangerous conditions that could lead to rapidly spreading wildfires. Which goes until early Tuesday. The fires create thick smoke in San Francisco, 60 miles south of the Sonoma County fire.

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