DEADLY FIRES RAGE
MORE than a dozen fastmoving wildfires tearing through California’s wine country had last night killed at least 10 people and destroyed hundreds of homes.
Fanned by winds of over 80km/h, the blazes have forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate in the country’s most populated state since they began Sunday night local time.
There are fears the death toll will climb with more than 100 missing persons reports filed with authorities.
California’s fire service said about 30,000 hectares had been ravaged.
“The Sheriff’s Office confirms seven fire-related deaths from the Sonoma Co. fires. Our condolences to their friends and families,” tweeted the sheriff of Sonoma County in the state’s north. The previous toll had stood at three.
At least 1500 buildings were destroyed as the state declared an emergency in three counties ravaged by intense fires, mostly in its famous wine-producing regions.
Fourteen major fires are burning in total. Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties are covered by Governor Jerry Brown’s order. The counties are north of San Francisco Bay.
A witness in the Santa Rosa area described multiple explosions from gas lines or gas tanks, in addition to charred homes and a winery. Fire trucks were out in force in that area, he said.
About 410 firefighters were yesterday working on blazes in Mendocino, a sheriff’s spokesman in that county told reporters, adding that multiple fatalities were expected.
Another fire in Anaheim has destroyed 800ha and at least 200 firefighters had scrambled to try to contain it. Dozens of shelters were opened in schools and churches. “We’re going to have to start over completely,” Dreama Goldberg, who fled her home — now a heap of ashes — at eight months pregnant, said.
Jesus Torres said he barely had time to grab a few things and run from his home.
“We could see the sky was getting red: we did not know it was fire until the last second because there was just smoke everywhere,” he said.
AFP