Fire crews battle as deadly California wildfires rage on

Firefighters battled overnight to contain wildfires in Northern California, evacuating residents in the path of 15 separate blazes that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

Efforts to control the fires, which swept through the state’s world-famous wine country, were being helped by more favorable weather conditions, a spokesman for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services said. However, the death toll could still rise, Brad Alexander warned.

“Firefighters and emergency management workers were taking advantage of the winds dying down ... and a lot of work is going to be done overnight and early [tomorrow] morning,” he said late on Monday, adding that the top priority was still the evacuations for the most active fires because life protection was the number one concern.

Some 20,000 people had been evacuated from their homes since Sunday, officials said, while broadcaster CNN said more than 100 had been treated for fire-related injuries including burns and smoke inhalation.

About 1,500 homes and commercial buildings had been destroyed, Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said on Monday.

Fanned by high temperatures and dry conditions, the 15 fires broke out over the weekend and spread to cover some 295 square kilometers, fire officials said.

The largest, covering 109 square kilometers and 101 square kilometers, struck in Napa and Sonoma counties, respectively, the heartland of California’s wine industry where the status of the crop currently being harvested was unclear on Monday.

In addition to potential damage to vineyards from fire itself, experts say sustained exposure to heavy smoke can taint unpicked grapes.

Fred Oliai, 47, owner of the Alta Napa Valley Winery, said winemakers were nervous.