Hundreds missing amid Calif. fires

SONOMA, Calif. - Authorities in Northern California say they are poring through the list of hundreds reported missing amid fierce wildfires and working through the cases one at a time.

Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said Wednesday night that investigators are starting at shelters looking for evacuees and working their way backward to people’s homes to see if they got out alive.

While many if not most of those reported missing have simply been unable to communicate with loved ones, authorities say the death toll is bound to grow.

The series of fires is already among the worst in California history, and high winds expected to arrive overnight could light them up even more.

State fire Chief Ken Pimlott says it’s “going to continue to get worse before it gets better.”

As of Wednesday, 22 wildfires were burning in Northern California, up from 17 the day before. The blazes killed at least 21 people and destroyed an estimated 3,500 homes and businesses, many of them in California wine country.