‘A serious, critical, catastrophic event’

Vineyards, homes, ranches decimated with no end in sight.

THE DAMAGE

The wildfires tearing through California wine country flared anew Wednesday, growing in size and number as authorities issued new evacuation orders. At least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed since the fires started Sunday. Firefighters continued their struggle to gain control over the blazes.

THE TOLL

The official death toll from the fires rose to 21 and is expected to go higher. In Sonoma County, more than 500 people are missing. It’s unclear if those who are still missing have been harmed, or are simply unable to reach friends and families. Authorities have located more than 100 people who were reported missing.

WHAT’S NEXT

Nearly two dozen fires have been raging in the northern part of the state, and officials fear some may merge. “This is a serious, critical, catastrophic event,” California fire chief Ken Pimlott said.

MORE INSIDE » As fires intensify, more residents flee their homes,

SANTA ROSA, CALIF. The

deadlying Northern wildfires California devastat-— continued to spread across dry

hills and vineyards Wednesday, prompting more evacuations from a menacing arc of flames that has killed at least 21 people, destroyed more

than 3,500 buildings and battered the region’s renowned wine-growing industry.

Officials expect the death toll to rise as crews begin to reach heavily burned areas. Hundreds in flame-ravaged Sonoma County remain miss- ing, and higher winds coupled with low humidity and parched lands could either hamper efforts to contain the fires or create new ones.

“We’re not out of the woods, and we’re not going to be out of the woods for a number of days to come,” Cal Fire Chief Ken Pimlott said at a news conference Wednesday. “We’re literally looking at explosive vegeta-

tion. These fires are burning actively during the day and at night.”

What makes these fast-moving fires particularly danger- ous, Pimlott said, is that they “aren’t just in the backwoods. ... These fires are burning in and around developed com- munities.”

Nearly two dozen large fires have been raging in the north

ern part of the state, send- ing thousands of residents to evacuation centers and burning roughly 170,000 acres — a collective area larger than the city of Chicago. That size is likely to grow.

Pimlott said he’s worried that “several of these fires will merge.” “This is a serious, critical, catastrophic event,” he said. The cause of the fires was unknown and likely to remain so for some time, officials said. “Trying to speculate on any cause is premature. At this point, it’s way too early to talk about it,” Pimlott said. “Primary efforts are stopping the fire and protecting lives.” In Sonoma County, where 11 people have died, officials had ordered a round of evacuations — some of which were announced by deputies “run- ning toward the fire, banging on doors, getting people out of their houses,” said Misti Harris, a Sonoma County Sheriff ’s Office spokeswoman. “It’s rapidly changing, it’s moving quickly, it’s a very fluid situation,” she said. Sonoma County Sheriff Rober Giordano said crews had not been able to reach most of the areas called “hot zones” that were immolated in the firestorm. When they begin searching those areas, “I expect that (death toll) to go up.” As of Wednesday, 560 peo- ple in the county remain unaccounted for, Giordano said. It’s unclear if those who are still missing have been harmed, or are simply unable to reach friends and families, as fires have disabled much of the communication system in the region.

Evacuation zones in Sonoma County will remain off limits, partly to limit the possibility of looting, which has resulted in several arrests. Giordano doubts residents will be allowed to return to their homes this week.

“If you have a place to go, go; you don’t need to be here,” Giordano said. “I can’t stress this enough. If you’re in an evacuation zone, you cannot come home.”

Losses are equally grim in Mendocino County, where two fires had merged into one, and the death toll climbed from two to six in the last 24 hours.

“What’s irking people around here is the national news is only talking about Napa and Sonoma, and we’ve lost just as much here,” said Alison de Grassi, spokeswoman for the Mendocino County Tourism Commission.

KENT PORTER / ASSOCIATED PRESS A neighborhood in Santa Rosa. California, has been devastated by the wildfires that have burned since Sunday. More areas were being evacuated as the fires spread.

DAVID MCNEW / GETTY IMAGES The family-owned winery Signorello Estate, on Napa’s Silverado Trail, is left in ruins by the Atlas Fire on Wednesday near Napa, California. In one of the worst wildfires in state history, 2,000 homes have burned and at least 21 people have died.