Thousands flee deadly California fires
OFFICIALS are hoping weaker winds will help more than 10 000 firefighters battle California’s deadliest ever blazes, which have killed at least 40 people and destroyed thousands of homes and business structures.
Fast-moving fires spread by shifting winds forced thousands more to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the death toll over the week rose to 40, with hundreds missing.
More than 10 000 firefighters supported by air tankers and helicopters battled 16 major wildfires in areas north of San Francisco that have consumed nearly 86 000ha, or about 865km² – an area larger than New York City.
The 40 confirmed fatalities, including 22 in Sonoma County, make it California’s deadliest-ever fire event, surpassing the 29 deaths from the 1933 Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles.
With 235 people still missing on Saturday in Sonoma County alone and rubble from thousands of incinerated dwellings yet to be searched, authorities expect the death toll to climb.
About 100 000 people have been forced from their homes, including 3 000 on Saturday from the city of Santa Rosa, about 80km north of San Francisco.
The fires have damaged or destroyed about 5 700 structures, reducing homes and businesses to ash.
Some victims were asleep when flames engulfed their homes, while others had only minutes to flee.
“This is truly one of the greatest tragedies that California has ever faced. The devastation is just unbelievable. It is a horror that no one could have imagined,” California Governor Jerry Brown said on a visit to a devastated city.
Janis and Roberto Lucha joined people lining up at a federal emergency management agency office in Santa Rosa, seeking help after losing their home of 27 years in the city’s Coffey Park neighbourhood, where most homes burned to the ground.
Molly Kurland, 63, joined a packed community meeting at the Santa Rosa High School gymnasium.
“Even for people who haven’t lost their house, the uncertainty and anxiety is tremendous,” she said.
But there were heroic stories as well. Teenaged twins woke their parents on Saturday night to find fire engulfing the landscape.
The persistent alarms from Benjamin Lasker, 16, gave the family time to escape the conflagration with little more than the clothes on their backs.
He and his sister Natalie went on to awaken another eight families in their Fountain Grove neighbourhood in Santa Rosa, pounding on doors, yelling “fire!” and shining lights in windows.
“They asked permission to wake people up,” Howard Lasker said. “I gave it to them.”
There were some glimmers of hope as winds weakened and firefighters made progress with blazes such as the Cascade Fire, about 120km northeast of Santa Rosa, 87% contained on Saturday, Cal Fire said.
Weakening winds overnight should help but high temperatures and dry conditions were expected to remain through the weekend, forecasters said.
“This is still very much in play. The danger is still very present,” US Senator Kamala Harris said.
At least a dozen Napa Valley and Sonoma County wineries were damaged or destroyed, throwing the state’s wine industry and related tourism into disarray. – Reuters