1,500 STRUCTURES BURNED AS INFERNOS RAGE ACROSS NORTHERN CA FIRES: GOVERNOR DECLARES EMERGENCIES

By Miriam Raftery, East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

October 9, 2017 (San Diego ) – Governor Jerry Brown has declared states of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba Counties due to wildfires that have burned at least 1,500 homes and commercial buildings and killed at least one person, Cal Fire director Ken Pimlott said at a press conference today. There is zero percent containment as of late morning.  At least 16 major fires are burning statewide.

An estimated 20,000 people have been evacuated as fires blacken skies even in Bay Area cities, forced evacuations of hospitals, shut down schools and  threaten thousands more structures in California’s wine region, gold rush towns and even coastal counties.  Many residents fled for their lives during the night as fast-moving flames destroyed wineries, vineyards, major stores and homes, dousing dreams with despair.

Worst is the Tubbs Fire, which has scorched 20,000 in Napa County, followed by the Atlas Fire also in Napa County that has burned around 25,000 areas. In Mendocino County, the Redwood Fire has burned 4,500 acres and killed one resident. 

View information on all incidents in Cal Fire’s coverage areas across California here: http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents   Also follow CalFire on Twitter for timely updates.

Lakeside Fire, San Diego Fire-Rescue, Heartland Fire & Rescue, and San Miguel Fire District have all sent units to assist battling the northern California infernos.

Fires have forced evacuations of shopping centers and hospitals including Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa. 

The fires are burning during red flag conditions for extreme fire hazard weather, making firefighters jobs more difficult as they combat wildland fires fueled by high winds and very hot, dry conditions.

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