Firefighters water down a house destroyed by fire in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim, California, in this October 9, 2017 photo.
/AFP
Thousands evacuated from burning homes, buildings
More than a dozen fast-moving wildfires tearing through California’s wine country have killed at least 10 people, destroying hundreds of homes, authorities said Monday.
Fanned by winds of over 80 kilometers an hour, the blazes have forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate in the country’s heaviest populated state since they began Sunday night.
California’s fire service said about 30,000 hectares have been ravaged by the major infernos.
“The Sheriff’s Office confirms seven fire-related deaths from the Sonoma Co. fires. Our condolences to their friends and families,” tweeted the sheriff of Sonoma County in the state’s north. The previous toll had stood at three.
At least 1,500 buildings were destroyed as the state declared an emergency in three counties ravaged by intense fires, mostly in its famous wine-producing regions.
Fourteen major fires are burning in total. Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties are covered by Governor Jerry Brown’s order. The counties are north of San Francisco Bay.
An AFP correspondent in the Santa Rosa area witnessed multiple explosions from gas lines or gas tanks, in addition to charred out homes and a winery. Fire trucks were out in force in that area, he said.
About 410 firefighters are working on blazes in Mendocino, a sheriff’s spokesman in that county told the CBS news network, adding that multiple fatalities were expected.
Another fire in Anaheim has surged to char 800 hectares and at least 200 fire fighters scrambled to try to contain it. Dozens of shelters were opened in schools and churches. Even livestock had shelter areas set up on some fair grounds.
“We’re going to have to start over completely,” Dreama Goldberg, who fled her home — now a heap of ashes — at eight months pregnant, told NBC.
Jesus Torres told CBS he barely had time to grab a few things and run from his home.
“We could see the sky was getting red. We did not know it was fire until the last second because there was just smoke everywhere,” he said.
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