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California fires: 17 dead, evacuations continue - CNN - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/2017/10/10/us/california-fires-napa/index.html
More evacuations ordered as deadly wildfires scorch Northern California
Story highlights
- Death toll rises to 17 in Northern California
- About 2,000 structures in the state are destroyed, according to fire authorities
(CNN)New
evacuations were ordered Tuesday evening as more than a dozen wildfires
raged across Northern California, with the largest ones killing at
least 17 people as they scorched the state's famous wine country.
The
largest of the deadly fires were burning in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino
counties, with flames ripping through the lush, picturesque landscape.
Officials
in the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County called for the evacuations
of five more areas Tuesday evening. Already, 20,000 people had been
ordered to leave the area and other parts of Northern California.
It
is too early to tell whether any of the wildfires were started by
humans, said Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. "All these fires are
under investigation," he told reporters, adding that his department was
focusing on rescues and firefighting. But he said the chance the fires
were caused by lightning was "fairly minimal."
Here's what we know so far, according to California authorities.
•
At least 17 people have died since Sunday night, when most of the fires
began. A total of 11 deaths were in Sonoma County, officials said.
•
Two of those who died were in Napa County, county spokeswoman Kristi
Jourdan said. They were 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife, Sara,
98. They died when a fire engulfed their home near the Silverado Country
Club north of Napa, Jourdan said.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A woman evacuates horses as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9 in Orange.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames at a home in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim on October 9.
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Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
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Residents of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
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The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at the Journey's End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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A tent structure built for the 2017 Safeway Open burns on October 9 on a golf course at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
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Fire
consumes a barn October 9 as a wildfire moves through the area in Glen
Ellen. Tens of thousands of acres and dozens of homes and businesses
have burned in Napa and Sonoma counties.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
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A man passes a burning house in Napa's Silverado Crest subdivision on October 9.
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The remains of fire-damaged homes on October 9 in Glen Ellen.
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In this photo from the Sonoma Raceway, a wildfire burns behind the raceway October 9 in Sonoma.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A building burns at the Signorello Estate vineyards in Napa, California, on Monday, October 9.
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Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
An aerial photo shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, October 10. More than a dozen wildfires are raging across Northern California, with the biggest ones scorching the state's famous wine areas.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Josh Williamson, 8, gathers Nerf guns from the rubble of his destroyed home in Anaheim on October 10.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Damaged
winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the production
house of Paradise Ridge Winery on October 10 in Santa Rosa.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
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Mary
Caughey, center in blue, reacts with her son Harrison, left, after
finding her wedding ring in debris of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned out car near Napa on October 10.
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Darrel
Spain, center, and his husband, Mark Papale, walk along a path near
their destroyed home on October 10, as they look for their missing cat
in Kenwood.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
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A firefighting plane helps battle the blaze along Jamboree Road in Orange just north of the Tustin city line on October 9.
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A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
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Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove, near Santa Rosa, on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area at the Journey's End trailer park on October 9 in Santa Rosa.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A woman evacuates horses as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9 in Orange.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames at a home in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Residents of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at the Journey's End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A tent structure built for the 2017 Safeway Open burns on October 9 on a golf course at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire
consumes a barn October 9 as a wildfire moves through the area in Glen
Ellen. Tens of thousands of acres and dozens of homes and businesses
have burned in Napa and Sonoma counties.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man passes a burning house in Napa's Silverado Crest subdivision on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes on October 9 in Glen Ellen.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
In this photo from the Sonoma Raceway, a wildfire burns behind the raceway October 9 in Sonoma.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A building burns at the Signorello Estate vineyards in Napa, California, on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
30 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
Hide Caption
31 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
An aerial photo shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, October 10. More than a dozen wildfires are raging across Northern California, with the biggest ones scorching the state's famous wine areas.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Josh Williamson, 8, gathers Nerf guns from the rubble of his destroyed home in Anaheim on October 10.
Hide Caption
2 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Damaged
winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the production
house of Paradise Ridge Winery on October 10 in Santa Rosa.
Hide Caption
3 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Mary
Caughey, center in blue, reacts with her son Harrison, left, after
finding her wedding ring in debris of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned out car near Napa on October 10.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Darrel
Spain, center, and his husband, Mark Papale, walk along a path near
their destroyed home on October 10, as they look for their missing cat
in Kenwood.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighting plane helps battle the blaze along Jamboree Road in Orange just north of the Tustin city line on October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove, near Santa Rosa, on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area at the Journey's End trailer park on October 9 in Santa Rosa.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
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Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
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Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
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•
About 2,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the fires in
Northern California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection said Tuesday.
• More
than 100 people were being treated at Napa- and Sonoma-area hospitals
for fire-related injuries or health issues, including burns, smoke
inhalation and shortness of breath.
• Wildfires were burning more than 115,000 acres in California as of Tuesday.
• Most of the Northern California fires ignited Sunday night, driven by winds of more than 50 mph and dry conditions, Pimlott said Monday. The high winds led to "extreme rates of spread and volatile burning conditions," according to Cal Fire.
•
More than 180 people are missing, but authorities think communications
issues are making it impossible for many of those people to check in
with family.
Destruction in Santa Rosa
Margaret
Curzon said her parents lost almost everything in the wildfire that
destroyed their home and the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, a
city of about 175,000 roughly 50 miles northwest of San Francisco.
Her
mom woke up early Monday morning and smelled smoke, but thought it was
the neighbor's barbecue or chimney, so she went back to sleep. They woke
up again because their bichon frise, Brady, was whimpering.
Her father looked outside and his first thought was that there was some sort of bomb, or an attack.
"It looked like we were at war," Curzon said. "The sky was orange and there were embers falling from the sky."
Curzon said her parents had five or 10 minutes to grab their two dogs and anything else they could and escape.
She said it took about a half-hour to get out of their neighborhood because cars were bumper to bumper.
"He could feel the car getting hotter and hotter because the fire kept creeping up and getting closer to them," she said.
The
only thing that remained at her house was a concrete statue of the
Virgin Mary, Curzon said after visiting the home site later Monday.
Almost nothing is left of a home in Santa Rosa, California.
The
devastation was significant in Santa Rosa. Fire leveled subdivisions
and reduced cars and homes into burnt piles of ash and rubble.
Nearly 5,000 people were staying in Sonoma County shelters, county spokesman Scott Alonso said Tuesday.
A large part of Santa Rosa was evacuated, including Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Sutter Hospital. Authorities imposed a sundown-to-sunrise curfew for the northern and eastern parts of the city under evacuation orders.
Janice Abdalla captured this image of fires on a Monday flight into San Francisco International Airport.
"We are asking people to stay indoors" because of smoke, Alonso said.
There
is no rain in the forecast this week, according to the National Weather
Service. Winds in the next two days will come out of the north at
around 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts of 35 to 40 mph possible, CNN
Meteorologist Michael Guy said.
'Wine doesn't matter. People matter.'
The biggest blaze was the Tubbs fire, at 27,000 acres, stretching from Santa Rosa to the Calistoga area in Napa County.
That fire has destroyed at least 571 structures, Cal Fire said Tuesday, making it one of the top 15 most destructive fires in recorded California history.
Napa County also had the Atlas fire at 25,000 acres and the Partrick fire at 1,000 acres.
In
Sonoma County, firefighters battled the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, the
Nuns fire at 5,000 acres and another fire that spread across 2,000
acres.
In Mendocino County, the Redwood Complex fire had burned at least 21,000 acres, as of Tuesday.
Large wildfires often are named for local geographic areas or features.
The Atlas fire destroyed several homes near the Silverado Country Club north of Napa, CNN affiliate KPIX reported, including the house where the Rippeys died.
Also
in that area, fire burned the main building of the Signorello Estate
Winery to the ground. Broken and charred wine bottles remained on seared
metal shelves, video from KPIX showed.
The city of Napa, with about 80,000 residents, was not under evacuation. But
parts of it were under a boil-water notice Tuesday, because fires
destroyed a pump station near the Silverado resort and rendered a water
treatment plant inoperable, the city said. Many in Napa also lost power and cell service, according to the Napa police.
Alison
Crowe, the winemaker for Garnet Vineyards & Picket Fence Vineyards
in Napa Valley, estimated two-thirds to three-fourths of the grape
harvest already had taken place but said some grapes still haven't been
picked. The 2017 harvest will be remembered for this fire, she said.
"Wine doesn't matter; people matter," she said Monday. "I know that's people's attitude right now."
Napa
and Sonoma counties have the most wineries in California. The economic
impact from the wine industry was estimated at $13 billion for each
county, according to 2012 and 2014 research done by Stonebridge Research Group.
Fires fueled by wind and dry conditions
Authorities
have noted windy and dry conditions Sunday and Monday made it easy for
the fires to spread. October is typically the busiest month for
wildfires in California, they said.
Complicating firefighting efforts was a shortage of resources, Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said Tuesday.
"We
have folks on the fire line starting their third shift right now that
have not been relieved," Biermann said Tuesday, "because there's folks
not available to come in, with so many fires in the area."
Gov.
Jerry Brown on Monday issued emergency proclamations for Napa, Sonoma,
Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Solano and Orange counties. Orange
County in the south is dealing with a 7,500-acre fire that has
destroyed 14 structures, damaged 22 and threatens 5,000 others, Orange
County fire Capt. Larry Kurtz said.
Pictures from Disneyland in Anaheim on Tuesday afternoon showed the sky with an orange glow.
The White House said
President Donald Trump has signed a major disaster declaration and fire
management assistance grants for the state.
"The
loss of homes and burning of precious land is heartbreaking but the
loss of life is truly devastating," press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
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