YEs. I think they are primarily referring to what I would call "Wine Country" in Sonoma-Mendicino and Santa Rosa and Napa. Though this might have some effect in that area remember San Francisco, San Jose and Silicon Valley are not in this same area and neither is Sacramento, San Diego or Los Angeles. So, even though the smoke is dangerous to people's health in places like Santa Cruz according to the weather man tonight on TV the fires are not in San Francisco or Silicon Valley or San Jose at all. But some of the smoke from these fires is out to sea and in places like San Francisco and San Jose and bad in places like Santa Cruz at least for today. And the 200 hundred people unaccounted for some likely some will be found somewhere and others will never be found because they were burned to ash and blown away completely in the winds. For example, they found one death because all that was left was their hip replacement joint with a serial number on it and that's all. That's ALL they had to identify one person who died. Most people dying are too old to run from this firestorm. And running won't help with the fires moving this fast anyway. You cannot outrun a fire with a 50 mph wind behind it because the embers are traveling 50 mph too and setting everything ablaze at that speed.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Just as thousands of firefighters were beginning to get a handle on the northern California wildfires, the wind has started to kick up again.
The fires have destroyed more than 220,000 acres, and 5,700 homes and businesses. More than 90,000 people have been displaced.
CBS News has confirmed the death toll increased to at least 36 people late
Friday, many of them elderly. There are at least 19 deaths in Sonoma
County alone. More than 200 people remain unaccounted for. Most of the
missing are believed to be evacuees who have not notified authorities.
But the most disturbing numbers are the ages of those who died. The oldest victim was 100 years old.
"The bulk of them are in their 70s and 80s, so there is that commonality," said Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano.
The average age of 79 speaks to the speed with which the fire
overtook entire neighborhoods. Those unable to move quickly could not
escape.
On Friday, cadaver dogs searched for the missing. At least one more body was recovered.
The economic toll is also growing. Insurers now estimate the damage could reach $6 billion.
Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Coursey says it's too early to start calculating all that his city of 180,000 people has lost.
"I
think it's pretty safe to say this is the biggest challenge this city
will ever face, has ever faced and hopefully will ever face," Coursey
said.
CBS News
California's
deadliest week of wildfires has also ripped into every aspect of local
life. A fire station burned down. Stores burning down have dealt a
crippling blow to the region's economy. The only thing still standing
from one 250-room hotel is the sign.
Dennis Tussey and his wife, Ann, opened Sweet T's restaurant six years ago. They had 70 full- and part-time employees.
"Our payroll is almost $90,000 a month," Tussey said. "It's going to just have a rippling effect through the economy."
The
Tussey's brought their workers together on Friday to pick up their
final paychecks. The couple says they would like to rebuild the
restaurant, but with the entire neighborhood destroyed, it may be more
practical to start again someplace else.
From
his base in San Francisco, CBS News correspondent John Blackstone covers
breaking stories throughout the West. That often means he is on the
scene of wildfires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and rumbling
volcanoes. He also reports on the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley
and on social and economic trends that frequently begin in the West.
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