CALIFORNIA: Wildfires Continue To Rage Across State, Governor Declares Emergency, 1500+ Buildings Lost

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

At least 14 wildfires in the North Bay and surrounding region ravaged mountainsides, homes, vineyards and farmland Monday. One person is confirmed dead and several others were severely burned. Major highways were shut down, and local officials requested help from around the region as Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency. Information from authorities and residents on the ground was developing throughout Monday. Officials said efforts were focused on saving people’s lives, so many details were not fully known.

At least 1,500 homes and commercial facilities have been destroyed in the fires, which are burning in Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Lake, Nevada, Butte, Calaveras, Shasta, and Yuba counties. Napa County officials said three fires were burning in their jurisdiction: the Tubbs Fire near Calistoga and Santa Rosa at 25,000 acres, the Atlas Peak Fire at 25,000 acres and the Partrick Fire in the Carneros area at 3,000 acres.

More from CNN:



Authorities have not said what caused the fires, but noted that dry conditions made it easy for the fires to spread. October is typically the busiest month for wildfires in California, they said. Complicating firefighting efforts are low humidity and a lack of resources, Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said.

“As of right now, with these conditions, we can’t get in front of this fire and do anything about the forward progress,” he said, adding that resources from across California were to begin arriving in the area late Monday.

The wildfires have stretched firefighting manpower and resources and spurred evacuations of homes and businesses. The California National Guard has sent three medical evacuation helicopters, six firefighting helicopters and 100 military police personnel to assist local law enforcement.