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Ten dead as thousands flee California fires

Other News Materials 10 October 2017 06:20 (UTC +04:00)
At least 10 people are dead and two have been seriously injured in fires in northern California
Ten dead as thousands flee California fires

At least 10 people are dead and two have been seriously injured in fires in northern California, SkyNews reported.

A state of emergency has been declared in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties, north of San Francisco Bay.

They are among eight counties affected by 14 major fires, which have burned through more than 49,000 acres and destroyed at least 1,500 homes.

There were mandatory evacuations for up to 20,000 people late on Sunday but some residents found that escape roads were blocked by downed trees and flames.

One of the deaths occurred in Mendocino County and two others were in Napa County. The other seven were in Sonoma County.

The two people who were seriously injured have severe burns and are in a critical condition in hospital.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle. more than 100 people have been treated for injuries, including burns and smoke inhalation, at hospitals in Napa and Sonoma counties.

In Napa County, fire chief Barry Biermann said the fires had burned more than 68 square miles but crews were struggling to control the flames.

He added: "Right now, with these conditions, we can't get ahead of this fire and do anything about the forward progress."

The largest city in the fire area is Santa Rosa, with a population of about 175,000. There, houses and business were ruined, schools were closed and two hospitals were forced to evacuate hundreds of patients.

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