The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local):
SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local):
6:30 p.m.
Authorities in Northern California say they are poring through the list of hundreds reported missing amid fierce wildfires and working through the cases one at a time.
Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said Wednesday night that investigators are starting at shelters looking for evacuees and working their way backward to people’s homes to see if they got out alive.
While many if not most of those reported missing have simply been unable to communicate with loved ones, authorities say the death toll of 21 is bound to grow.
The series of fires is already among the worst in California history, and high winds expected to arrive overnight could light them up even more.
State fire Chief Ken Pimlott says it’s «going to continue to get worse before it gets better.»
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3:15 p.m.
Authorities are ordering all residents of the Northern California town of Calistoga to evacuate, saying «conditions have worsened.»
The Napa County Sheriff’s Office says in an alert sent via cellphone and email that residents need to leave by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Earlier, officials went through the town of 5,000 people, knocking on doors to warn about 2,000 of them to leave.
Low moisture was forecast and winds were beginning to pick up in the region Wednesday afternoon.
In neighboring Sonoma County, authorities issued an evacuation advisory for the northern part of the town of Sonoma and the community of Boyes Hot Springs. By then, lines of cars were already fleeing the community.
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1:20 p.m.
Officials say they have thousands of firefighters battling 22 blazes burning in Northern California and that more are coming from nearby states.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Ken Pimlott says close to 8,000 firefighters have been deployed and are fighting the blazes by air and on the ground.
Pimlott says Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Washington are sending firefighters and the U. S. Forest Service is sending fire engines, bulldozers and hand crews.
He also says there are concerns several fires could merge into one big blaze. The fires north of San Francisco are among the deadliest in California history.
The blazes have also left at least 180 people injured and have destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses. More than 4,400 people were staying in shelters Wednesday.
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12:25 p.m.
California Gov. Jerry Brown warns that catastrophic wildfires will keep ripping through the state as the climate warms.
Brown told reporters Wednesday that more people are living in communities close to forests and brush that easily ignite because of dry weather. Blazes burning in Northern California have become some of the deadliest in state history.
He says a warming climate has contributed to catastrophic wildfires and that they will continue to happen. The governor, who’s positioned himself as a leader in the fight against climate change, says residents and officials have to be prepared and do everything they can to mitigate the problem.
Brown says the federal government has pledged assistance but points out resources also are going to hurricane recovery efforts in Texas and Florida.
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11:50 a.m.
Authorities say some of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history have killed 21 people.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Ken Pimlott gave an updated death toll Wednesday, calling the series of wildfires in wine country «a serious, critical, catastrophic event.»
He says 8,000 firefighters are focusing on protecting lives and property as they battle the flames chewing through critically dry vegetation.
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11:15 a.m.
Authorities in Northern California say they have discovered a body at a burned home, bringing the number of people killed by wildfires to 18.
The Yuba County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page that deputies found the remains Tuesday after a resident asked for a welfare check on a family friend who was missing.
The office says the body was found in the Loma Rica area, where another body was found earlier.
People have also died in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties.
The fires north of San Francisco are among the deadliest in California history.
The blazes have also left at least 180 people injured and have destroyed more than 3,500 homes and businesses.
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10:35 a.m.
Sonoma County officials say 670 people are still listed as missing from fires in California wine country.
But Sheriff Robert Giordano said Wednesday that many of those people may have been found but have not yet updated a registry of missing people.
Desperate family members and friends are turning to social media with pleas for help finding loved ones missing from the 22 fires in Northern California.
It’s unclear if some of those people are actually OK.
Authorities pleaded with previously missing people to mark themselves as safe on the registry and alert authorities.
Napa County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht says many people are staying with somebody else and haven’t checked in.
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9:30 a.m.
A California fire official says at least 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed by wildfires burning in Northern California wine country.
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant says fire activity increased significantly overnight, destroying more buildings and leading to new mandatory evacuations in several areas.
Berlant said Wednesday that 22 wildfires are burning in Northern California, up from 17 on Tuesday.
Officials in Napa County say almost half of the population of Calistoga, a town of 5,000 people, has been ordered to evacuate. New evacuation orders are also in place for Green Valley in Solano County.
After a day of cooler weather and calmer winds, officials say low moisture and dangerous gusty winds will return to the region Wednesday afternoon, complicating firefighters’ efforts.
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8:10 a.m.
The return of cooler weather and moist ocean air is helping an army of firefighters gain ground against a wildfire that has scorched more than a dozen square miles in Southern California.
Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi says the fire has laid down significantly Wednesday due to the marine layer and the work of more than 1,600 firefighters and a fleet of aircraft.
Concialdi says the blaze is 45 percent surrounded and full containment is expected by Saturday, but commanders are holding onto resources because of forecasts for another round of gusty winds and low humidity levels starting Thursday night.
Incomplete damage assessments have now tallied 15 structures destroyed and 12 damaged, including homes and outbuildings.
All evacuations have been lifted except for certain homes in the city of Orange.
The fire erupted Monday about 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles as warm, dry Santa Ana winds swept the region. The cause remains under investigation.
