SAN FRANCISCO – The death toll from wildfires raging in Northern California has now grown to 21.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office announced two additional deaths there late Tuesday. That brings the county’s total to 11. The other six are spread among Napa, Yuba and Mendocino counties.
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The Sheriff’s Office released only the names of the streets where the deceased were discovered, and no information on the identities or circumstances of the deaths.
The series of fires that flared up north of San Francisco on Sunday night 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.
Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties as officials estimated the fire had wiped out "well in excess of" 50 structures.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered in the wine country north of San Francisco Bay and elsewhere after blazes broke out late Sunday.
Here's the latest list of evacuations:
Napa
- Atlas Peak Road, including Silverado Country Club
- Knights Valley to Tubbs Lane in Calistoga
- Monticello Road to Circle Oaks Subdivision
- Montecito Road and Monte Vista area
- Soda Canyon Road
- Wooden Valley Road area - evacuating to Solano Community College Library
- Partrick Road
Napa County has opened its Emergency Operations Center and emergency shelters in response to a series of wildfires burning in Napa County.
FROM NAPA COUNTY:
Evacuations have been conducted on Redwood Rd and Redwood Road at the intersection of Browns Valley Rd is now closed.
Evacuations were conducted on Dry Creek Rd and the road is now closed from Orchard Ave to Oakville Grade.
CELL PHONE OUTAGES: Cell phone providers are experiencing network outages and impacts in part of Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt counties. We have been advised that companies are working as quickly as possible to assess damage and restore service.
Emergency Shelters are open at:
Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga-1435 N Oak Street
Crosswalk Community Church in Napa- 2590 First Street
Napa Valley College Gym-2277 Napa-Vallejo Highway
Santa Rosa
Evacuation orders have issued for residents of the following Santa Rosa neighborhoods due to approaching fires
- Cross Creek Road
- Sky Farm Drive
- Saint Andrews Drive,
- All residences north Fountaingrove Parkway
- Montecito Heights
- The Hopper Avenue Area West of Coffey Lane (Between Dennis Lane and Hopper Avenue to the north and south and Coffey Lane and Barnes Road to the east and west)
- All residences east of Fulton Road, between Piner Road and Guerneville Road
- Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Sutter Hospital are being evacuated
- Oakmont - all of Oakmont East of Melita Rd, please evacuate to the WEST
View PDF of the evacuation area
Residents need to heed evacuation orders. Evacuation means that you need to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!
CRITICAL MESSAGE TO SANTA ROSA RESIDENTS: Evacuated residents should NOT attempt to return home until notified by City Officials.
All Santa Rosa City School will be closed today, Monday, October 9, 2017.
Other areas around Sonoma County:
Piner Road area to downtown Forestville; Cloverdale KOA; Palomino Road; Vanoni Road to Gill Creek Road; Arnold Drive to state hospital and west to Jack London State Park; Roberts Road, Lichau Road, Pressley Road and Sonoma Mountain Road.
The National Weather Service said widespread wind gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph were observed in the north San Francisco Bay region and isolated spots hit 70 mph. The winds were expected to subside at midday.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday it ordered mandatory evacuations for several areas of Sonoma Valley after a blaze grew to 44 square miles (113 square kilometers).
Wildfires kill couple married for 75 years and leave 500+ missing
Nothing could separate Charles and Sara Rippey. Not war. Not even a deadly California wildfire that engulfed their house.
They spent 89 years together, including their final moments in their Napa home, son Mike Rippey told CNN affiliate KPIX. Charles was 100; Sara was 98.
The couple's children marveled at their parents' longevity, both in life and in marriage.
"We often talked among ourselves about how either one of them would deal with life without the other," Mike Rippey told KPIX. "Especially my father. He loved my mother."
Charles and Sara Rippey were among the 17 people killed by California's raging wildfires, which are still roaring across the state with no end in sight.
In many areas, the smoke is thick and the sky is orange. And the families of more than 500 people are still searching for their missing loved ones.
Here's what we know about some of the victims and those still missing:
The victims lost
Charles and Sara Rippey
The Rippeys' love affair started early -- Charles was in the sixth grade, and Sara was in the fourth grade, their son Mike said.
After Charles went to fight in World War II, he returned and had five children with his beloved, Mike Rippey told KPIX. They recently celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.
Mike Rippey said he believes his father died trying to save his mother. Charles Rippey's body was found in the charred remains of the hallway just outside where his wife was sleeping.
"From where they found his body, he was trying to get from his room to her room," he said. "He never made it. Even if he had gotten there, he wouldn't have been able to get her out. ... And there is no way he would have left."
Christina Hanson
Christina Hanson saw the flames coming from afar. But the 28-year-old, who lived in an apartment next to her father's house in Santa Rosa, was confined to a wheelchair.
Hanson first tried to reach her father, but to no avail, her aunt Cathy Riordan said. She then called her father's ex-wife, saying she saw an inferno and was scared.
Concerned neighbors told the family they called 911 to the property, but it's unclear what happened after those calls, Riordan said.
After a day of panic and uncertainty, Christina's cousin confirmed she had died.
"Sadly, we just found out that Christina did not survive the fire," cousin Brittney Vinculado said Wednesday.
Hanson's father, 55-year-old Michael Hanson, suffered third-degree burns on over half his body and was at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital before it was evacuated, Riordan said. He was in a medically induced coma
Sutter tried to transfer him by helicopter to San Francisco for treatment, but smoke prevented the chopper from taking off, Riordan said. Instead, he was transferred by ambulance.
Riordan said she believes her brother was injured trying to help his daughter.
"I know that's how he got burned," she said. "(He) was trying to save her."
The loved ones still missing
More than 500 people have been reported missing, authorities said. And spotty cell phone service has severely hampered relatives' ability to connect.
And the situation could worsen, as firefighters keep battling 22 wildfires that have already scorched 170,000 acres.
The Red Cross has a website where residents can mark themselves safe and relatives can search for their loved ones. Sonoma County officials said those needing to report a missing person can call 707-565-3856.
Blazes destroy at least 3,500 homes, businesses
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.
California wildfire grows, prompting evacuations
A wildfire tearing through California's wine country continues to expand unabated, prompting authorities to order more evacuations.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday it ordered mandatory evacuations for several areas of Sonoma Valley after a blaze grew to 44 square miles (113 square kilometers).
After a day of cooler weather and calmer winds, officials say dangerous gusty winds will return to the region Wednesday afternoon, complicating firefighters' efforts.
The blaze in Sonoma County is one of a series of fires that flared up north of San Francisco on Sunday night and continue to burn with little to no containment. Seventeen people have died in the blazes, 11 of them in Sonoma County.
The fires have also left at least 180 people injured and have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and businesses.
California zoo animals among evacuees returning
Animals from the Orange County Zoo are among evacuees returning home as crews get a handle on a Southern California wildfire that destroyed 14 buildings and damaged 22 others.
Evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday for thousands of people in Anaheim, Orange and Tustin. And more than 100 animals -- including small birds, mammals and reptiles -- were returned to the zoo within Irvine Regional Park, where flames roared on Monday.
Zoo officials tell the Orange County Register (http://bit.ly/2gcnFiK) that the remaining animals including bears and mountain lions will be brought back in the coming days.
The newspaper says the zoo had undergone an emergency drill a week before the fire, which helped the evacuation run as smoothly as possible.
Cooler, more humid air is helping firefighters tame that blaze in northern Orange County.
How did Northern California fires become so devastating?
It's unclear what caused fires to form suddenly around the same time in one night, blazing through California's wine country while many residents were caught unaware as they headed to bed.
But authorities point to a perfect storm of factors that have fanned the wildfires that began Sunday night, leaving at left 17 people dead, forcing 20,000 to evacuate and causing widespread devastation in Northern California.
The investigation remains "very early in the process," Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Tuesday.
"These are all fires that were in areas that are populated, and 95% of the fires in our state are started by people" in some way, he said, downplaying the chances that lightning may have played a role.
Among the factors cited behind the fires' ferocity are high winds, the start of fires at night, heavy vegetation that dried out after a hot summer and dry conditions.
Southern California wildfire conditions improve
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
Follow the latest wildfire updates below:
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California wildfires reduce years-long dreams to embers
Jose Garnica worked for more than two decades to build up his dream home that was reduced to ashes in a matter of minutes by the deadly firestorm striking Northern California.
Garnica, who moved to the U.S. from Mexico over 20 years ago, had finally decided he could afford to upgrade parts of his Santa Rosa house after building a stable career with the local garbage company and saving nearly everything he and his wife earned.
Over the past two years, he replaced the siding and installed a new air conditioner, stainless steel appliances and new flooring. He bought a new 60-inch (1.5-meter) television. On Saturday, the 44-year-old got an estimate to replace the fence, one of the last items on his list.
But at 3:30 a.m. Monday, he watched his house become one of the more than 2,000 homes and businesses destroyed by the series of blazes across the region that had killed at least 17 people.
“You feel helpless,” he said Tuesday. “There’s nothing you can do. Everything, your whole life, goes through your mind in a minute. Everything you had done. I left all my family behind in Mexico to get a better life. Finally we were just coming to the comfort level, and this happens.”
