Eleven people have died and 100 others are missing after wildfires engulfed Northern California’s wine country, according to multiple reports Tuesday.
Eight counties are in a state of emergency as more than a dozen fires continue to spread across the region.
“Hopefully we’ll start seeing a turnaround into the course of today and tomorrow,” Cal Fire Deputy Chief Scott McLean said on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday morning.
As of late Monday, 1,500 homes and residences have been destroyed and 20,000 are in the fires’ paths, which include the major wine-producing counties of Napa and Sonoma.
The fires started Sunday around 10 p.m. local time, and investigators are still looking into the cause, NBC reported. The spread of the blazes was worsened by Santa Ana winds, a system that blows hot, dry air across Northern California.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved California’s request for federal funding to cover some of the cost involved with putting out the fires.
Horrific before and after images shows extent of deadly California wildfire ‘It was like Armageddon, every branch on every tree was on fire’ pic.twitter.com/Ux8foQV6fF
— Brandi Saari (@brandilmelb) October 10, 2017
Fourteen large fires ripped through California, destroying 1,500 homes and businesses https://t.co/wwSNsA7KxP pic.twitter.com/7MQ7bMZ1iz
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) October 10, 2017
Driving home from school to find my city burning ?#CaliforniaFires #CanyonFire2 pic.twitter.com/cLpgpNljMx
— Soroor Zahroh (@Pucewoman) October 10, 2017
