Firefighters still struggling to douse deadly California wildfires
Santa Rosa — Fast-moving wildfires still raging across Northern California’s wine country had killed 15 people, left about 150 missing, and destroyed 1,500 homes, wineries and other structures as of Tuesday afternoon, state fire officials said. The flames from 17 major blazes have blackened more than 46,500ha since fires broke out on Sunday amid hot, dry conditions and high winds. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said nine of the fatalities were in its jurisdiction, where 155 people were still missing, although 45 others had been found and some of those unaccounted for may be due to confusion surrounding evacuations. In Napa County, the dead included 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife Sarah Rippey, 98, according to the county sheriff’s office. No other details on that incident or the other fatalities were immediately available. On Tuesday crews took advantage of cooler temperatures, lower winds and coastal fog to make headway against the fires but cautioned that homes, winer...
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