Vast districts in California burn to ash
Fire death toll up to 40 and hundreds unaccounted for in 'one of the worst natural disasters California has ever endured'
Santa Rosa, California — Firefighters continued on Sunday to grapple with the deadliest blazes in California’s history that have killed 40 people and reduced entire neighbourhoods to ash. Fast-moving fires spread by shifting winds forced thousands more people to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the death toll crept upwards. More than 10,000 firefighters supported by air tankers and helicopters battled 16 wildfires in areas north of San Francisco that have consumed 865km², an area larger than New York City. The 40 confirmed fatalities, including 22 in Sonoma County, make it California’s deadliest fire since records began, surpassing the 29 deaths from the Griffith Park fire of 1933 in Los Angeles. Some victims were asleep when flames engulfed their homes, while others were unable to escape as 80km/h winds drove the fire faster than they could flee. With 235 people still missing on Saturday in Sonoma County alone and rubble from thousands of incinerated dwellings yet to be searched...
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