More evacuations ordered as deadly wildfires scorch Northern California
(CNN)New evacuations were ordered Tuesday evening as more than a dozen wildfires raged across Northern California, with the largest ones killing at least 17 people as they scorched the state's famous wine country.
The largest of the deadly fires were burning in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties, with flames ripping through the lush, picturesque landscape.
Officials in the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County called for the evacuations of five more areas Tuesday evening. Already, 20,000 people had been ordered to leave the area and other parts of Northern California.
It is too early to tell whether any of the wildfires were started by humans, said Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. "All these fires are under investigation," he told reporters, adding that his department was focusing on rescues and firefighting. But he said the chance the fires were caused by lightning was "fairly minimal."
Here's what we know so far, according to California authorities.
• At least 17 people have died since Sunday night, when most of the fires began. A total of 11 deaths were in Sonoma County, officials said.
• Two of those who died were in Napa County, county spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said. They were 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife, Sara, 98. They died when a fire engulfed their home near the Silverado Country Club north of Napa, Jourdan said.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
Hide Caption
16 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
17 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A woman evacuates horses as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9 in Orange.
Hide Caption
18 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames at a home in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim on October 9.
Hide Caption
19 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Hide Caption
20 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Residents of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Hide Caption
21 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at the Journey's End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
22 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A tent structure built for the 2017 Safeway Open burns on October 9 on a golf course at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
Hide Caption
23 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire consumes a barn October 9 as a wildfire moves through the area in Glen Ellen. Tens of thousands of acres and dozens of homes and businesses have burned in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Hide Caption
24 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
Hide Caption
25 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man passes a burning house in Napa's Silverado Crest subdivision on October 9.
Hide Caption
26 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes on October 9 in Glen Ellen.
Hide Caption
27 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
In this photo from the Sonoma Raceway, a wildfire burns behind the raceway October 9 in Sonoma.
Hide Caption
28 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A building burns at the Signorello Estate vineyards in Napa, California, on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
29 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
30 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
Hide Caption
31 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
An aerial photo shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, October 10. More than a dozen wildfires are raging across Northern California, with the biggest ones scorching the state's famous wine areas.
Hide Caption
1 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Josh Williamson, 8, gathers Nerf guns from the rubble of his destroyed home in Anaheim on October 10.
Hide Caption
2 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the production house of Paradise Ridge Winery on October 10 in Santa Rosa.
Hide Caption
3 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Hide Caption
4 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts with her son Harrison, left, after finding her wedding ring in debris of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Hide Caption
5 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned out car near Napa on October 10.
Hide Caption
6 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Darrel Spain, center, and his husband, Mark Papale, walk along a path near their destroyed home on October 10, as they look for their missing cat in Kenwood.
Hide Caption
7 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
8 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighting plane helps battle the blaze along Jamboree Road in Orange just north of the Tustin city line on October 9.
Hide Caption
9 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
10 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
Hide Caption
11 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove, near Santa Rosa, on October 9.
Hide Caption
12 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area at the Journey's End trailer park on October 9 in Santa Rosa.
Hide Caption
13 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
Hide Caption
14 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
15 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
Hide Caption
16 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
17 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A woman evacuates horses as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9 in Orange.
Hide Caption
18 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighter douses flames at a home in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim on October 9.
Hide Caption
19 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Hide Caption
20 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Residents of Santa Rosa's Coffey Park neighborhood sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Hide Caption
21 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at the Journey's End Mobile Home Park in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
22 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A tent structure built for the 2017 Safeway Open burns on October 9 on a golf course at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa.
Hide Caption
23 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire consumes a barn October 9 as a wildfire moves through the area in Glen Ellen. Tens of thousands of acres and dozens of homes and businesses have burned in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Hide Caption
24 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
Hide Caption
25 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man passes a burning house in Napa's Silverado Crest subdivision on October 9.
Hide Caption
26 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The remains of fire-damaged homes on October 9 in Glen Ellen.
Hide Caption
27 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
In this photo from the Sonoma Raceway, a wildfire burns behind the raceway October 9 in Sonoma.
Hide Caption
28 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A building burns at the Signorello Estate vineyards in Napa, California, on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
29 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
30 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
Hide Caption
31 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
An aerial photo shows a Santa Rosa neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire on Tuesday, October 10. More than a dozen wildfires are raging across Northern California, with the biggest ones scorching the state's famous wine areas.
Hide Caption
1 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Josh Williamson, 8, gathers Nerf guns from the rubble of his destroyed home in Anaheim on October 10.
Hide Caption
2 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the production house of Paradise Ridge Winery on October 10 in Santa Rosa.
Hide Caption
3 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Hide Caption
4 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts with her son Harrison, left, after finding her wedding ring in debris of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Hide Caption
5 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned out car near Napa on October 10.
Hide Caption
6 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Darrel Spain, center, and his husband, Mark Papale, walk along a path near their destroyed home on October 10, as they look for their missing cat in Kenwood.
Hide Caption
7 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Hide Caption
8 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A firefighting plane helps battle the blaze along Jamboree Road in Orange just north of the Tustin city line on October 9.
Hide Caption
9 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
10 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
Hide Caption
11 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove, near Santa Rosa, on October 9.
Hide Caption
12 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area at the Journey's End trailer park on October 9 in Santa Rosa.
Hide Caption
13 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
Hide Caption
14 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Hide Caption
15 of 31
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange in Southern California on October 9.
Hide Caption
16 of 31
• About 2,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the fires in Northern California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Tuesday.
• More than 100 people were being treated at Napa- and Sonoma-area hospitals for fire-related injuries or health issues, including burns, smoke inhalation and shortness of breath.
Before and after images show devastation of California wildfires
• Wildfires were burning more than 115,000 acres in California as of Tuesday.
Before and after: Images of California devastation
• Most of the Northern California fires ignited Sunday night, driven by winds of more than 50 mph and dry conditions, Pimlott said Monday. The high winds led to "extreme rates of spread and volatile burning conditions," according to Cal Fire.
Santa Rosa's Coffey Park Neighboorhood
GOOGLE MAPS, CHP - GOLDEN GATE DIVISION
• More than 180 people are missing, but authorities think communications issues are making it impossible for many of those people to check in with family.
Destruction in Santa Rosa
Margaret Curzon said her parents lost almost everything in the wildfire that destroyed their home and the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, a city of about 175,000 roughly 50 miles northwest of San Francisco.
Her mom woke up early Monday morning and smelled smoke, but thought it was the neighbor's barbecue or chimney, so she went back to sleep. They woke up again because their bichon frise, Brady, was whimpering.
Her father looked outside and his first thought was that there was some sort of bomb, or an attack.
"It looked like we were at war," Curzon said. "The sky was orange and there were embers falling from the sky."
Curzon said her parents had five or 10 minutes to grab their two dogs and anything else they could and escape.
She said it took about a half-hour to get out of their neighborhood because cars were bumper to bumper.
"He could feel the car getting hotter and hotter because the fire kept creeping up and getting closer to them," she said.
The only thing that remained at her house was a concrete statue of the Virgin Mary, Curzon said after visiting the home site later Monday.
Almost nothing is left of a home in Santa Rosa, California.
The devastation was significant in Santa Rosa. Fire leveled subdivisions and reduced cars and homes into burnt piles of ash and rubble.
Nearly 5,000 people were staying in Sonoma County shelters, county spokesman Scott Alonso said Tuesday.
A large part of Santa Rosa was evacuated, including Kaiser Permanente Hospital and Sutter Hospital. Authorities imposed a sundown-to-sunrise curfew for the northern and eastern parts of the city under evacuation orders.
Janice Abdalla captured this image of fires on a Monday flight into San Francisco International Airport.
"We are asking people to stay indoors" because of smoke, Alonso said.
There is no rain in the forecast this week, according to the National Weather Service. Winds in the next two days will come out of the north at around 10 to 20 mph with higher gusts of 35 to 40 mph possible, CNN Meteorologist Michael Guy said.
Family searches for woman after Santa Rosa fire
'Wine doesn't matter. People matter.'
The biggest blaze was the Tubbs fire, at 27,000 acres, stretching from Santa Rosa to the Calistoga area in Napa County.
That fire has destroyed at least 571 structures, Cal Fire said Tuesday, making it one of the top 15 most destructive fires in recorded California history.
Napa County also had the Atlas fire at 25,000 acres and the Partrick fire at 1,000 acres.
The numbers that reveal the scope of the California wildfires
In Sonoma County, firefighters battled the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, the Nuns fire at 5,000 acres and another fire that spread across 2,000 acres.
In Mendocino County, the Redwood Complex fire had burned at least 21,000 acres, as of Tuesday.
Large wildfires often are named for local geographic areas or features.
The Atlas fire destroyed several homes near the Silverado Country Club north of Napa, CNN affiliate KPIX reported, including the house where the Rippeys died.
Also in that area, fire burned the main building of the Signorello Estate Winery to the ground. Broken and charred wine bottles remained on seared metal shelves, video from KPIX showed.
News Courtesy: www.cnn.com
