California declares state of emergency as deadly wildfires sweep wine country

As the deadly wildfires continued to sweep through California’s wine region, the State Governor, Mr. Jerry Brown, has declared a state of emergency in northern areas after mass evacuations of residents in the area.

According to report, the fast-spreading fire have killed at least 11 people and not less than 1,500 properties destroyed.

About 20,000 people fled from Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties in response to some the state’s worst-ever wildfires.

Such fires are more common in southern California but a combination of dry weather and strong winds has fuelled the destruction in the north.

Giving reason for declaring a state of emergency the areas, Governor Brown, said that the fire the fires have destroyed structures and continue to threaten thousands of homes, and that necessitated the need for evacuation of thousands of residents in the northern areas.

The Governor, however, appealed to President Donald Trump in a five-page letter on Monday to declare a major disaster and send federal emergency aid to the fire-ravaged state.

Meanwhile, there is little sign the weather in the coming days will bring relief to firefighters, as more tinder-dry conditions are forecast, with no rain expected.

It is worthy of note that at least 14 fires have raged across nine California counties, sending smoke as far south as San Francisco, located about 60 miles (96km) away.

Although, details of how the seven people died in Sonoma were not immediately available but country sheriff Rob Giordano said he expected the death toll to rise.

“There is a lot of burned homes and a lot of burned areas, so it’s just logical that we’re gonna find more people,” he said.

In the same vein, a separate wildfire burnt 24 homes and other buildings in the wealthy Anaheim Hills area of Orange County of southern California, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate the area.