Ash that resembles snow covers streets and houses in Northern California in overhead images that make clear the devastation caused by wildfires that have been ripping through the area since Sunday night- burning through more than 170,000 acres of land.
Photos taken on Wednesday show the huge plumes of smoke rising from communities ravaged by the fires across California, which have killed 21 people so far in the north and nearly 150 are unaccounted for, and forced 20,000 across the state to evacuate their homes.
Three days after the fires began, firefighters were still unable to gain control of the blazes that had turned entire Northern California neighborhoods to ash and destroyed at least 3,500 homes and businesses and polluted air quality in the region.
Among the tens of thousands of properties that have been damaged are Napa’s wineries, causing wine to flow life a river under smoldered debris after escaping charred barrels.
Ash that resembles snow covers streets and houses in Northern California in overhead images that make clear the devastation caused by wildfires that have been ripping through the area since Sunday night- burning through more than 170,000 acres of land
Photos taken on Wednesday show the huge plumes of smoke rising from communities ravaged by the fires across California, which have killed 21 people so far in the north and nearly 150 are unaccounted for, and forced 20,000 across the state to evacuate their homes
Pictured is one of the communities that was destroyed in the fires, which started on Sunday and have yet to be fully contained
On Wednesday Cars of evacuees raced away from the flames while countless emergency vehicles raced toward them, sirens blaring. Pictured is an inmate crew headed to clear brush on Wednesday
More than 3,500 homes and businesses were ruined in the fires. A car destroyed by the Tubbs Fire sits on the street on Wednesday as people are just now being allowed back into the area
Three days after the fires began, firefighters were still unable to gain control of the blazes that had turned entire Northern California neighborhoods to ash and destroyed at least 3,500 homes and businesses and polluted air quality in the region
Among the dead are a married couple, aged 100 and 99, who were unable to evacuate in time. A deaf-blind woman is also believed to be among the dead.
Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties and requested a presidential major disaster declaration to help battle at least 18 blazes burning throughout the state.
President Trump has yet to say anything about the matter.
The series of fires are among the deadliest in the state’s history – and caused ash to snow over the Sonoma Valley, covering windshields, as winds begin picking up toward the potentially disastrous forecast speed of 30 mph.
On Wednesday Cars of evacuees raced away from the flames while countless emergency vehicles raced toward them, sirens blaring. Residents manhandled canvas bags into cars jammed with possessions or filled their gas tanks to escape the fires – not knowing when they will be able to return to their homes.
Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties and requested a presidential major disaster declaration to help battle at least 18 blazes burning throughout the state. Pictured are burned homes in the Coffey Park area on Wednesday night
‘We’re seeing the worst air quality ever recorded in many parts of the Bay Area,’ Tom Flannigan, PIO for the Bay Area Quality Management District told SFGate . ‘The entire Bay Area population is likely being affected by the smoke.’ Pictured residents wear face masks and wait for police to escort them in and out of their homes so they can attempt to salvage ruined belongings
Governor Jerry Brown said at a news conference on Wednesday that the entire state is in for a long recovery period
Whole neighborhoods were leveled, with only brick chimneys and charred appliances to mark sites that were once family homes. Pictured are burnt homes in Santa Rosa California
Flames have raced across the wine-growing region and the scenic coastal area of Mendocino farther north, leaving little more than smoldering ashes and eye-stinging smoke in their wake
Homes have been completely destroyed in the flames engulfing Northern California this week. Governor Jerry Brown asked for a presidential major disaster declaration to help battle at least 18 blazes burning throughout the state. President Trump has yet to say anything about the matter
Governor Jerry Brown said at a news conference on Wednesday that the entire state is in for a long recovery period.
‘We’ve had big fired in the past,’ he explained. ‘This is one of the biggest, most serious. It’s not over.’
They said 8,000 firefighters and other personnel were battling the blazes and more resources were pouring in from Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Arizona.
Flames have raced across the wine-growing region and the scenic coastal area of Mendocino farther north, leaving little more than smoldering ashes and eye-stinging smoke in their wake.
Whole neighborhoods were leveled, with only brick chimneys and charred appliances to mark sites that were once family homes.
‘We’re seeing the worst air quality ever recorded in many parts of the Bay Area,’ Tom Flannigan, PIO for the Bay Area Quality Management District told SFGate.
‘The entire Bay Area population is likely being affected by the smoke.’
Fire consumes two cars but spares a home on Keiser Road southwest of Kenwood, California on Tuesday
A raging wildfire can be seen over the crest of a hill on Tuesday night. Firefighters in California say they have battled over a dozen blazed burning in the region but that they aren’t slowing down
Ben Pederson sorts through the ashes to find a school yearbook in the remains of his bedroom after his family’s home was destroyed in the Northern California wildfires
Some of the largest of more than a dozen blazes burning over a 200-mile region were in Napa and Sonoma counties, home to dozens of wineries that attract tourists from around the world. They sent smoke as far south as San Francisco, about 60 miles away. Pictured is smoke rising netweem from one of the wildfires still burning Wednesday
A row of chimneys stand in a wildfire-damaged neighborhood. Governor Jerry Brown said at a news conference on Wednesday that the entire state is in for a long recovery period
Prisoners from the McCain inmate crew from San Diego, clear brush from a road on Wednesday in Calistoga, California. Crews from the south were brought up north due to the inadequate man-power to put out the fires and clear up the region
The main building at Paras Vinyards burns in the Mount Veeder area of Napa in California on Tuesday as firefighters fight blazes across the country
A boiling river of wine flows underneath smoldering debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, California on Tuesday
Burned wine barrels are seen at a destroyed Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday. Firefighters battled wildfires in California’s wine region on Tuesday as the death toll rose to 21 and thousands were left homeless in neighborhoods reduced to ashes
In Southern California, most evacuation orders have been lifted as firefighters successfully battle a wildfire that destroyed 14 buildings, most of them homes.
Thousands of people in Tustin, Orange and Anaheim were allowed to begin returning home Tuesday evening, a day after the blaze erupted in northern Orange County.
Some of the largest of more than a dozen blazes burning over a 200-mile region were in Napa and Sonoma counties, home to dozens of wineries that attract tourists from around the world. They sent smoke as far south as San Francisco, about 60 miles away.
Sonoma County said it has received more than 100 missing-person reports as family and friends scramble to locate loved ones.
‘It looks like a bombing run here,’ said winemaker Joe Nielsen of Santa Rosa’s Donelan Family Wines, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘Just chimneys and burnt-out cars and cooked trees.’
The nightmare continued Tuesday evening for the residents and workers of the postcard-pretty Santa Rosa wine country, which is hugely popular with tourists, as the fires burned on and on.
Damaged wine making vats and tanks due to a wildfire stand in ashes and debris at the production house of Paradise Ridge Winery on Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California
Some of the largest of more than a dozen blazes burning over a 200-mile region were in Napa and Sonoma counties, home to dozens of wineries that attract tourists from around the world. Pictured above, wine making vats at Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa
A rack of burned bottles of wine are seen at the Signorello Estate winery in Napa, California, after wildfires hit the region this week
A pile of furniture burns during the Nuns Fire in Kenwood, California, in Sanoma County, on Tuesday as ravaged the region
Fires continue to burn in and around Napa, California, and smoke from the blazes can be seen as far south as San Francisco, about 60 miles away
‘We are literally looking at explosive vegetation,’ said Ken Pimlott, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
‘It is very dynamic. These fires are changing by the minute in many areas. Make no mistake, this is a serious, critical, catastrophic event.’
The fires have burned through a staggering 265 square miles (686 square kilometers) of urban and rural areas. High winds and low humidity made conditions ideal for fire on the start virtually anywhere on ground that was parched from years of drought.
Meanwhile in southern California, a monster Canyon 2 blaze cast an orange glow over the Disneyland theme park late last night, although Police and Fire Department spokesman Sgt Daron Wyatt was keen to reassure tourists that they are in no danger and that the resort is safe.
Photos, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, taken in Anaheim – a city of 350,000 people south of Los Angeles, show destroyed homes, cars caved in and children’s toys reduced to melted blobs of plastic.
Approximately 7,500 acres have been consumed by the conflagration since early Monday morning, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 homes and putting another 35,000 at risk.
Sgt Wyatt, 50, told DailyMail.com that the fire has destroyed 14 homes so far and damaged another 22 – among them six properties on Canyon Heights Drive where these photos were taken.
This aerial image shows a neighborhood that was destroyed by a wildfire in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday. Newly homeless residents of California wine country took stock of their shattered lives Tuesday, a day after deadly wildfires destroyed homes and businesses
A destroyed Journeys End Mobile Home Park is seen in Santa Rosa, California. Firefighters encouraged by weakening winds were battling
April Lee views a burned home in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday after firefighters battled huge blazes in the state’s wine region
Gina Baier looks for family heirloom china that may have survived in the remains of her home in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, California
Residents embrace after viewing their destroyed home in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday after wildfires destroyed properties in the region
A neighborhood is destroyed by fire in the area of Foxtail Court in Santa Rosa, California. More than a dozen wildfires continue to spread in eight Northern California counties
Most of the fire damage is located in the Anaheim Hills, close to the Limestone Canyon Regional Park, where residents said their homes were engulfed within an hour of the first police warning at approximately 10am on Monday.
‘About 10am in the morning, I came outside and smelled it and saw the smoke and the flames were coming straight this way at us,’ said Cory Murdock, 45, a financial planner who lives with his wife Alison, 40, and their five-year-old twins William and Madison.
‘We knew it was coming straight towards us. We tried to warn some of the neighbors and grabbed our stuff pretty quick because we knew what was coming.
‘Around five to 10 minutes later, the police came round, telling everybody – you do need to go now. We were just helping everybody, trying to grab as much stuff as we could and got out of here.’
Others told of their terror as they battled to escape through clouds of choking black smoke and showers of burning ash particles.
Meanwhile in southern California, a monster Canyon 2 blaze cast an orange glow over the Disneyland theme park late last night
Police and Fire Department spokesman Sgt Daron Wyatt was keen to reassure tourists that they are in no danger and that the resort is safe
Aimee Piazza, 44, a mother-of-two, was at home when the blaze began and said the 40 minutes it took her to escape were some of the most frightening of her life.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘It really was sheer terror. I’ve been up here through fires before, I’ve lived up here all my life, and I’ve never been through such fires before.
‘The smoke and how crazy it was and the panic of everybody trying to get out. I didn’t even know if everyone did get out – I didn’t even know if my neighbors were OK until now.’
Murdock added: ‘There was so much ash and there was the smoke – it was just really thick but we couldn’t feel the heat from the fire when we left.
‘We could see to the end of the street when we left but during the middle of it… I’ve got ash burned into my backyard, we’ve lost trees… Everything. So it was just flying everywhere. But we were lucky.’
Among those to lose everything was Michelle Homen, 58, whose property sits close to Piazza’s own home.
Others to lose their residences included parents-of-three Janet and Kevin Shaevitz, 42 and 53 respectively, and Sylvester McBride, 54, and his wife Ann, 51.
Neighbors described Homen as ‘devastated’, adding: ‘She’s totally devastated but she says she’s going to rebuild.
‘They’re just looking for a place to stay right now.’
Police and the American Red Cross have set up evacuation centers across Anaheim, including downtown and at a police substation in the eastern part of the city.
Jordan Williamson (right) and his sons survey damage to their home after it was destroyed by the Canyon Fire 2 in Anaheim Hills
Sructures were destroyed and 7,500 acres burned in a fire that is now 25 percent contained. In northern California, at least 15 people have died and over 75,000 acres have been scored by more than a dozen fires and California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in several northern California counties
A 7,500-acre wind-driven brush fire that has destroyed several homes and structures continues to burn through several Orange County cities, south of Los Angeles
Police and the American Red Cross have set up evacuation centers across Anaheim, including downtown and at a police substation in the eastern part of the city. Pictured above, firefighters in Anaheim Hills
Most of the fire damage is located in the Anaheim Hills, close to the Limestone Canyon Regional Park, where residents said their homes were engulfed within an hour of the first police warning at approximately 10am on Monday
Some evacuated early, while others told of their terror as they battled to escape through clouds of choking black smoke and showers of burning ash particles
Residents living in the evacuation zones have been told not to return to their homes until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, although some have been allowed to collect essential medication accompanied by a police escort
Many of those who have been evacuated by the fire are staying with relations or friends, while others have checked into local hotels
Residents living in the evacuation zones have been told not to return to their homes until Wednesday afternoon at the earliest, although some have been allowed to collect essential medication accompanied by a police escort.
One who did was Kumari Bharil, 53, who allowed DailyMail.com to accompany her as she returned to her property.
The house, which sits on a quiet street overlooking a charred stretch of hillside, stank of smoke but Bharil said she was pleased by the lack of damage, telling DailyMail.com: ‘I’m happy with this but I’m hoping to come back home soon.’
She added: ‘They said I could in here and get my medication. This is such a beautiful area and I really like it.
‘I am so amazed at the firefighters and the job they do – I am so grateful for that. I really appreciate everything everybody is doing to protect the property and everything like that.’
The mother-of-two, who is staying with her parents nearby, said of the evacuation: ‘It happened yesterday morning around 10.30.
‘I was at the gym and I couldn’t get back into the house. I didn’t have anything because I just had my gym clothes and my purse. It was scary, it was very scary. All that smoke and fire.’
Like Bharil, many of those evacuated are staying with relations or friends, while others have checked into local hotels.
The Anaheim Police Department has now lifted some of the evacuation orders in place, although much of the eastern part of the city remains shut down
According to Sgt. Wyatt, resources are currently being focused on the eastern side of the fire with helicopters dropping water and planes pouring retardant in a bid to contain the blaze
Thousands of people in Tustin, Orange and Anaheim were allowed to begin returning home Tuesday evening, a day after the blaze erupted in northern Orange County
Joshua Williamson walks in front of his home destroyed by the Canyon Fire 2 in Anaheim Hills, California, on Tuesday, after a blaze hit the area
Among them is Rachel Suon, 22, who fled with her mother and her dogs Winnie and Rocky early yesterday morning.
‘My dad booked us a hotel in Anaheim close to Disneyland – we stayed there last night,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘We left a lot behind. I left some clothes, all the pictures we have, furniture – everything. The fire was very close.
‘I actually live on East Manor Ridge Drive and the fire was right down the street on the cul-de-sac area. It was very scary.’
Medic Marie Pham, 40, said she had left her ID and credit cards at her home in one of the evacuation zones and is currently unable to work because of their loss.
She also told DailyMail.com that she was terrified that her home, which she shares with husband Hien and their children Katelyn, nine, and Christopher, seven, will burn down.
Pham said: ‘I grabbed everything I could but I’d come from the gym, so I left my ID [at home] and my credit cards in the house.
The remains of the Signorello Estate winery continue to smolder Tuesday in Napa, California, following massive wildfires in the region
This aerial image taken on Tuesday shows a neighborhood that was destroyed by a wildfire in Santa Rosa, California, earlier this week
Homes were burned completely to the ground in Santa Rosa, California, which was hit by deadly wildfires over the past week
Multiple wildfires are scattered throughout Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties, leaving at least 17 people dead and destroying homes and businesses in their path
religious statue is seen among fire damaged buildings at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday
‘I didn’t grab my husband’s meds, so now he’s trying to go back there to get them. It was very frightening because it got very close.
‘The next two blocks up, the houses burned down, their cars melted. We were really close by the same spot.
She added: ‘I’m kind of nervous – I hope it stops before it gets to our house.’
The Anaheim Police Department has now lifted some of the evacuation orders in place, although much of the eastern part of the city remains shut down.
According to Sgt. Wyatt, resources are currently being focused on the eastern side of the fire with helicopters dropping water and planes pouring retardant in a bid to contain the blaze.
He added: ‘Several thousand residents have been displaced and we understand their frustration and we want to get them back into their homes as soon as possible.
‘But our focus is the preservation of life and making sure it’s safe to do so. Until then, our advice is always that we’ve made an evacuation order for a reason. Our advice is always to leave.’