The Latest: Evacuations drop to 34,000 in wine country

SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) – The Latest on California wildfires (all times local):

8:25 p.m.

Authorities say roughly 34,000 people remain evacuated from wildfires in Northern California that broke out a week ago.

A swimming pool sits among the charred remains of a home in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said Monday there are reports of dozens of people missing in the county a week after deadly wildfires started in Northern California’s wine country. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

The number is dramatically lower than a high of nearly 100,000 on Saturday in Sonoma, Napa and other counties.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the death toll remains at 41 with more than 5,700 homes and structures destroyed.

Elsewhere, about 150 households have been evacuated after a wildfire broke out in the Santa Cruz mountains in the southern San Francisco Bay Area.

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7:30 a.m.

Two firefighters have been injured battling a blaze in California’s Santa Cruz mountains.

One firefighter was rescued after falling down a steep ravine and is being transported to a hospital. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Angela Bernheisel says the firefighter has a possible wrist fracture.

Another firefighter was treated earlier for smoke inhalation.

Authorities say the fire is holding at 125 acres and evacuations of 150 homes are ongoing. The vegetation blaze was sparked by a house fire.

In the state’s wine country to the north, firefighters are getting a handle on a number of wildfires that broke out about a week ago, killing at least 40 people and destroying thousands of buildings and homes.

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Corrects name of state fire agency to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

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6:45 a.m.

Helicopters are making water drops as crews working in steep terrain battle an out-of-control fire burning near a historic observatory and communications towers on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles.

Robert Diaz of the Los Angeles County Fire Department says more than 25 acres of dry brush have been charred since the blaze broke out shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday near the 5,710 foot (1,740 meter) peak. There is no containment.

A huge plume of smoke is visible across the Los Angeles basin and surrounding valleys.

Officials say the observatory has been evacuated and the fire is not burning near foothill residences.

Firefighters hope to make progress surrounding the fire while winds remain calm amid cooler morning temperatures.

Mount Wilson, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles, houses critical broadcast and communications antennas for the region.

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6:15 a.m.

Northern California firefighters are battling a fire that sprang up overnight in the southern Bay Area Santa Cruz mountains, prompting evacuation orders.

Rob Sherman, assistant chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, tells KNTV news that at least one structure is destroyed and about 100 homes threatened.

Sherman said that a house fire is believed to have sparked the quick-spreading blaze.

Firefighters plan to attack the flames from air once the sun rises.

A cluster of wildfires have been burning in northern California for a week. The fires, the deadliest cluster in California history, have killed at least 41 people and destroyed nearly 6,000 homes.

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3 a.m.

A week after fleeing wildfires, tens of thousands of Californians are drifting back into their neighborhoods.

Some will face the prospect of destroyed homes. All will face possible lasting emotional damage.

Mendocino County Supervisor Rob Brown said Monday that “it’s never going to be the same” for the 8,000 evacuees from his county allowed to return home.

Brown said they’ll have to seek a new normal after the destruction, displacement and devastation of the fires that destroyed nearly 6,000 homes and killed 41 people.

Officials in neighboring Sonoma County, which had the most death and destruction, said they have increasingly been getting calls from people worried about mentally coping with what’s happened.

From left, Rick Olcese, Ty Knapp and Ariana Olcese search for the Olcese family cats in the Larkfield neighborhood, Monday Oct. 16, 2017, near Santa Rosa, Calif. Calm winds gave an advantage to firefighters trying to tame the flames of deadly wildfires on Monday. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

Phyllis Rogers checks for mail in front of her destroyed home in Larkfield, near Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday Oct. 16, 2017. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

The National Guard deploys in to Larkfield, near Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday Oct. 16, 2017. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

Alameda County Search and Rescue teams search for a sign of human remains in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday Oct. 16, 2017. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

Karen Atkinson and Amiga, her 7-year-old Human Remains Detection dog, search the area of Coffey Park for human remains Monday, Oct. 16. 2017, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP)

Search and rescue members from Alameda and Marin counties search inside a car which is covered in debris in Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Chris Bipes, right, looks at a coin from his collection which he found in the ashes of his home near Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Authorities sift through the burned area of a home as they search for victims at Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Marin County Search and Rescue member Karen Atkinson gives her dog Amiga a drink of water during their search for victims in Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Smoke from the Nuns fire wafts over the Welcome to the Napa Valley sign, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Oakville, Calif. State and local officials say they are trying to get people back into their homes, but they cautioned that it could take days and even weeks for neighborhoods hard hit by Northern California wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The arched entryway Monday Oct., 16, 2017, is all that remains of a home that was destroyed in a wildfire that swept through the area last week in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A man stops to take a photo by the Welcome to the Napa Valley sign as the Nuns wildfire burns in the background Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Oakville, Calif. State and local officials say they are trying to get people back into their homes, but they cautioned that it could take days and even weeks for neighborhoods hard hit by Northern California wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A United States flag hangs from the charred remains of a home in Santa Rosa, Calif. Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. Massive wildfires swept through area last week destroying thousands of homes and businesses and claiming the lives of dozens of people who were unable to escape the flames. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Tyler Knapp looks over the burned remains of a pickup truck in Santa Rosa, Calif. Monday, Oct. 16, 2017.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Chris Alejos, left, and his wife, Brittany, get help from friend Nick Cann as they remove a bed frame from their home in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif. Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. The Alejos home was not damaged by the fire that destroyed homes all around theirs, but smoke damage and no power made it unlivable for now. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A house stands intact above one that was destroyed by wildfire near Atlas Peak Road, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Napa, Calif. State and local officials say they are trying to get people back into their homes, but they cautioned that it could take days and even weeks for neighborhoods hard hit by Northern California wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A house stands intact above one that was destroyed by wildfire near Atlas Peak Road Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Napa, Calif. State and local officials say they are trying to get people back into their homes, but they cautioned that it could take days and even weeks for neighborhoods hard hit by Northern California wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Workers at the Signorello Estate winery install new irrigation pipes to replace ones burned by wildfire Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Napa, Calif. State and local officials say they are trying to get people back into their homes, but they cautioned that it could take days and even weeks for neighborhoods hard hit by Northern California wildfires. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A United States flag flies over the charred remains of a house in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A scorched truck and wheelchair sit outside the charred remains of a house in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

A Pacific Gas and Electric base camp is visible in the distance at Starmont Winery and Vineyards, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Napa, Calif. With the winds dying down, fire crews gained ground as they battled wildfires that have devastated California wine country and other parts of the state over the past week, and thousands of people got the all-clear to return home. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Firefighters from Southern California wait to check into their rooms at the Napa River Inn, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Napa, Calif. First responders have been allowed to stay free at the hotel all week. With the winds dying down, fire crews gained ground as they battled wildfires that have devastated California wine country and other parts of the state over the past week, and thousands of people got the all-clear to return home. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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