At least 15 wildfires in California have destroyed more than 115,000 acres across the Northern and Southern part of the state Monday, killing at least 15 people and injuring hundreds more, the New York Times reports.
The California wildfires stoked furiously overnight Sunday, Oct. 9, spreading rapidly and causing Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency. Santa Rosa, the largest city in the Northern California impact area, has been hit particularly hard. In the south, around Anaheim, evacuations and road closures are in progress.
The wildfires have also spread across California’s Wine Country, including Napa and Sonoma counties, where it has caused considerable damage so far. In total, the fires have burned at least 2,000 buildings, evacuating as many as 20,000 people, the Washington Post reports.
“Imagine a wind-whipped fire burning at explosive rates,” says California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott. “This is 50 miles per hour. Literally it’s burning into the city of Santa Rosa … burning box stores.”
In Southern California, another large fire has begun to rage in Anaheim’s East Hills. According to Anaheim Fire and Rescue, 200 firefighters have been battling the blaze, which has grown from 500 to 2,000 acres between noon and 2 p.m. Local time, Monday. In addition to hoses on the ground, the fire department has used six helicopters and six fixed wing aircraft to stop the fire’s spread.
#Canyon2Fire [update] west of Gypsum Canyon (Orange County) per @AnaheimFire is now 2,000 acres. Evacuations and road closures in progress. Pic.twitter.com/2Yq0VkVej0
— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) October 9, 2017
For images of the damage caused by California’s wildfires, view the photo gallery above.