Wildfires now up to 100 miles wide as death toll reaches 40

[Right_in_Virginia]

Wildfires now up to 100 miles wide as death toll reaches 40
Philly.com, October 14, 2017 — 9:08 PM EDT, ELLEN KNICKMEYER & TERRY CHEA, The Associated Press

The California wildfires raced toward wineries and the historic town of Sonoma on Saturday, chasing hundreds more people from their homes and threatening to roll back firefighters' modest gains against fires that stretched across a 100-mile swath of Northern California.

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Nearly a week after the blazes began, the fires have left 40 people dead and destroyed at least 5,700 homes and businesses, making them the deadliest and most destructive group of wildfires in California history. Some 300 people remain unaccounted for, though officials think they'll locate most of those people alive.

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In all, 17 large fires still burned across the northern part of the state, with more than 10,000 firefighters attacking the flames using air tankers, helicopters and more than 1,000 fire engines.


More:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20171014_ap_962f708143144d2eb356df659277435b.html

[DB]

See the video in the article below from the perspective a sheriff officer's body cam:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Live-updates-35-dead-NorCal-fires-5700-destroyed-12277244.php?ipid=articlerecirc#photo-14343596

[Right_in_Virginia]

I thought they were seceding ...

Editorial: California burns: Where’s the president?
SF Chronicle, Oct 15, 2017

As raging wildfires devour the lives, homes and dreams of Californians in an unprecedented scale, one voice has been conspicuously mute through day after day of crisis: President Trump.

This is not a man who is reticent to let Americans know what is foremost on his mind. He is also someone who should have learned by now — after devastating hurricanes and the Las Vegas massacre — that Americans expect their president to step forward with empathy and resolve in moments of national trauma.

Yet Trump has offered no more than a few perfunctory words about the Wine Country fires that have left at least 40 dead, consumed thousands of structures and stretched the physical and mental mettle of the dedicated firefighters and medical professionals to the edge of exhaustion.

On Tuesday, before welcoming the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, Trump said he had spoken with Gov. Jerry Brown and that the federal government would stand with the “people of California and be there with you in this time of terrible tragedy and need.”

More:  http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/editorials/article/

[Right_in_Virginia]

BTW ----

Trump Approves Major Disaster Declaration for California Wildfires, Pence Announces in Sacramento
Fox Sacramento, Oct 10, 2017

SACRAMENTO — Vice President Mike Pence offered gratitude Tuesday to firefighters battling California wildfires and pledged federal support, marking a contrast with President Donald Trump, who hasn’t yet publicly commented on the crisis.

The Trump administration has made a federal major disaster declaration for California, Pence also announced in Mather during a quick stop at the Office of Emergency Services.

Pence also spoke on the issue Monday night at a tax reform event in Sacramento, telling Californians, “We will see you through these challenging times.”

He vowed the federal government is ready to help as wildfires rip through parts of the state, adding that he spoke with California’s Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown to assure him “the federal government stands ready to provide assistance as your first responders confront this challenge.”


More: http://fox40.com/2017/10/10/trump-approves-major-disaster-declaration-for-california-wildfires-pence-announces-in-sacramento/