Wildfires Blaze in Northern California (Photos)

Multiple fires

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Today (Oct. 10), in California, firefighting efforts continued against multiple wildfires that began on the evening of Oct. 8 and quickly spread to consume 115,000 acres, causing at least 13 deaths, hospitalizing over 100 people, and forcing an estimated 20,000 people to evacuate, the New York Times reported.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a state of emergency yesterday (Oct. 9) in eight counties affected by the fires: Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange Counties, empowering state agencies to use all available resources for disaster response and relief, according to the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES). 

In this photo, fire consumes a barn as an out-of-control wildfire moves through the area on Oct. 9 in Glen Ellen, California.

Much to lose

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

A resident rushes to save his home in Glen Ellen, California, on Oct. 9. Tens of thousands of acres and dozens of homes and businesses have burned in widespread wildfires blazing in Napa and Sonoma counties.

The devouring inferno

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Flames consume a home in Glen Ellen, California. The small town in Sonoma County was especially hard-hit by the wildfires, with dozens of homes reduced to charred and smoking ruins, SF Gate reported.

Saving property

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty)

Firemen douse the flames at a house in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim, California, on Oct. 9. A fire spread quickly through the area, destroying homes, and prompting mandatory evacuations and freeway closures.

Dousing the flames

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty)

Firefighters spray water on a house that was destroyed by a fire in the Anaheim Hills neighborhood in Anaheim, California, on Oct. 9.

Road blocks

California Wildfires

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty)

A police car blocks the 241 freeway, as smoke from the Canyon 2 Fire — one of 17 fires blazing across California — rolls over the road near Orange, California, on Oct. 9.

Highway to nowhere

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty)

In Orange, California, traffic was at a standstill as people fled from the Santa Ana winds, which blew fire and smoke toward them from the Canyon 2 fire, one of more than a dozen wildfires burning across the state.

Creatures in need

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty)

A woman evacuates a horse in Orange, California. Both wear protective gear against the ash and smoke carried by strong Santa Ana winds.

Charred remains

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty)

Remnants of damaged buildings are visible after a wildfire moved through California's Santa Rosa and Napa Valleys on Oct. 10, destroying homes and businesses, and leaving at least 10 people dead.

Scorched belongings

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Smoke rises from the remains of fire-damaged homes in Glen Ellen, California.

Destruction in its wake

California Wildfires

(Image credit: Peter Thoshinsky/ZUMA)

In Santa Rosa, California, a fast-moving wildfire destroyed hundreds of buildings. Fueled by high winds, the fire was just one of many in the region that burned thousands of acres and claimed at least 13 lives.

Live Science Staff
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