US: Northern California Wildfires Kill 3, Force Thousands To Flee

A Northern California wildfire on the foothills of the Cascade range on Monday, September 28, killed three people and destroyed homes, resulting in orders for thousands of people to be evacuated.

The three fatalities in the 'Zogg fire' in Shasta County, which erupted near Redding on Sunday, were reported by the county sheriff and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), according to Reuters.

The fatalities bring the total count of those who have been killed since mid-August in the California wildfire season to 29.

The Zogg fire has destroyed 146 structures and burnt 31,000 acres of grassy hillsides and oak woodlands thick with dry scrub. The fire also coincided with the 'Glass Fire' in the heart of California's wine country north of the Bay area. The latter has spread across 36,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties since Sunday, burning over 100 homes and forcing around 70,000 people to be evacuated.

"Our firefighters have not had much of a break, and these residents have not had much of a break," Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or Cal Fire was quoted as saying by AP.

In the latest fire, over 68,000 people in Sonoma and Napa counties have been evacuated. The Glass Fire broke out before 4 am on Sunday and merged with two other fires.

"We're experienced with that. Once you lose a house and represent thousands of folks who've lost homes, you become pretty fatalistic that this is a new way of life and, depressingly, a normal way of life, the mega-fires that are spreading throughout the West," said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin, who vacuated her property in the Oakmont community of Santa Rosa at around 1 am.