Wildfires prompt evacuations in California's wine country
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Wildfires swept through California's wine country on Monday, forcing some 20,000 residents to flee, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and prompting at least two hospitals to evacuate, state officials said.
Fourteen wildfires in eight northern California counties had burned more than 57,000 acres in the last 12 hours, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) spokesman Daniel Berlant. About 1,500 homes and commercial buildings have been destroyed.
Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties as the blazes engulfed the region in thick, billowing smoke that drifted into San Francisco and Oakland.
Several of the fires remained out of control, as thousands of firefighters battled wind gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour.
There were no reports of fatalities or serious injuries.
In Santa Rosa, patients at Kaiser Permanente hospital were safely moved to other facilities, according to the hospital's Twitter account. Video posted by a local ABC news reporter showed hospital staff wheeling gurneys through thick smoke as a fire raged in the trees behind them. Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital was also safely evacuated.
Guests at the Silverado Resort and Spa told the San Francisco Chronicle they escaped in a rush as a fire approached the hotel grounds.
"When I started loading stuff into the car it was a hell-storm of smoke and ash," Chris Thomas, 42, who was in Napa for a wine-tasting trip with his wife, told the newspaper.
"It went from being an annoying evacuation to something really scary.”
San Francisco authorities issued an air quality alert due to smoke from the blazes, warning residents to close windows, limit outdoor activities and keep pets inside.
Wesley Carr, 23, a resident of Sebastopol in Sonoma County, said on Monday morning that smoke from the fires had enveloped the area.
"The sun is a pale yellow, that's how thick the smoke is," he said, adding that ash is floating in the air from one of the fires, which he estimated is about 30 miles away.
The "Tubbs" fire in Napa County, about 70 miles north of San Francisco in an area world-famous for its vineyards, had consumed 25,000 acres as of late Monday morning according to CalFire.
The "Atlas" fire, meanwhile, had burned through an additional 25,000 acres in the hills above Napa County.
Schools were closed in Napa and Sonoma, and residents reported losing power and cellular phone service amid strong winds.
(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver and Gina Cherelus and Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Tom Brown and Diane Craft)
