At least 10 killed in California firestorm

A blaze consuming the state has killed at least 10 people and injured at least 100.

More than 5,000 Southern California homes were evacuated Monday as fire crews struggled to battle a rapidly growing brush fire.

The blaze has scorched 6,000 acres and destroyed dozens of structures in Orange County.

Plumes of smoke were visible over Disneyland and officials issued air quality warnings for parts of Los Angeles County.

An Anaheim police spokesman says there is no containment so far.

The firestorm consuming the state has killed at least 10 people and injured at least 100.

Two of the injured are critical. One has been transferred to a burn center with significant burns. Fifteen of the injuries are described as moderate and the rest are minor.

The number of injured is expected to climb as information comes in for all the other areas affected by the firestorm.

Vice President Mike Pence said during a visit to California that the federal government stands ready to provide any and all assistance to the state as it deals with deadly and destructive wildfires.

Pence’s remarks came at an event Monday night in the Sacramento area after Gov. Jerry Brown, who has given disaster declarations to many parts of the state, said he asked President Donald Trump to declare a federal disaster. Pence said “we’ll be working very closely with Gov. Brown and California to see you through these challenging times. We are standing with you.”

Authorities have imposed a sunset-to-sunrise curfew in the city of Santa Rosa and say they are on the lookout for looters as firefighters battle blazes raging in California wine country.

Acting police Chief Craig Schwartz said Monday the curfew will be enforced in a mandatory evacuation zone, with violators possibly subject to arrest.

Other officials said they were beginning to get reports of looting in areas affected by fires.

Santa Rosa has about 175,000 residents.

Trailer park residents in California wine country had little time to escape before flames destroyed their homes.

Nancy Cook said Monday that her dogs alerted her to the wildfire that quickly came blowing over a hill early in the morning and ignited trees in the Journey’s End trailer park in Santa Rosa.

The fire is one of the most destructive of more than a dozen in the region.

Cook says she pounded on neighbors’ doors before fleeing with her husband, dogs and medications.

She and other residents didn’t have time to round up their cats and had to leave them behind in their haste. Some fled in their pajamas and left their wallets.

One person had to abandon a classic hotrod car that burned.

Cook says she thinks everyone in the over-55 community escaped, though most residents lost everything they owned.

By: AP

CaliforniaNatural disaster