GLIMMERS OF HOPE
There were some glimmers of hope as winds weakened and firefighters made progress with blazes such as the Cascade Fire, about 80 miles northeast of Santa Rosa, which was nearly 10,000 acres and 87 percent contained on Saturday, Cal Fire said.
Weakening winds overnight should help but high temperatures and dry conditions were expected to remain through the weekend, forecasters said.
”This is still very much in play. The danger is still very present," said U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California who accompanied Brown.
At least a dozen Napa Valley and Sonoma County wineries were damaged or destroyed, throwing the state's wine industry and related tourism into disarray.
For the picturesque Napa Valley town of Calistoga, now evacuated, the winds were a double-edged sword. The town was spared by hazardous winds when they shifted, but Mayor Chris Canning warned a resurgence could pose a new threat.
Fire officials said the Tubbs fire, between Calistoga and Santa Rosa, was about 44 percent contained, while another in wine country, the Atlas fire, was at 45 percent. But the Nuns fire west of Napa was only 10 percent contained.
Firefighters from Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah are helping battle the blazes.
Aircraft have dropped more than 2 million gallons (7.6 million liters) of fire retardant.
Cal Fire estimated the fires would be contained by Oct. 20.
The year's wildfire season is one of the worst in history in the United States, with nearly 8.6 million acres (3.5 million hectares) burned as of Oct. 13, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The worst on record for the same period in a year was 9.3 million acres in 2015.
