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CA Faces Emergency as Merciless Hurricane-Force Winds Spread Wildfire Destruction

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a statewide emergency as hurricane- and gale-force winds spread wildfires in parts of the state. Tens of thousands of acres have burned and hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuating from their homes. 

The merciless winds have reached up to 100-miles-per-hour, fanning the dangerous wildfire flames in northern California.

The worst hit? Sonoma County near Santa Rosa, a city of 175,000 people devastated by a fire just two years ago. That blaze caused $1.7 billion in damaged homes and property, and 22 people lost their lives.

This time, residents  aren't taking any chances. They are heeding warnings and a mandatory evacuation affecting roughly 200,000 people.
     
"This time I wasn't going to stay around. I'm responsible for my pets, and I wasn't going to subject all of us to burning up," said Santa Rosa evacuee Carol Pennewell.

Many of the evacuees headed to the pet-friendly Sonoma County Fairground.

Gov. Newsom visited one evacuation center in Petaluma on Sunday. "Half the folks who are in this shelter were evacuated in 2017. I just met a young woman who lost her home two years ago in Coffee Park, had just rebuilt it and now is evacuated yet again," he said. 
 
The biggest concern in the area now is that relentless winds would cause the fire to jump the 101 freeway to the west side - an area that hasn't experienced a wildfire in more than 80 years.

"That area hasn't seen any fire history since the 1940s. So the fuels in that area are extremely dense, they're extremely old and decadent, and they're extremely dry," explained Steve Volner of Fire Incident Management Team 6. 

So far, wildfires have consumed at least 55,000 acres of land and nearly 100 buildings in Sonoma County. Embers from the Kincade fire engulfed the 150-year-old Soda Rock Winery.

Firefighters say the high wind conditions are challenging.

"We're prepping this area right now for structure defense in the event the fire does make a run with the wind-driven event towards this subdivision," said one firefighter.

And more hardship may be ahead. Electricity has already been cut to 2.3 million people, but more Californians could be sitting in the dark this week. Pacific Gas and Electric and other companies say they may cut power to another half million customers to help prevent more fires from igniting. 
 

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About The Author

Gary Lane
Gary
Lane

Mr. Lane currently serves as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He has traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and has provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he has provided written stories and has served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs. Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced