Much of the damage in Santa Rosa can be seen from US Route 101, the north-south highway which runs from California through Oregon to Washington state.Thirteen of the deaths have occurred in Sonoma County, a wine-producing region which has been particularly hard hit, while six people have died in Mendocino County. "We&China TYPE-4B SEMI RIGID PVC HOSE39;re not going to be out of the woods for a great number of days to come.The Sonoma County Hilton perched on a hill overlooking Route 101 is a ruin of charred wood and twisted metal, as # is the nearby Fountaingrove Inn.Among the wineries which reportedly suffered damage were William Hill Estate Winery in Napa, Signorello Vineyards, Stags' Leap and Chimney Rock.Pimlott said firefighters were battling a total of 22 wildfires that have burned over 170,000 acres (68,800 hectares) and that reinforcements have been requested..Six hundred people have been reported missing in Sonoma County, but more than half of them have been located, Sheriff Robert Giordano told reporters.He said 73 helicopters, 30 air tankers and nearly 8,000 firefighters were currently taking part in the effort to extinguish the blazes.Thousands of people have been left homeless and 25,000 people have evacuated their homes in Sonoma County alone, according to officials."I feel violated; like a thief came in," said Desmond, who sobbed as he surveyed the rubble of the house where he grew up. "I've got no idea.
"We are still impacted by five years of drought," the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said."Pimlott said that after a respite on Tuesday winds kicked up again on Wednesday and the winds and dry conditions were hampering efforts to contain the blazes.He said 170 fire engines have been ordered from the neighboring states of Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington and another 154 engines from elsewhere around the country.- 'Like a thief came in' -"There was no damage," he said. It's in the middle of two fires. There have been two deaths in Napa County and two in Yuba County."Michael Desmond, 63, does know, and the news is bad: his home was one of the hundreds destroyed by the blaze in the Coffey Park neighbourhood of Santa Rosa.In addition, 60 firefighting crews from other states were on their way to California to provide assistance, he said.- 285 missing -More than 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed including several wineries in Sonoma and Napa counties, the heart of the state's wine production.An enormous K-Mart store has been entirely destroyed with only a couple of blackened walls still standing. "We are literally looking at explosive vegetation.Forest fires are common in the western United States during dry, hot months but, with 23 deaths so far, this year's California fires are among the deadliest ever."These fires were driven by the critically dry fuel bed," he added. "But then we got evacuated again.Bob Nelson, 53, stopped in his black pickup truck at a police roadblock near Santa Rosa, said he fled his home on Sunday and returned on Tuesday."
