Photo courtesy Dee Dee Manzanares Ybarra, Rumsen. Dee Dee Manzanares Ybarra said late Wednesday, "Our Rumšen Ohlone ancestral territory is burning. Prayers please."
Photo courtesy Dee Dee Manzanares Ybarra, Rumsen
Photo courtesy Dee Dee Manzanares Ybarra, Rumsen
The Grindstone Indian Rancheria Community
north of Sacramento was evacuated on Wednesday.
In breaking news today, Thursday at dawn, The New York Times reports that wildfires raging in Northern California are doubling in size.
Wildfires tore through Northern California on Wednesday, spreading rapidly and engulfing dozens of homes as firefighters battled to stop the blazes, which have forced thousands of evacuations and were caused by an extraordinary number of lightning strikes in recent days.
A group of fires west of Sacramento, known as the L.N.U. Lightning Complex, doubled in size throughout the day, growing to 124,000 acres and threatening about 25,000 structures after forcing evacuations in Vacaville, Cal Fire officials said.
Four civilians have been injured and 175 structures have been destroyed or damaged by those fires, which are 0 percent contained as strong winds enter the area. Much of Napa, Sonoma and Solano Counties was blanketed in smoke during the day.
About 11,000 lightning strikes — a “historic lightning siege” — caused more than 367 new fires in recent days, Chief Jeremy Rahn, a Cal Fire spokesman, said at a news conference.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that 23 fires were considered major blazes. At least one person has died, a helicopter pilot who crashed while attempting to drop water in Fresno County.
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