Wildfire Claims Life In Yuba County, 18 Killed Across Wine Country

A person died trying to flee a blaze in Yuba County. A Yuba County spokesman says the unidentified person was in a vehicle that ran off a back road. The person then became trapped in the blaze and died early Monday. In Sonoma County about 200 missing-person reports have been lodged as family members and friends scramble to locate loved ones while wildfires ravage the region. A Sonoma County spokeswoman said Tuesday the reports have come via calls to a hotline. She says it’s possible that most of those reported missing are safe but can’t be reached because of the widespread loss of cellphone service and other communications. The Fires burning across the Wine Country have killed 18 people.  Authorities say just about anything could have started any one of the wildfires now tearing through Northern California. Fire officials have not yet determined the cause of any of the 17 major fires burning north of San Francisco. They say anything from a carelessly discarded cigarette, a downed power line, a car’s backfire or a chainsaw’s pull could all be a possible ignition source. Investigators are on scene, but firefighters are concentrating most of their efforts on rescues and evacuations.

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