Firefighters Say They're Gaining Upper Hand, But Death Toll From California Wildfires Reaches 40
SONOMA, Calif. (CBSNewYork/CBS SF/AP) — With the winds dying down, fire officials said Sunday that they were finally getting the upper hand against the wildfires that have devastated California wine country and other parts of the state over the past week.
Firefighters said thousands of people have received the all-clear to return home.
While the danger from the deadliest, most destructive cluster of blazes in California history was far from over, the smoky skies started to clear in some places, CBS San Francisco reported.
"A week ago this started as a nightmare, and the day we dreamed of has arrived," Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos said.
"We are not out of the woods yet, but we are making progress out there," said Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann.
But even though once-sprinting flames have slowed to a crawl, they continue to wreak havoc.
"We do have some areas out there that are just fighting us. They're bucking us," said Cal Fire Incident Commander Bret Gouvea. "We have good resources on them. We have a lot of aircraft on them. But they're just bucking us back."
People were being allowed to return home in areas no longer in harm's way Sunday, and the number of those under evacuation orders was down to 75,000 from nearly 100,000 the day before.
The 5,000 residents of Calistoga were allowed back Sunday afternoon as conditions improved. They hadn't been allowed in since a mandatory evacuation order was implemented, leaving the usually bustling city a smoky ghost town.
Fire crews were able to gain ground because the winds that fanned the flames did not kick up overnight as much as feared.
"Conditions have drastically changed from just 24 hours ago and that is definitely a very good sign," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, who noted that some of the fires were 50 percent or more contained. "It's probably a sign we've turned a corner on these fires."
The blazes have now killed at least 40 people and destroyed at least 5,700 homes. The death toll could climb as searchers dig through the ruins for people listed as missing. Hundreds were unaccounted for, though authorities said many of them are probably safe but haven't let anyone know.
Many evacuees grew increasingly impatient to go home — or at least find out whether their homes were spared. Others were reluctant to go back or to look for another place to live.
"We're on pins and needles," Travis Oglesby, who evacuated from his home in Santa Rosa, said to Sonoma County Sheriff Robert Giordano on Saturday. "We're hearing about looting."
Although some evacuees were returning home in Mendocino County, the latest estimates were that about 100,000 people were under evacuation orders as the fires burned for a sixth day.
Plans were in the works to reopen communities, but they were not ready to be put into effect, said Dave Teter, a deputy director with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Douglas and Marian Taylor stood outside their apartment complex Saturday in Santa Rosa with their two dogs and a sign that said "End evacuation now."
Their building was unharmed at the edge of the evacuation zone with a police barricade set up across the street. The couple said they are spending about $300 per day to rent a motel and eat out, and they want to return home because the fire does not appear to threaten their home.
At an evacuation center at the fairgrounds in the Sonoma County city of Petaluma, volunteers sorted through mounds of donated baby wipes, diapers, pillows, shoes and clothing.
Randy Chiado and his wife, Barbara, evacuated Monday from the Oakmont section of Santa Rosa. They stayed for several days with a friend in Santa Rosa but left Saturday when flames approached again and sought refuge at the fairgrounds.
"After so many times of 'It's coming, get ready. It's coming, get ready,' it just gets nerve-wracking," Barbara Chiado said.
Life away from home has been difficult and dangerous. Randy Chiado said a man who may have suspected he was a looter tried to punch him through his car window and yelled for a friend to get a gun when the Chiados turned onto a residential street. He said he was able to push the man off and drive away.
The couple planned to spend the night with other evacuees in a room set up with cots. "It's like jail," he said.
Juan Hernandez, who escaped with his family from his apartment Oct. 9 before it burned down, still had his car packed and ready to go in case the fires flared up again and threatened his sister's house, where they have been staying in Santa Rosa.
"Every day we keep hearing sirens at night, alarms," Hernandez said. "We're scared. When you see the fire close to your house, you're scared."
At the Sonoma fairgrounds, evacuees watched the San Francisco 49ers play the Redskins on television, received treatment from a chiropractor and got free haircuts.
Michael Estrada, who owns a barber shop in neighboring Marin County but grew up in one of the Santa Rosa neighborhoods hit hard by the blazes, brought his combs, clippers and scissors and displayed his barbering license in case anyone doubted his credentials.
"I'm not saving lives," he said. "I'm just here to make somebody's day feel better, make them feel normal."
Lois Krier, 86, said it was hard to sleep on a cot in the shelter with people snoring and dogs barking through the night.
She and her husband, William Krier, 89, were anxious to get home, but after being evacuated for a second time in a week Saturday, they didn't want to risk having to leave again.
"We're cautious," she said. "We want to be safe."
A lucky few actually went home Sunday night. Jack Weaver returned to his mother's home excepting to recover the body of the family's dog, Izzy, who ran away when the Weavers fled the fire. He instead had a joyous reunion, CBS News' Chris Martinez reported.
"It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Weaver said. "She came bounding out and it was elation; tears and happiness."
Other evacuees found refuge at area businesses such as Cully Williamson's restaurant. For days, many with nowhere else to go have gathered there for comfort and food, free of charge.
"We just thought if we can get open, we can at least be a place where people can come by and recharge," Williamson said.
Williamson's own family has also been evacuated from Sonoma County.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people remain unaccounted for, though officials think they'll locate most of them alive.
Most of the deceased are believed to have died late on Oct. 8 or early Oct. 9, when the fires exploded and took people by surprise in the dead of night. Most of the victims were elderly, though they ranged in age from 14 to 100.
"It's a horror that no one could have imagined," Gov. Jerry Brown said, after driving past hundreds of "totally destroyed" homes with Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris.
From the sky, large subdivisions that burned to the ground looked like black and white photos. Each neatly outlined lot is full of ashen rubble. Cars are burned a darker gray. Trees still standing are charred black. Only streets look unscathed.
Brown, 79, and Feinstein, 84, said the fires were the worst of their lifetimes. The two veteran politicians reminded people that the blazes remain a threat and that people need to leave their homes when told to go.
No causes have been determined for the fires, though power lines downed by winds are seen as a possibility.
In all, 17 large fires still burned across the northern part of the state as of Sunday, with more than 10,000 firefighters attacking the flames using air tankers, helicopters and more than 1,000 fire engines.
Signs posted in Sonoma thanked the firefighters. One declared them "heroes among us."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)