Northern California wildfires grow, weather conditions worsen

As of Wednesday morning, the North Bay wildfires, which began Sunday night, burned roughly 170,000 acres. The death toll has climbed to 23. And according to state officials, at least 22 fires are burning right now.

Overnight more cities were told to evacuate, including Calistoga, in the path of the Tubbs Fire, and parts of Geyserville north of Healdsburg. The Tubbs fire, said to be the most damaging of the blazes, has no containment. In fact, very few of the fires have any level of containment, according to Cal Fire.

“The blaze, dubbed the Atlas Fire, stands at 42,349 acres burned and is 3 percent contained, as of 6:30 a.m.,” reports KCRA 3. “It nearly doubled in size overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.”

The Yountville Veterans Home in Napa County, the largest veterans home in the country, had to partially evacuate, per SFGate.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

While the firestorm still rages in the North Bay, a new red-flag warning has been declared for the area. A red-flag warning, issued by the United States National Weather Service, warns local firefighting agencies that conditions are ripe for continued fire combustion and spread.

The following footage, shot Tuesday night by a Sonoma sheriff’s deputy driving on Franz Valley Road in Santa Rosa, shows how dire the situation remains.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Tuesday that federal disaster assistance will be available to California to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by the wildfires.

President Donald Trump said in a statement that “the federal government will stand with the people of California.”

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, skies temporarily cleared. According to SFist, the current Air Quality Index reported by AirNow has upgraded the air in the city to “moderate.”

For a list of evacuation shelters, go here.

For a list of schools closed, go here.

To learn how you can help victims of the Northern California fires, go here.