Firefighters fight day and night to contain the deadliest fire in the history of California. The death toll of the fire is 35 as of Friday and is expected to increase as over 500 people are still missing. [Courtesy of Pixabay]
The Northern California wildfire that began on Sunday night became the deadliest fire in the history of California as of Thursday as the death toll continues to rise. The fire took 35 lives and destroyed over 5,700 structures as of Friday. There are still over 500 people who are missing.
The fires have been contained about 23 to 25% as the firefighters worked day and night to control the fire. This is a dramatic improvement compared to Thursday when it had low containment of 3-10% of fires. The director of the State Office of Emergency Services, Mark Ghilarducci, said in a statement, "We are at very low containment on most of these. These fires are literally burning faster than firefighters can run."
The relief works have begun in the parts of Sonoma and Napa Counties where the fires have been out.
The help and donations started pouring in including major companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google. Apple and Facebook pledged $1 million each and Google has donated $500,000. Airbnb started a program to offer free shelters to fire victims.
The fume from the fire is affecting the greater region in Northern California. The air quality was recorded as the "hazardous" level which is the most dangerous level on the Environmental Protection Agency scale.
EPA has warned the residents affected by the toxic air to wear particulate respirator masks that are NIOSH-approved. Look for N95, N100, or P100 on the box.
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
reporter
KwakMin-jung
abiel@ajunews.com
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