At least ten dead in California wildfires

At least 10 people have been killed and hundreds of homes have been destroyed by “unprecedented” wildfires that have swept through northern California.

More than 20,000 people have been evacuated from the area, where fires have consumed more than 94,000 acres across eight counties.

“We often have multiple fires going on, but the majority of them all started right around same time period, same time of night – it’s unprecedented,” fire captain spokesperson Amy Head said.

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Fox News senior correspondent Adam Housley used Twitter to share aerial footage of one of the fires as it consumed grassland near Napa.

“California governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties because of wildfires, which are not yet contained, and are threatening thousands of homes,” The Guardian says.

“This is really serious. It’s moving fast. The heat, the lack of humidity and the winds are all driving a very dangerous situation and making it worse,” Brown said.

The worst fires in Northern California tend to hit in October when dry conditions allow them to spread fast and far as “heavy winds, known as north winds or diablo winds, buffet the region,” the New York Times says.