As Wildfires Get Worse, USDA Says Firefighters Need More Funding
The USDA wants to change how Congress funds fighting wildfires as climate change threatens to lengthen wildfire seasons.
LEARN MOREPosted: 2:14 p.m. EDT Oct 9, 2017
At least 10 people are dead as a string of fast-spreading wildfires burn across northern California.
As of Monday evening, officials had ordered about 20,000 people to evacuate after more than a dozen wildfires began sweeping across the state. So far, the fires have destroyed at least 1,500 homes and businesses.
The fires began late Sunday and spread across nine counties. The Tubbs Fire and the Atlas Fire, both in Napa County, are the largest. Together they've burned at least 50,000 acres.
A few hours from Napa, in Yuba County, the Cascade Fire has burned at least 7,000 acres. And the Redwood Fire has burned 10,000 acres in northern California's Mendocino County.
The fires led California Gov. Jerry Brown to declare states of emergency for Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties.
The director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said firefighters are currently focused on saving lives rather than extinguishing the blazes.
At least two hospitals in Santa Rosa were evacuated, and more than two dozen schools will be closed on Tuesday.
California's fire department has recorded at least 20 fires currently burning. The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for many parts of the state until Tuesday morning.
