Fifteen wildfires ravaged thousands of acres in Northern California this week, killing at least 11 people and destroying over 1,500 commercial and residential buildings. The blaze started on Sun., Oct. 8, and quickly spread through wine country and residential areas. Schools and hospitals were evacuated, and flames threatened the wine operations in Sonoma and Napa counties.
Officials say around 20,000 people had been evacuated from their homes as the fires spread across 73,000 acres, fanned by high temperatures and dry conditions. California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in the affected counties.
Scorched earth and total destruction
Burned cars sit idle after an out of control wildfire moved through the area on in Glen Ellen, California.
Surveying the loss
Mark Williams, right, and friend Norina Wong, left, look over the destruction in their friends' neighborhood off Fountaingrove Parkway near the Hilltop in Santa Rosa.
Losing the battle
Firefighters douse flames as a home burns in the Napa wine region in California as multiple wind-driven fires continue to whip through the region.
Fire vs power
Power poles and lines block a street at Brookdale and Aaron Dr. in Hidden Valley where most of the homes were destroyed by fire in Santa Rosa, California.
Complete devastation
A car sits in the middle of property destroyed from fires at Journey's End mobile home park in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Wildfire threatens wine country
Burned out wine bottles sit on a rack at the fire damaged Signarello Estate winery after an out of control wildfire moved through the area on October 9, 2017 in Napa, California.
Before and after: A neighborhood in Santa Rosa, California
Ashes and concrete foundations are all that remain on Tuesday of many homes in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa.
Homes completely lost
Firefighters could only monitor some blazes as suburban homes burned in Santa Rosa.
Residents battling extreme elements
A resident in Glen Ellen, California, leaps from a rooftop as he rushes to save his home as an out of control wildfire moves through the area.
An apocalyptic sight in the Napa wine region
A truck burns in the Napa wine region of Northern California as fires ravaged the area.
Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on fire
Smoke and flames rise as a wildfire from the Santa Rosa and Napa Valley moves through the area in California.
Remnants of a home in Sonoma
A burned out home sits next a vineyard after an out of control wildfire moved through the area on October 9, 2017 in Sonoma, California.
Hilton Hotel in Santa Rosa
Charred walls remain at the Hilton Hotel in Santa Rosa, with large portions of its roof burned away.
An out of control wildfire engulfs a barn
Heroic efforts by firefighters as they protect homes
Husks are left of damaged buildings after wildfires move on
Little remains of a building at the Signarello Estate winery in Napa
A homeowner searches among the ruins left behind by the wildfires in Santa Rosa
Aerial view as blaze rages on
An aerial photo of the devastation left behind from the North Bay wildfires north of San Francisco, California, October 9, 2017.