Story highlights
NEW: Death toll rises to 17 in Northern California
About 2,000 structures in the state are destroyed, according to fire authorities
(CNN) —
New evacuations were ordered Tuesday evening as more than a dozen wildfires raged across Northern California, with the largest ones killing at least 17 people as they scorched the state’s famous wine country.
The largest of the deadly fires were burning in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties, with flames ripping through the lush, picturesque landscape.
Officials in the city of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County called for the evacuations of five more areas Tuesday evening. Already, 20,000 people had been ordered to leave the area and other parts of Northern California.
It is too early to tell whether any of the wildfires were started by humans, said Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. “All these fires are under investigation,” he told reporters, adding that his department was focusing on rescues and firefighting. But he said the chance the fires were caused by lightning was “fairly minimal.”
Here’s what we know so far, according to California authorities.
• Ten people have died and the number is expected to grow.
• Two of those who died were in Napa County, county spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said. They were 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his wife, Sara, 98. They died when a fire engulfed their home near the Silverado Country Club north of Napa, Jourdan said.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
FRIDA/MEGA/Newscom
Aerial images showing parts of Sonoma and Napa County that have been hit by wildfires.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Randy Pench/The Sacramento Bee/AP
Colby Clark, left, comforts her mother, Bonnie Trexler, after law enforcement escorted them to Trexler's home in Napa, California, to retrieve medicine and personal items on Wednesday, October 11. Trexler was one of the lucky few in her neighborhood whose home was spared. Deadly wildfires have been tearing through the state, destroying homes and businesses and prompting evacuation orders.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Highway Patrol officers go door to door to ask Sonoma residents to evacuate their homes as a wildfire approaches on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Homes are destroyed in the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa on October 11.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Karl Mondon/San Jose Mercury News/AP
The sign of a Firestone store malfunctions in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Ben Margot/AP
Damaged winemaking vats and tanks stand in ashes and debris at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images
Smoke clouds the sun from wildfires burning in Santa Rosa and Napa Valley on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Jeff Chiu/AP
Mary Caughey, center in blue, reacts after finding her wedding ring in the remains of her home in Kenwood on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Puddles of melted metal trail away from a burned-out car near Napa on October 10.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Peter DaSilva/Polaris
A TV cameraman inches closer to a burning building at a winery in Napa Valley on Monday, October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Will Lester/The Orange County Register/AP
A firefighting plane helps battle a blaze just north of Tustin on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/The Press Democrat/AP
A historic barn burns in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Paul Kuroda/ZUMA Wire
The Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel burns to the ground on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/The Press Democrat via AP
Jim Stites watches as part of his neighborhood burns in Fountaingrove on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Ben Margot/AP
Fire burns from an open gas valve near the pool area of a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A man rushes to save his house as a wildfire moves through Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Jeff Chiu/AP
Kristine Pond searches what's left of her family's home in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Police cars block State Route 241 as smoke rises above Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames in Santa Rosa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
ROBYN BECK/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A woman moves horses in Orange as strong Santa Ana winds blow smoke from the Canyon 2 fire toward them on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
A firefighter douses flames at a home in Anaheim on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Traffic backs up as people flee Orange on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Kent Porter/AP
Santa Rosa residents sift through the remains of a burned home on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The remains of fire-damaged homes and cars smolder at a Santa Rosa trailer park on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
A tent structure built for the Safeway Open golf tournament burns in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Fire consumes a barn in Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Michael Short/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Smoke rises in the hills east of Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
A man passes a burning house in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The remains of fire-damaged homes are seen in Glen Ellen on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Steve Page/AP
A wildfire burns behind the Sonoma Raceway on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Noah Berger/San Francisco Chronicle/Polaris
A building burns in Napa on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images
Flames overtake a building in the Napa wine region on October 9.
Photos: Wildfires blaze in California
PHOTO:
Jeff Chiu/AP
Two women hug as they watch houses burn in Santa Rosa on October 9.
• About 2,000 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the fires in Northern California, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Tuesday.
• More than 100 people were being treated at Napa- and Sonoma-area hospitals for fire-related injuries or health issues, including burns, smoke inhalation and shortness of breath.
• An estimated 1,500 structures have been destroyed and 57,000 acres burned in eight counties.
Before and after: Images of California devastation
• Most of the Northern California fires ignited Sunday night, driven by winds of more than 50 mph and dry conditions, Pimlott said Monday. The high winds led to “extreme rates of spread and volatile burning conditions,” according to Cal Fire.
Santa Rosa's Coffey Park Neighboorhood
Google Maps, CHP - Golden Gate Division
• More than 180 people are missing, but authorities think communications issues are making it impossible for many of those people to check in with family.
Margaret Curzon said her parents lost almost everything in the wildfire that destroyed their home and the Coffey Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa, a city of about 175,000 roughly 50 miles northwest of San Francisco.
Her mom woke up early Monday morning and smelled smoke, but thought it was the neighbor’s barbecue or chimney, so she went back to sleep. They woke up again because their bichon frise, Brady, was whimpering.