Over the past several weeks, wildfires have ravaged many parts of Northern California, causing devastation and death in The Golden State.

The death toll is at 42, and 8,400 structures were completely destroyed. Estimated losses are upwards of $1 billion. Numbers are expected to increase as damage assessment teams evaluate the scale of the destruction.

5,500 houses have burned down, including that of the grandparents of an Arlington High School student, Cole Hahn (‘19).

“At first, they were devastated, because they lost everything, even old family photos and other things that just can’t be replaced,” Hahn said. “They are staying in a rental house that is close to where they live right now”.

According to CNBC, the wildfires that are still burning are almost contained.

According to the New York Times, the cause of the fire is still unsure, as is the exact point of origin. Possibilities that are being investigated include power lines and arson. With strong nighttime winds, power lines being the source makes sense. However, it is also possible that all of the many fires in separate locations started differently.

As can be seen in the diagram above, many active fires still burn in California (data as of October 25th at 12:05 PM).

The majority of fires that have taken place in October are contained or put out.

On Wednesday, October 18th, a viral image was spread depicting a nurse, Lauren Mesaros, putting one of her horses in her car as she fled the fire. She had three horses, and only two would fit into her trailer, so she fit the smallest one in her car.

Sources:

http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_stats?year=2017

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/10/18/nurse-fleeing-california-wildfires-puts-horse-in-car-picture-goes-viral.html

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/10/california-fires-damage-total/

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/23/number-of-structures-lost-in-wine-country-blazes-jumps-to-8400.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/california-wildfires-investigation.html