Flames surround Lake Berryessa during the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Napa, California on August 19, 2020. – Thousands of people fled their homes in northern California on August 19 as hundreds of fast-moving wildfires spread across the region, burning houses and leading to the death of a helicopter pilot. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP)
Thick smoke blanketed large areas of central and northern California on Friday as more people fled some of the biggest fires in the state’s history which have raged largely uncontrolled through the week.
The largest group of fires, dubbed the LNU Lightning Complex, had scorched nearly 220,000 acres (89,000 hectares) by Friday morning and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.
Some of the fires in that complex — described as the ninth largest in the state’s history — threatened wineries in the famed Napa and Sonoma regions which are still reeling from similar deadly blazes in recent years.
Officials said five deaths have…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
