California Wildfires Cause State of Emergancy

At least one person has been killed in a California wildfire, The Associated Press reports. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed one fatality in the wildfire north of San Francisco that raced through dry brush and exploded in size within hours. Two of the fastest burning wildfires in decades have overtaken several Northern California towns.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency as firefighters in the state's north battling expanding wildfires, intensified by a prolonged drought, that have spread to tens of thousands of acres north and east of San Francisco, Capital Public Radio in Sacramento reports.

Brown said the declaration would speed up the clearing of debris after the fires and waive fees for people needing to replace official documents that were lost in the disaster.

At least 25,000 acres are on fire in Lake and Napa counties and another 65,000 have been engulfed at San Andreas. Four firefighters were injured battling the blaze overnight.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/13/439981097/wildfires-rage-through-northern-california