Windy wildfires sweep through California wine country

A firefighters walks near a home in Santa Rosa, Calif., Monday, Oct 9, 2017. Wildfires whipped by powerful winds swept through Northern California sending residents on a headlong flight to safety through smoke and flames as homes burned. [Photo/Agencies]

John Dean was driving to his Sonoma County home early Monday when he saw a house on fire along the road. Soon he saw more houses engulfed in flames.

"I mean blazing, falling down on fire," he said.

Dean sped to his home in Kenwood, alerted neighbors and fled to the town of Sonoma. He was one of hundreds of evacuees who streamed into a 24-hour Safeway market overnight, while authorities set up an official evacuation center.

Maureen McGowan was house-sitting for her brother near Kenwood and said both of the homes on his property were on fire when she left. At the Safeway, she pointed to her feet, still in slippers. She had fled so fast that she hadn't put on her shoes.

Belia Ramos, chairwoman of the Napa County Board of Supervisors, said "tremendous" wind gusts were making the fires unpredictable. "It's something that we're having to be very cautious about. We're focusing on making evacuations and trying to keep people safe. We are not prepared to start counting," she said shortly after sunrise.

Ann Dubay, a spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Emergency Operations Center, said the area where the largest fire started was relatively rural but the flames "went through many, many neighborhoods", and authorities did not know how many structures were gone.

Emergency lines were inundated with callers reporting smoke, prompting officials to ask that the public "only use 911 if they see actual unattended flames, or are having another emergency".

Business owner Andy Lahiji stood before a burned-out warehouse where he said he had lost his inventory of furniture and other property. He said it took firetrucks a long time to arrive Monday morning.

"They said, ‘We have so many other places to go, you have to wait.' And then when they came, they had only a couple of guys," he told the station. "I feel very sad. I'm glad nobody got hurt. Hopefully insurance takes care of it."

The National Weather Service said widespread wind gusts between 35 mph and 50 mph were observed in the north San Francisco Bay region, and isolated spots hit 70 mph. The winds were expected to subside at midday.

Community centers, the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and other local centers were opened for evacuees.

AP