Dressage-News

SANTA ROSA, California, Oct. 10, 2017–The death toll from Northern California fires reached a confirmed total of 17 as multiple fires swept through parts of this city and nearby world famous wineries and endangered horses.

Horse farms in both Northern and Southern California have evacuated, some just ahead of the flames that have burned some stables to the ground.

Most of the fatalities are from Sonoma County, where huge swaths of the city of Santa Rosa have been leveled. Eleven people have died in Sonoma County as of late Tuesday night. Dozens more are missing.

Lilo Fore, who retired as an FEI 5* judge two years ago and lives in Santa Rosa, gave an update to dressage-news.com after returning home from Wellington, Florida where she judged a U.S. regional championship:

“No service of any sort, no power, no electricity for our area as our power station which serves us burned down. Trying to run generator to have some water from domestic well.

“I am at gas station as we speak but they are out but they will fill their tanks shortly, so they say. Staying put to fill gas cans.

“Fires were devastating. Hundreds of homes, big hotels, department stores, whole residential areas burned to the ground.

“Some of our clientele lost their homes.

“The fires are burning very close to us, too close for comfort.

“Mandatory evacuations were given, 25 of our horses out in an hour, all people were awesome.

“The fire was so fast that many people were caught by surprise. Then a Lot of fires started from the sparks flying for miles. We have fires on two sides of us.

“So far we are still standing but fires still raging and not contained by any means. More fires now going for another town just outside of Santa Rosa.

“It is very scary.”

CNBC report on the extent of devastation in Northern California: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/10/apocalyptic-images-from-the-deadly-fires-in-northern-california.html