The death toll in wildfires that are raging across the western US state of California increased to 17 with hundreds of people having been hospitalized, Sputnik reported.
According to local officials, many people are still missing and some areas remain out of reach for emergency services, so the number of victims can further increase, The New York Times reported late Tuesday.
Two destructive wildfires reportedly devastated more than 52,000 acres in central California's Napa and Sonoma valleys, which together account for the lion's share of American wine production.
According to the US Treasury Department, over 680 million gallons, or 25.75 million hectoliters, of wine was produced in California in 2016. For comparison's sake, France produced 43.2 million hectoliters of wine in the same year.
More than 20,000 people have been evacuated in California due to wildfires raging in eight counties of the state. The disaster has also left some 2,000 buildings destroyed or damaged. California’s Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in the areas hit by the disaster.
