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Evacuations In Action As California Blazes Continue to Burn

One firefighter has died, 24 homes have been burned, and another 6,100 structures are in danger as 21 major fires burn in various parts of California.

MSNBC reported today that more than 8,000 firefighters have joined the effort to battle the blazes as they creep closer to thousands of homes and buildings. The onset of the fires, which come at the height of a four-year drought, caused Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency.

In speaking with CNN, Brown said that the state’s brutal drought has basically turned it’s parched terrain into a “tinder box.”

The first known casualty of the fire was David Ruhl, a United States Forest Service firefighter from South Dakota who died near Adin, California while fighting the Frog Fire.

David Ruhl of Rapid City, South Dakota, lost his life fighting the Frog Fire near Adin, California. Rescuers searched for him overnight, and found his body Friday.

The largest fire in the outbreak is the Rocky Fire, a 27,000-acre blaze burning west of Sacramento. As of Saturday, the Rocky Fire was only 5 percent contained.

CNN spoke with a Kelseyville country club about the presence of the fires. A representative of the business said he could  “smoke coming near us”  but that the country club would be “open for business.”

We can see the smoke and it appears to be blowing near us but there are no evacuations here that I know of. We are open for business and hoping the wind blows the other way because we have two tournaments tomorrow.

While evacuations are taking place and buildings are in jeopardy, state organization Cal Fire said that about 60 percent of the state’s fires were contained.

The Wragg Fire, a blaze which burned in wine-centric Napa County, is more than 90 percent contained, a welcomed relief for a community that suffered significant damage from a 2014 earthquake.

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