California wildfires and COVID-19

NAPA, Calif. — The California LNU Lightning Complex fire has charred more than 350,000 acres, destroyed more than 900 structures, claimed the lives of at least five people and forced thousands more to flee their homes as it rampages in all directions.

But the destructive walls of flames — spanning parts of normally lush Sonoma, Lake and Napa wine counties, north of San Francisco — are not the only crisis in this fragile region.

“We’ve had a four-fer, with COVID, a heat wave, wildfires and the threat of rolling power outages,” Janet Upton, a spokeswoman for Napa County and a former deputy director of Cal Fire, said. ( READ MORE FROM NBC )