Wildfires rage across California’s wine country

Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes due to wildfires in California, including key wine regions in the county. 

The fire, which started on Wednesday night, is believed to be threatening wineries in the Sonoma Valley area and 16,000 acres are reported to have burned in Sonoma, to the north of California.  The fire has also spread across the Alexander Valley wine region, according to reports, fueled by 70 mph winds.

In Northern California wine country authorities ordered 2,000 people to evacuate as the fires burned 49 buildings and spread across 25 square miles.

Geyserville has also been evacuated. It is home to about 900 people and a popular stopping point for wine country tourists. .

Officials have said they do not know how many homes have burned in the state and no immediate injuries have been reported. It is not clear how the fires began.

Two years ago a fire burned through wine country to the north and south of California, killing more than 40 people and destroying more than 6,000 homes.

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