SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on wildfires in California (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
The Santa Rosa Police Department has corrected the name of one of the two people who were arrested on suspicion of looting in neighborhoods devastated by wildfires earlier this month.
A man the department previously identified as 29-year-old Sean Kranyak has now been identified as Johnathon Leon Lee Conner of Monterey County. Conner and 22-year-old Cristina Marsh could face charges including looting, conspiracy and vehicle theft. It wasn’t known Sunday if they have attorneys.
The department says that additional felony charges have been filed against Conner for allegedly using another victim’s stolen information to identify himself.
Witnesses called police after the pair was spotted allegedly loading pilfered goods into a truck.
Police previously reported looting arrests as fires burned. Santa Rosa imposed a curfew in evacuation zones because so many houses were empty.
Sonoma County officials said Saturday it could take years to recover from fires that destroyed 8,900 structures and killed 42 people.
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2:45 p.m.
Authorities in Northern California say two more people have been arrested on suspicion of looting in neighborhoods devastated by wildfires earlier this month.
Santa Rosa police say the arrests were made late Saturday following a high-speed chase through city streets along the southern edge of a burn zone.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports 29-year-old Sean Kranyak and 22-year-old Cristina Marsh could face charges including looting, conspiracy and vehicle theft. It wasn’t known Sunday if they have attorneys.
Witnesses called police after the pair was spotted allegedly loading pilfered goods into a truck.
Police previously reported looting arrests as fires burned. Santa Rosa imposed a curfew in evacuation zones because so many houses were empty.
Sonoma County officials said Saturday it could take years to recover from fires that destroyed 8,900 structures and killed 42 people.
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12:04 a.m.
Officials say it will take at least months and likely years to fully recover from devastating wildfires that ripped through Northern California earlier this month, killing 42 people and destroying at least 8,900 structures.
Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said Saturday “We don’t control these things, and it makes you realize how small you are in the world when something like this happens.” Giordano spoke before hundreds of people gathered at a college in Santa Rosa, one of the hardest-hit cities, for a memorial service to honor the lives lost.
The deadliest series of wildfires in California history started Oct. 8, eventually forcing 100,000 people to evacuate.
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and five members of Congress attended the memorial, toured fire-ravaged areas and heard federal, state and local officials describe what Congress can do to aid the recovery efforts.
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