Michigan Native Reports on ‘Devastation’ Caused By Northern California Wild Fires

“It is a skeletal, charred ghost town in so many places,” says Dominic Fracassa of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Courtesy of Dominic Fracassa/San Francisco Chronicle

More than 200,000 acres are burned, more than 5,000 homes destroyed or damaged, 100,000 people displaced, and more than 40 dead so far as fire-storms sweep across Northern California.

California is no stranger to wildfires, but 2017 is shaping up to be one of the worst fire seasons the state has ever seen.

What does it look like on the ground in wine country?

What will the rebuilding process look like for victims of the fire?

And what’s the conversation happening around how this might relate to climate change?

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Dominic Fracassa, a Michigan native, has been reporting on the fires on the ground for the past week.

He joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about his reporting and his personal experience seeing the fires up close.

“It is a skeletal, charred ghost town in so, so, so many places,” says Fracassa. “Entire neighborhoods are just absolutely decimated. And that’s the case in town after town all over the region.”

“It’s hard to wrap your mind around so much devestation spread across such a large area.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

Courtesy of Dominic Fracassa/San Francisco Chronicle

Courtesy of Dominic Fracassa/San Francisco Chronicle

 

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  • Detroit Today
    Dynamic and diverse voices. News, politics, community and the issues that define our region. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson, Detroit Today brings you fresh and perceptive views weekdays at 9 am and 7 pm.