Fire crews see progress in battling California wildfires

California fire authorities said Sunday they have turned a corner in battling several of the wildfires that have devastated wine country and other parts of the state over the past week.

Some counties were preparing to let more evacuees return to their homes amid improving weather. The winds that have been fanning the deadliest and most destructive cluster of wildfires in California history did not pick up overnight as much as feared.

"Conditions have drastically changed from just 24 hours ago, and that is definitely a very good sign. And it's probably a sign we've turned a corner on these fires," said Daniel Berlant, spokespersonfor California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"We're starting to see fires with containment numbers in the 50 and 60 per cent [range], so we're definitely getting the upper hand on these fires."

People start to return home

The wildfires that erupted last weekend have killed at least 40 people and destroyed at least 5,700 homes and other structures. As of Sunday, roughly 75,000 people were under evacuation orders, down from nearly 100,000 the day before.

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On Sunday, the Sonoma County sheriff's office said the county would start assessing evacuated areas, which is a first step toward allowing people back home. Mendocino County said it expected to allow even more people home on Sunday as well.

Some people were growing increasingly impatient to go back at least to see whether their homes were still standing.

"We're on pins and needles," Travis Oglesby, who evacuated from his home in Santa Rosa, told the Sonoma County sheriff on Saturday. "We're hearing about looting."

Douglas and Marian Taylor stood outside their apartment complex Saturday in Santa Rosa with their two dogs and a sign that read "End evacuation now."

Their building at the edge of the cordoned-off evacuation zone was unharmed. The couple said they are spending about $300 a day staying at a motel and eating out, and they want to return home because the fire does not appear to threaten it.

'Miracle dog' survives

One California family did get some news amid the devastation.

Jack Weaver and his brother-in-law Patrick Widen walked around police barricades, through a creek and up treacherous hilly roads to save Weaver's mother from the grim task of recovering the body of the family's beloved dog Izzy.

Katherine Weaver was convinced Izzy died in the wildfire that destroyed their Northern California neighbourhood and sent them fleeing for safety, Katherine still in her nightgown.

When the men reached the end of the narrow road on Tuesday, Jack Weaver swore as he saw that the house was completely gone. But then Izzy suddenly came bounding out for a joyous reunion.

'Miracle dog' emerges from wildfires

7 years ago

Duration 0:31

California family reunited with dog they believed had died in the fire

Weaver, who was filming the scene for his parents, captured the moment on his phone.

"She was very happy to see us," Weaver said of Izzy, a nine-year-old Bernese mountain dog. "She's such a brave dog. She was panting a lot and clearly stressed. But she was not frantic or anything."

Weaver calls Izzy a "miracle dog" for surviving cancer twice and then the fires.

Cellphone service was sketchy, but Weaver was eventually able to reach his mother, who was staying with relatives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"She just lost it," Weaver said. "She went from being devastated about losing her home tobeing the happiest person I've ever seen. I couldn't get home fast enough."

17 large fires still burning

Meanwhile, Hundreds of people remain unaccounted for, though officials said they believe they will locate most of them alive.

Most of the dead are believed to have died late on Oct. 8 or early Oct. 9, when the fires exploded and took people by surprise in the middle of the night. Most of the victims were elderly.

In all, 17 large fires still burned across the northern part of the state, with more than 10,000 firefighters attacking the flames using air tankers, helicopters and more than 1,000 fire engines.