PHL Expresses Sympathy to California Wildfires Victims; No Filipinos Reported Among Casualties

10 October 2017 – The Philippines today expressed its sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in massive wildfires that are raging in Northern California's wine country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, at the same time, said none of the almost 18,000 Filipinos in Napa Valley and surrounding counties have been reported among the 10 casualties of the wildfires.

"We express our sympathies to the loved ones of those who lost their lives and their homes as a result of the wildfires," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement from New York.

"We pray that our kababayans and other residents in the affected areas be kept safe and their homes spared from the fires," said Secretary Cayetano, who will be proceeding to Washington DC to join the Government economic team that will be attending the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The Secretary said the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco is closely monitoring the situation and is coordinating with local authorities and the Filipino Community to check on the condition of Filipinos in the affected areas.

The Consulate General reported that 15 separate fires have broken out and affected over 73,000 acres (29,500 hectares).  The fires destroyed 1,500 structures and caused the evacuation of an estimated 20,000 residents.  Smoke and ashes reached as far south as San Francisco and Oakland due to wind direction and gust.

“We continue to reach out to Filipino community organizations in the affected areas, particularly in the Napa and Sonoma counties, to ascertain their condition,” said Consul General Henry Bensurto.

"We have also disseminated through our social media platforms the advisories issued by local and state authorities," he added.

There are an estimated 13,500 Filipinos living in the Napa, Sonoma, and Yuba counties, which are the areas most affected by the wildfires.  An estimated 4,200 Filipinos live in the other affected counties of Lake, Marin and Mendocino.

Consul General Bensurto said windy, and hot conditions from late spring through autumn cause periodic wildfires in California.  The most recent wildfire, in 2014, affected more than 134,000 acres (more than 54,000 hectares) of land.  The largest wildfire in recent history was recorded in 2012, which affected 315,500 acres (almost 128,000 hectares) of land in California and Nevada. END