posing even bigger challenges on the fire lines. now at noon, the fight against the wine country wildfires far from over. and the weather may be changing posing even bigger challenges on the fire lines. good afternoon, i'm anne makovec. >> i'm michelle griego. here is what we know at this hour. at least 21 people have been killed, the three most recent

in mendocino county. officials say 670 people are still missing, 110 others have been found safe. these wildfires have destroyed more than 3500 homes and businesses and turned wine country into a wasteland. over 100,000 acres have been charred! >> here's an overview of the 8 fires raging in the north bay. cal fire says there are 22 total burning in northern california right now. >> we have live team coverage from the wildfire zones also a look at the changing weather conditions for firefighters. jackie ward reports from santa rosa with the search for missing people. >> reporter: you mentioned that 110 people have been found so far. the 670 missing persons report, that number of people found is expected to go up today. the teams have to get back out and looking for them again. right now, we're on bennett valley in santa rosa. and usually you can use this road to go south and meet back

up with highway 12. but the roads have been blocked off as these ranches and farms and vineyards catch fire. that smoke is the line of fire getting closer to this area. when we were here at 7 a.m. that line was way up the hill. since then it's coming down the hill and burned it completely. some gates were left open for cows to escape from this ranch and petaluma fire was clearing vegetation around trees near the front lines to prevent them from going up in flames. people are still underestimating just how fast this fire is moving and urging people to leave now. >> my advice is g traffic bad in the county. if we have to evacuate, be better to have an area to go. the less people here and the less people we have to evacuate the better off we'll be. >> reporter: this is part of the nuns fire off highway 12 north of glen ellen.

as of 10 a.m., cal fire reports that it's taking over an area of about 7600 acres and it's only 2% contained. so one thing the sheriff's office said if you filed a missing persons report and you found your loved one, call them. the phone number is on your screen. get that information to them as quickly as possible so they can start looking for other people. that phone number is 707-565- 3856. in santa rosa, jackie ward, kpix 5. take a look at these pictures from chopper 5. this morning it looks like a black and white photograph. the only hint of color is blue from a swimming pool. what was once a beautiful green neighborhood now turned into charred ruins. the nuns fire in sonoma county is only 2% contained with just over 7600 acres burned while the patrick fire

in napa county has burned more than 9500 acres. also with only 2% containment. kpix 5's jessica flores joining us live now from napa valley college where the atlas fire has forced dozens of people to evacuate. >> reporter: the atlas fire fire nearly doubled in size overnight forcing hundreds to evacuate from solano and napa counties. a lot of people came here to napa valley college. a lot of people have a major question. when can they go back home? are their homes left standing? in the early-morning hours, firefighters took a stand in napa and solano counties. as the atlas fire raged, crews battled it and evacuated residents for the third morning. nearly half of calistoga is under mandatory evacuation what did you see from your home? >> when i looked out the

window, i saw thick smoke. you couldn't see five feet away from you. the whole sky was red. >> reporter: cal fire says 800 firefighters are working to contain the fire but the manpower isn't enough. the wind and brush fueled fire has expanded to 42,000 acres i'll. only 3 firefighters are tasked with keeping this fire from burning homes in this area. >> we are stretching them shift after shift. we are trying to get relief and sleep and rest so they can reengage fresh. their safety and the safety of the public is our number one concern for sure. >> reporter: in solano county, we saw firefighters push back flames saving a home from burned down. at evacuation centers residents are clinging to hope and everyone is asking the same question. >> when is this going to be over so we can get back to work

and everything? >> reporter: now, cal fire officials say they just don't have the answer at this time as to when people can get back home because the weather is changing. this fire could continue to grow. but the good news is that more resources are on the way to help relieve some of these firefighters on the front lines. live in napa, jessica flores, kpix 5. hundreds of people are here at the shelters. people keep coming and going. it's unclear how many folks are volunteers versus the folks who will be staying here sleeping through the night. i can tell you some people are just parking their cars staying in their cars don't want to sleep on the cots but at least 100 people slept here last night. >> thank you, jessica flores. the tubbs fire is the largest, burning more than

28,000 acres. another wildfire is rapidly growing in mendocino county and being blamed for at least three deaths. the redwood complex fire has burned 30,000 acres and destroyed 40 structures. flames have wiped out a major cell phone tower leaving people in the county cut off. some people can't call 911. people showed up yesterday at a meeting to get information. >> a lot of people are kind of cut off with what's going on and they are all scared and, you know, so it's -- it's not good. >> people are also growing anxious because gasoline is running low in the area and water is scarce. at last check, the fire was 5% contained. the wind is expected to pick up again today. that could hamper firefighters' efforts. a spokesman for cal fire says the time is running out for crews to make air drops. >> while we have been flying

aircraft, air tankers including 747s, dc-10s, often times when smoke settles, visibility makes it impossible to drop fire retardant. when winds are blowing 50, 60 miles an hour it's ineffective to use firefighting aircraft as the retardant is blown away, never makes it to the ground. >> a live look toward the skies now in santa rosa. there on your left is santa rosa. san francisco on the right. the air quality concerns continue today. and neda iranpour is here to explain. >> our vaca cam also showing the smoke blanketing northern california. the wind has shifted direction. we are starting to see what we're concerned about through the day and night. here's a live look over the san francisco skyline there. over at ocean beach hazy gray skies out there. this is not cloud coverage anymore. this is san jose right now.

let's show you what's going on with the winds they are coming from the north-northwest blowing the smoke south. winds at 10 in oakland. northwest winds in san francisco at 8. so we are still seeing calm winds in napa. but look what's going on in santa rosa. west-northwest winds at 12. that's a dry wind that's coming down novato also is picked up, san rafael up to 11. so that's why our air quality is going to be impacted because of the shift in the wind direction bringing the smoke into the bay area again, causing dry conditions and increasing fire danger through tonight. i'll track it for you coming up. tens of thousands of people still without power in wine country, is 53,000 customers at last check the majority in hard hit santa rosa 40,000. napa 7,000. a lot of people want to know how they can help the fire victims. you can donate to the red cross by calling the number on your

screen, 1-800-red-cross, or go to redcross.org. and for other ways to donate, head to cbssf.com. still ahead, daring rescues in the fire zone. how the chp is helping get dozens of people out of harm's way. >> plus, the cost of these wildfires is expected to skyrocket. the early estimates for homeowners and the damage to wineries.

the california highway patrol is a live look now at one of many evacuation centers open across wine country. this is at napa valley college.

the numbers coming out of northern california wildfires staggering. 21 dead, 670 missing, 3500 homes and businesses destroyed. the california highway patrol is making some daring rescues in napa county from the air. reporter steve large shows us. >> reporter: the chp helicopter video shows the atlas fire's massive size circling this napa community trapping people inside the fire lines even as it had just broken out, winds gusting up to 70 miles an hour. >> felt like a hurricane to me, you know? i have never been tossed around like that after 30 years of flying. >> under night vision goggles, it looked like there was a huge bomb. >> reporter: these people evacuated dozens of people with air rescues landing inside the fire lines. the first rescue is one neither will forget. >> he ran up with his son. >> reporter: a man with his

elderly parents, his wife and 5- year-old son. >> he stayed behind, um,, you know, he said -- [ pause ] [ voice shaking ] >> powerful. >> reporter: in the midst of crisis, a powerful moment of selflessness. >> that's when it became real. >> reporter: a father saying good-bye to his family. >> wow, i'm sorry. ahem. he said to take his family, which we did. we dropped them off. we told him, you know, we would come back for him and we did. and he got out, as well. >> these are people who think they are never going to see their family again. and at that point, um, to see the father put his family first was touching. i have five kids and a wife, and that's the same decision i would have made. but i hope i never have to make

that decision. >> that was steve large reporting. this video a sonoma county sheriff's deputies the deputy driving on frons valley road at the start of the tubbs fire, you can see flames on both sides of the road, embers all around. deputies trying to get into some of the neighborhoods that make sure residents got out alive. now, the numbers are just starting to trickle in. it's very toler total up the damage estimate from the wine country wildfires but core logic says there are up to 172,000 homes that are in a potential risk area from the wildfires. kcbs radio's financial reporter jason brooks reports on the early estimates to fire costs to homes and the wine businesses. >> reporter: of those 172,000, 11,000 homes are at high or extreme risk of fire danger. it puts the total value of

those properties at $5 billion. if you take all 172,000 homes at any kind of risk, that total is $65 billion. >> jason adds, the california wine industry is worth about $34 billion. several wineries have been destroyed in napa and sonoma. both counties produce 12% of all california grapes. we are told 75% of the grapes were already harvested but the cabernet sauvignon and merlot crops were still on the vine. neda iranpour has the forecast. winds the big concern today. >> they are. the winds have picked up. they have also shifted direction. i also want to show you this vaca cam one more time. you can see the valley and the smoke shifting. it's moving towards the bay area so we are going to actually start to smell that smoke in the air. temperatures are cooler today. concord 65. oakland 61. livermore at 63 right now. air quality though still in the unhealthy range and very unhealthy range for the north

bay because of this shift in our winds. we'll see gusts up to 50 miles per hour later on tonight, sustained winds 20 to 30 expected. this wind advisory is in effect at 5 p.m. through tomorrow at 5 p.m. also, red flag warning in effect tonight all because it's dry wind that's coming down. humidity levels will drop down into the 20s overnight down into the teens tomorrow morning. futurecast wind gusts very strong. napa and fairfield, 7:00 still fairly calm but by 8, 9:00 that's when it's going to start to pick up. fairfield will continue to see this increase in wind, as well. this is north-northeast winds coming in. so that means the fire behavior will start to shift towards the south. the smoke will also start to shift towards the south. tomorrow morning strong and intense fire behavior expected to be erratic tonight through tomorrow. it's all because of this trough to the north. this is actually bringing some

rain down for parts of oregon. unfortunately, it's not doing that for us. that is of course what firefighters wish would happen. it's bringing north winds coming through and it's going to cause our humidity to drop. it is also causing our temperatures to cool off at least for the next few days, we'll be in the mid- to low- 70s inland. we'll see another wind event saturday and sunday temperatures on the rise. we'll be right back. you could save energy by living off the grid. completely. or... set the washing machine to cold. do your thing. energy upgrade california.

country wildfires governor brown was there and d in on the minutes ago, we got an update on the state's effort to attack these wine country wildfires. governor brown was there and weighed in on the catastrophe. >> we have had big fires in the past. this is one of the biggest, most serious. it's not over. make no mistake, this is a serious critical catastrophic event. >> cal fire officials went to great lengths to explain why air assets were not in the air yesterday. they said smoke from the fires kept planes and choppers grounded. they are back in the air today. now, one big concern during these wine country wildfires has been saving the animals in harm's way. john ramos introduces to us a group of horse lovers who teamed up through facebook to lend a helping hand. >> reporter: in any large fire, there's the big story and then

there's the thousand small ones. on this night, one of those played out on bennett valley road in santa rosa. >> we're unable to get in at the moment but we are working on it with law enforcement. >> reporter: a small army of civilians organized on facebook showed up to collect horses in an area already evacuated. when law enforcement finally let them in, it didn't take long to find those left behind. a small herd of rescue horses living out their lives on ned mcdonald's property. >> but because we don't ride them, we don't have a trailer. so we can't take them out. >> reporter: with the fire burning above them, the rescuers worked to halter the skittish animals. but none of the horses that had even seen a trailer in about four years. so it was a challenge for these inexperienced volunteers. >> you have never handled a horse before? >> never before as was probably evident. >> very large horses, very active, haven't been handled

for a long time. >> reporter: they tried pulling them and bribing them but they wouldn't budge. finally, with the light fading and flames threatening, a local veterinarian showed up with sedatives to calm things down. and then success. one by one, they followed each other into the trailer. do you feel like you're saving their lives? >> you never know. but if they stay here, when it's an evac order, there's a good chance we are. >> reporter: no one knows what this fire will do next, how much more heartache it may bring. but on this night a group of strangers was able to offer the helpless a way to safety. >> it's helping and i -- i can't leave a horse behind. i can't leave an animal behind. if i have a chance to help, i'm going to do it. >> in santa rosa, john ramos, kpix 5. we continue to follow the wine country wildfires. an update on the firefighting weather conditions coming up.

we're live on the fire lines across the north bay. firefighters still str ainment... as coming up on a special edition of kpix 5 news at 4 p.m., we are live on the fire lines across the north bay. firefighters still struggling for containment as strong winds move into the area. we'll have live team coverage at 4 p.m. all right. sounds like those winds are only going to get worse for firefighters. >> they have already picked up, this is what firefighters are worried about for today so i want to show you the fire dangers they are facing today. north winds are increasing this afternoon. today through tomorrow, we are going to see fire behavior turning very erratic.

dry conditions also expected because of those north winds. look at the humidity levels now. this morning, we were in the 80s and 90s. already santa rosa down to 21%. petaluma down to 28% and the winds already in santa rosa west-northwest at 12. so that's just the worst news. gusts could be up to 50 miles per hour tonight. >> oh, wow. okay. neda, thank you so much. and thank you for watching kpix 5 news at noon. continuing coverage this evening here on kpix 5. ♪[ music ] cbs eye on the community...

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♪ >> quinn: mm-hmm. oh. oh, yeah. mm. >> justin: why don't we get out of here, go grab a bite? >> bill: not hungry! i want my life back, my company, my wife. >> justin: have you heard from brooke? any chance she's, uh, she's changed her mind? >> bill: i'd change it for her if she'd let me! i know she still loves me! >> justin: yeah, but she doesn't love what you did. >> bill: i've apologized for that over and over again! i mean, i practically begged for her forgiveness. what am i supposed to do? >> justin: dollar bill, maybe she needs more time. >> bill: no, the longer we're apart, the likelier it is that we'll stay apart go