Wildfires rage in California

At least 23 people have died and hundreds are missing after wildfires devastated large swathes of northern California. The blazes began on October 8th in the lush wine-growing region outside San Francisco. Arid conditions and high winds, reaching speeds of 79mph, caused them to spread quickly. As The Economist went to press they were far from being contained and had already scorched an area four times the size of Washington, DC, making this among the worst wildfire outbreaks in the state’s history.