Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring October 28, 2017 as a "Day of Remembrance of the Northern California Fires" in the State of California.
"On this Day of Remembrance, I have ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol," said Governor Brown. "As we mourn for those we have lost, let us dedicate ourselves first to the aid of the survivors and then to the causes of safety and preparedness in our increasingly fire-prone state."
PROCLAMATION
On the night of Sunday, October 8, 2017, a series of wildfires erupted in the heart of Northern California's wine country. Over the course of a single night, these fires would engulf 100 square miles, spreading with unprecedented speed and fury. Sparked by the same hot, windy conditions, other major wildfires soon broke out across the state, devastating more than 200,000 acres of land. By the time the fires were contained two weeks later, it was clear that the Northern California fires of October 2017 were by far the most lethal and destructive wildfire disaster in the history of California.
Today we remember, above all else, the human toll of these fires. The numbers are staggering: at least 42 people lost their lives. The youngest victim was 14 years old. The eldest was 100. The stories of heroism and tragedy are too many to recount here, but we can only imagine the terror people felt as they fled from the flames, the courage that sent them back for their loved ones and the love that held them together during such devastation.
We may get a sense of this disaster's unprecedented magnitude by recalling that the next most deadly California wildfire on record, the Griffith Park fire of 1933, took 29 lives, and the most deadly in recent memory, the Oakland Hills fire of 1991, killed 25.
A great number of the thousands of structures destroyed in the fires were homes. Many people also lost beloved animals or the businesses on which they depended for their livelihood. We remember these people too, while giving thanks for their safety and the opportunity to help them in this time of need.
On this Day of Remembrance, I have ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. As we mourn for those we have lost, let us dedicate ourselves first to the aid of the survivors and then to the causes of safety and preparedness in our increasingly fire-prone state.
NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim October 28, 2017, as a "Day of Remembrance of the Northern California Fires" in the State of California.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 26th day of October 2017.
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EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
Governor of California
ATTEST:
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ALEX PADILLA
Secretary of State
