Winds have the upper hand in California fires

The death toll from wildfires in Northern California has grown to at least 23 with about 3,500 homes and businesses destroyed. Overnight winds lessened somewhat, giving firefighters an edge against 22 fires spanning more than 265 square miles. But those gains will likely disappear Thursday because the dry wind is expected to gust to 45 mph. “It’s going to continue to get worse before it gets better,” state fire Chief Ken Pimlott said Wednesday. Entire cities evacuated in anticipation of the next round of flames.