Fire safety

California fires: Scores missing as death toll rises to 15

More than 150 people are missing in wildfires that have ravaged northern California's wine region, police say.

At least 15 people are confirmed dead and more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed by the fires which broke out on Sunday.

Nine of the deaths have been in Sonoma County.

One of the worst affected towns there is Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco, where entire districts have been razed to the ground.

The Sonoma County sheriff's office said 155 people were still unaccounted for, although that could be due to the chaotic pace of the evacuations.

In neighbouring Napa County, victims included 100-year-old Charles Rippey and his 98-year-old wife, Sarah, police said.