San Francisco Bay Area hit by 2.8 magnitude earthquake, confirm seismologists

Flames were continuing to tear through the region's rolling pastures and tree-dotted hills, toppling renowned wineries and restaurants. Officials said they were requesting more fire crews to join 2,000 firefighters battling the blaze that has charred 207 square kilometers with almost no containment.

Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in America to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas, especially because climate change has made California much drier. A drier California means plants are more flammable. Some Northern Californians say they are getting fed up with the annual evacuations and fire fears and are thinking of leaving.

The massive blazes are also becoming harder to fight. On Wednesday, officials said wind-whipped flames led two firefighters to deploy the emergency fire shelters they carry in case of imminent danger from flames. The firefighters were assigned to the Glass Fire in Napa County on Sunday when gusty off-shore winds fanned the fire, forcing them to deploy the shelters after flames overwhelmed them. The firefighters covered themselves on the ground with the space blanket-looking devices.

It's the third time fire crews have had to deploy their fire shelters this month, a last-resort effort to save their lives that was once uncommon. On Sept. 8, 14 firefighters deployed emergency shelters as flames overtook them and destroyed the fire station they were defending in the Los Padres National Forest. Three firefighters were hospitalized and later released. The Glass and Zogg fires are among nearly 30 wildfires burning in California. Fire-related deaths in California this year total 30.