This file photo taken on October 15, 2017 shows an American flag on a burned out truck in Santa Rosa, the U.S. state of California. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- California's governor declared Saturday as a Day of Remembrance for the wildfire victims in the U.S. state, and the hardest-hit Sonoma County held an event to honor those who had died in the disaster.
"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," Governor Jerry Brown tweeted earlier in the day.
"Today we remember, above all else, the human toll of these fires," he said, adding that he has ordered 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," he said.
The devastating wildfires that swept Northern California earlier this month have killed 42 people and destroyed at least 8,900 structures, including homes and business facilities, and burned over 245,000 acres of land, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a press release Saturday.
Among the victims, the youngest was 14 years old and the eldest 100 years old. The losses from the wildfires may amount to a rough estimate of 1 billion U.S. dollars.
Also on Saturday, southwestern Sonoma County, which suffered the heaviest casualties with 23 lives, more than half of the state's total lost in the fires, held its own memorial service at Santa Rosa Junior College to honor the victims.
At the event attended by hundreds of local residents and county leaders, a bell tolled 42 times to mourn the people killed in Sonoma, Napa, Yuba and Mendocino counties, which had been engulfed by the wildfires.
The memorial service came nearly three weeks after the fires broke out on Oct. 8, which forced about 100,000 people to evacuate, leaving many of them still homeless at present.
"We don't control these things, and it makes you realize how small you are in the world when something like this happens," Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said at the memorial ceremony.
"I don't think we understand the level at which it is going to impact lives, and the community will be different," he said.
U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, also the House minority leader, and five other members of Congress also attended the memorial service after touring fire-ravaged areas.
By Saturday, most of the blazes, which were recorded at 21 fires at the peak of the disaster, have been contained, but more than 2,000 firefighters remain on the frontlines of six active wildfires, CAL FIRE said.
The firefighters continue to extinguish hot spots and prepare for potential fire activity throughout California, it added.
Local media quoted state officials as saying that the cleanup could last into early 2018, preventing many homeowners from rebuilding until then.
California has suffered frequent forest fires in its history due to its warm climate and low humidity. The second most deadly wildfire on record was the Griffith Park fire of 1933, which took 29 lives.
