Ten people confirmed dead from northern California wildfires

SANTA ROSA (Reuters) - At least 10 people have died in a spate of wildfires fanned by strong winds through northern California's wine country, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Monday. Some 15 fires raging largely unchecked across eight northern California counties, including the state's primary wine-making regions in Napa and Sonoma counties, have also destroyed some 1,500 homes and businesses and forced the evacuation of an estimated 20,000 people, authorities said. (Reporting by Marc Vartabedian in Santa Rosa, Calif. Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Diane Craft)