Raging California wildfires burned 80 cell towers, hampering evacuation alerts

Surging California wildfires spread so quickly into some neighborhoods that emergency texts, phone calls, and tweets could not be sent to alert people of the approaching flames.

These unprecedented fires, fueled by dry vegetation after a wet winter and scorchingly hot summer and unrelenting "Diablo" winds, have so far killed 26, left nearly 300 missing, and are barely contained. "The winds are picking up again," a Napa resident (who wished to be unnamed) told Mashable Wednesday night. "It's apocalyptic."

Local governments have emergency response alert systems set up to inform residents of evacuations, notably via text message, but the fires outpaced many of these systems. Read more...