Publication Date October 10, 2017 | ABC News

California wildfire outbreak kills at least 11, among most deadly in state history

United States
Photo: Prensa Libre/AP
Photo: Prensa Libre/AP

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton linked climate change with the spate of hurricanes and now wildfires that have hit the country in recent weeks.

"I drove here and I know about what's going on with these terrible fires in Sonoma and Napa and across other parts of northern California and I just want to express my deep sympathy to everyone," Clinton said, speaking to an audience at the University of California, Davis, on Monday night.

"It's been a tough couple of weeks with hurricanes and earthquakes and now these terrible fires," said Clinton. "So in addition to expressing our sympathy, we need to really come together to try to work to prevent and mitigate, and that starts with acknowledging climate change and the role that it plays in exacerbating such events," Clinton said to applause.

Clinton's remarks come as the state faces one of the deadliest wildfire outbreaks in its history. More than a dozen blazes in several counties killed at least 10 people and injured hundreds, destroying some 1,500 structures and torching nearly 100,000 acres of land.

On Saturday, Hurricane Nate made landfall on the Gulf Coast, the fourth hurricane to hit the U.S. in the past six weeks.