California Wildfires now up to 100 miles wide as death toll reaches 40

Sonoma: Evacuees fled in fear nearly a week ago. Now they're ready to go back.

While wildfires are still burning powerfully in parts of Northern California, some of the tens of thousands of evacuees are getting antsy to return to homes that aren't under immediate threat. Others want to see if they still have homes to return to.

Read: 33 dead, hundreds missing as California wildfire continues to rage

But authorities are staying cautious in the face of blazes that have now killed at least 40 people and destroyed at least 5,700 homes.

Read: California wildfires kill at least 31

Although some evacuees were returning home in Mendocino County, the latest estimates were that about 100,000 people were under evacuation orders as the fires burned for a sixth day.