Wind whips up fires across California as lights go out
Fast-growing fires throughout California have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes as dry winds and high heat feed flames and fears in the state still jittery from devastating wildfires in the past two years.
The dramatic fires and evacuations — near Los Angeles and in the wine country of Northern California — came against a backdrop of power shutoffs that utility companies said were necessary to stop high winds from toppling trees or blowing debris into power lines and starting more fires.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co, warned that more widespread blackouts this weekend were expected to shut power across much of the San Francisco Bay Area. It would be the third major outage this month.
Officials said they did not yet know how many homes had burned in the state, and that no immediate injuries were reported. It is not clear how any of the blazes began.
In Southern California, two fires rolled along the parched foothills north of Los Angeles, forcing at least
40,000 people to flee neighbourhoods where thousands of homes have sprung up in recent decades.
At least six homes burned as the blazes swept through dry brush to the edge of communities in the Santa Clarita area. Winds gusting to about
65km/h pushed the flames, and enormous plumes of smoke were visible for miles. People used hoses to try to protect their properties.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said there was no containment of either blaze.
Hot and dry Santa Ana winds led Southern California Edison to cut power to more than 31,000 customers. It was considering additional power cuts to more than 386,000 customers.
In Northern California wine country, authorities ordered 2000 people to evacuate as a wildfire burned 49 buildings and exploded to 65sq km, whipped up by the strong winds that had prompted PG&E to impose blackouts across the region. It was 5 per cent contained.
The outages affected half a million people or nearly 180,000 customers in 17 counties.
Although the cause of fire wasn’t yet determined, PG&E reported a problem with a transmission tower near the spot where the fire ignited.
Officials ordered an evacuation of Geyserville, home to about 900 people and a popular stop for wine country tourists, along with nearby residents.
The blaze threatened some of the area’s famed wineries and the River Rock Casino as flames raged on the outskirts of town.
A series of deadly blazes tore through the same area in Northern California wine country two years ago, killing 44 people.
Among those fleeing Geyserville was Harry Bosworth, 81, who awoke to find a firetruck and firefighters in his driveway. “I could see the fire coming, so we got the heck out of there,” Bosworth said after escaping to his daughter’s house in the neighbouring town of Healdsburg.