200K lose power as wildfires rage
Almost 200,000 homes and businesses across California were without power Thursday and utilities warned that hundreds of thousands more could be in the dark soon as high winds and brittle conditions fueled fastgrowing wildfires.
In Sonoma County, 75 miles north of San Francisco, the fast-growing Kincade Fire flared up early Thursday and within hours covered more than 15 square miles. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 76 mph, and evacuations were underway in several communities.
“Leave immediately if you are in these locations,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office warned, citing an “extraordinary threat to life or property.”
Cal Fire spokesman Jonathan Cox told KTVU-TV that the fire was growing at a “critical rate.” He blamed dry conditions and the ferocious winds.
“We are in the heart of the fire season right now,” Cox said.
The bulk of the power outages, affecting at least 500,000 people, were in central and Northern California, where Pacific Gas & Electric has been warning that high winds could result in preemptive power shutoffs.
“Once the weather subsides ... PG&E crews will begin patrolling power lines, repairing damaged equipment and restoring customers,” PG&E said.
The company said that another round of strong winds – which the weather service is calling “the strongest wind event so far this fall” – is forecast for Sunday and Monday, which could lead to more preemptive outages.
The latest wave of outages comes two weeks after gusty winds, high temperatures and parched conditions forced PG&E to shut off power to 2 million people, many for several days.
Southern California Edison had cut power to about 15,000 customers early in the day and warned that almost 300,000 more could see preemptive outages.
A fire in San Bernardino County was only about 100 acres, but evacuations were being ordered early Thursday.