Wildfire threatens Reagan library
Weary California braces for new wave of chaos
LOS ANGELES – A fast-growing wildfire Wednesday in Simi Valley raced within 30 yards of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and prompted a new round of evacuations as high winds fanned fires and fears up and down the parched state.
Winds gusting up to near 80 mph and dry conditions put residents on high alert as they awaited the next waves of evacuation orders and preemptive power outages.
In Simi Valley, a Ventura County city of 125,000 people just 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the new blaze, dubbed the Easy Fire, burned to within 30 yards of the Reagan library complex, spokeswoman Melissa Giller said.
The library’s defenses were aided by a shift in the winds – and the work of goats brought in every year to create a fire break by chewing through vegetation surrounding the complex. About 800 firefighters also battled the blaze on the ground as helicopters and airplanes attacked with water drops from above.
Reagan and his wife, Nancy, are buried next to each other on a hill at the library.
Ventura County, like much of the state, faced an “extreme red flag warning” because of wildfire conditions.
“It’s coming up the side where the parking lot is. You can actually now see flames on the hillside out of the window of the Air Force One Pavilion,” Giller said. “The fire seems to have shifted and it seems to be going away from the library right now. So right now, we are safe.”
In Los Angeles County, fire officials said they had determined the cause of the Getty Fire, which has forced the evacuation of more than 7,000 homes near the Getty Museum.
“The fire was deemed an accidental start, caused by a tree branch that broke off and subsequently landed in nearby power lines during high wind conditions,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said. “This errant tree branch caused the sparking and arcing of the power lines, igniting nearby brush.”
Gusty winds were threatening to further spread wildfires already burning across the state.
Conditions have turned deadly
The winds sweeping the parched state have been blamed for three deaths. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office said the bodies of Edward and Iva Poulson were found Monday in their Jeep after a tree toppled onto the vehicle in high winds. And the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that a homeless woman died Sunday after being crushed by a tree.
In Los Angeles, officials stationed crews at fire-prone locations in an effort to quickly extinguish any new blazes. “Extreme” red flag warnings were expected to persist into Thursday night, bringing the potential for “rapid fire spread” and “extreme fire behavior,” according to the National Weather Service.
“It takes one ember, just one ember downwind, to start another brush fire,” L.A. Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
Low humidity, dry fuel and sustained winds up to 55 mph are testing firefighters, who had contained 15% of the 656acre Getty Fire by Tuesday evening. The flames had injured one firefighter and destroyed or damaged 18 buildings. Nearby neighborhoods should be prepared to flee, authorities warned.
In Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, firefighters battling the Kincade Fire faced another round of the Diablo winds. Sustained gusts of 20 to 30 mph could fan the 118-square-mile blaze but pose less of a threat than winds recorded over the weekend.
The wildfire had destroyed more than 200 buildings and was 30% contained Wednesday. An additional 80,000 homes were threatened, prompting officials to keep 15 evacuation centers open.
About 200,000 people had been forced from the area since the fire ignited last week, although some evacuation orders had been eased to evacuation warnings as firefighting progressed.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the firefighters out there doing a spectacular job, but with the situation so fluid, with the winds still blowing, we’re not through this yet,” Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt said.
Power problems persist
Power shutoffs also weren’t over for nearly 1.5 million Northern and Central California residents. Pacific Gas & Electric turned off power in 29 counties Tuesday, marking its fourth shutoff this month and third in the last week.
Southern California Edison warned that crews may cut off power for an additional 300,000 customers – mainly in Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties – if conditions worsen.
The shutoffs, designed to reduce the risk of utility equipment sparking wildfires in strong winds, have drawn criticism from residents and public officials.
PG&E on Tuesday yielded to pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom by announcing it will issue a bill credit for customers affected by the first shutoff this month. Residential customers will see a $100 credit in the next billing cycle, and businesses will get $250, the utility said. Credits will not be issued for the subsequent shutoffs, PG&E said, because the company worked to improve how it notified customers.
The utility also faces scrutiny amid Cal Fire’s investigation into the Kincade Fire’s origin. PG&E acknowledged last week a live, 230,000-volt transmission line malfunctioned minutes before the fire erupted.