California wildfires: Millions face weekend blackout
October 26, 2019
Authorities are preparing to cut power amid concerns that high-voltage power lines could cause additional blazes. Thousands of people have been evacuated as the wildfires continue to rage.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. J. Sanchez
Advertisement
California wildfires threaten towns across the state
Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires continue to burn the countryside near Los Angeles and San Francisco. The fires are being driven by persistent hot and dry winds.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Porter
Fire in wine country
A home goes up in flames near the town of Geyserville, California in the wine country some 75 miles (120 km) north of San Francisco. Around 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate the area after a brush fire was sparked Wednesday night and was fanned by dry winds into an inferno.
Image: AFP/J. Edelson
Santa Clarita inferno
A home threatened as another fire broke out Thursday near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles. Six homes have been destroyed so far and as many as 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. The fire is being driven by hot, dry "Santa Ana" winds.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. J. Sanchez
Aerial attack
An aircraft drops fire retardant on the "Kincade" wildfire in Sonoma County, California. Fire officials said Thursday evening that the blaze was only 5% contained. About 500 firefighters on the ground battled blustery, dry winds.
Image: Imago Images/Zuma/N. Waters
Roll up your windows
The Sierra Highway was still open as the so-called Tick Fire raged across an estimated 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) in areas north of Los Angeles.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. J. Sanchez
Left in the dark
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power as California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co. cut power as a preventative measure. There were reports that the Kincade fire began near a high-voltage transmission tower.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/N. Berger
Short break in the wind expected
Both fires are being driven by hot and dry winds. Forecasters with the National Weather Service said a short break in the wind is expected for northern California on Friday, but warned they could pick up again over the weekend. At one point, firefighters in Sonoma County reportedly faced wind gusts topping 70 mph (110 kph).
Image: Reuters/G. Blevins
Horse statue silhouetted
There was not much let up in the wind as the Kincade Fire spread to Windsor, California. A horse statue is here illuminated by the light of the fire.
Image: Reuters/S. Lam
7 images1 | 7
Up to 2.1 million people in the US state of California could lose power as wildfires continue to scorch the countryside near Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Dozens of homes have already been destroyed and thousands of residents displaced by the intense smoke and flames.
California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co has already cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes in the state as a preventative measure, and warned that millions more could face a blackout over the weekend.
The company has acknowledged that an earlier wildfire may have been caused by a high-voltage transmission line.
California wildfires threaten towns across the state
Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires continue to burn the countryside near Los Angeles and San Francisco. The fires are being driven by persistent hot and dry winds.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Porter
Fire in wine country
A home goes up in flames near the town of Geyserville, California in the wine country some 75 miles (120 km) north of San Francisco. Around 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate the area after a brush fire was sparked Wednesday night and was fanned by dry winds into an inferno.
Image: AFP/J. Edelson
Santa Clarita inferno
A home threatened as another fire broke out Thursday near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles. Six homes have been destroyed so far and as many as 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate. The fire is being driven by hot, dry "Santa Ana" winds.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. J. Sanchez
Aerial attack
An aircraft drops fire retardant on the "Kincade" wildfire in Sonoma County, California. Fire officials said Thursday evening that the blaze was only 5% contained. About 500 firefighters on the ground battled blustery, dry winds.
Image: Imago Images/Zuma/N. Waters
Roll up your windows
The Sierra Highway was still open as the so-called Tick Fire raged across an estimated 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) in areas north of Los Angeles.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. J. Sanchez
Left in the dark
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power as California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co. cut power as a preventative measure. There were reports that the Kincade fire began near a high-voltage transmission tower.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/N. Berger
Short break in the wind expected
Both fires are being driven by hot and dry winds. Forecasters with the National Weather Service said a short break in the wind is expected for northern California on Friday, but warned they could pick up again over the weekend. At one point, firefighters in Sonoma County reportedly faced wind gusts topping 70 mph (110 kph).
Image: Reuters/G. Blevins
Horse statue silhouetted
There was not much let up in the wind as the Kincade Fire spread to Windsor, California. A horse statue is here illuminated by the light of the fire.
Image: Reuters/S. Lam
7 images1 | 7
Thousands evacuated
Tens of thousands of people near Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, fled their homes on Friday as firefighters struggle to control fires that are spread over 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares). Only 10% of the fires had been contained by the evening.
Authorities ordered mass evacuations in the area after a brush fire, which was sparked on Wednesday, turned into an inferno due to dry winds.
Authorities shut down all nearby schools on Friday as well as a major highway after the blaze continued to spread.
The National Weather Service warned that although wind speeds – gusting up to 65 miles (105 kilometers) per hour – were set to subside temporarily, they were expected to increase again on Sunday and Monday in the southern part of the state.
"It looks like another Santa Ana is coming," meteorologist Eric Boldt told AFP news agency, in reference to the strong gusts that hit California each fall. "Right now, we're looking at moderate strength winds (Sunday and Monday)."
Fires have also broken out over the border in Mexico's Baja California stateImage: Getty Images/AFP/G. Arias
The state remains "critically dry" with little humidity, increasing the chance of large and dangerous fires, he added.
Several wildfires are also raging in northern California – the most serious being the "Kincade Fire" in the Sonoma wine region.
This year, 276 wildfires have broken out across California. The most destructive year on record was 2018, when 8,500 wildfires scorched through the state, killing around 100 people.
Intense fires over the border in Mexico's Baja California state have killed at least three people and destroyed over 150 homes, officials said.
