This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Thousands of firefighters in northern California battled to control wildfires fueled by howling el diablo winds, the largest of which forced at least 185,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Meanwhile, more than 2 million people were left without power as the state’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), shut off power to try to keep wind-toppled electrical wires from sparking additional fires. PG&E warned it might cut power again as soon as Tuesday because of another forecast of strong winds.

Fire conditions statewide made California “a tinderbox”, said Jonathan Cox, a spokesman for the California department of forestry and fire protection. Of the state’s 58 counties, 43 were under red flag warnings for high fire danger Sunday.

A brush fire near the Getty Center in Los Angeles forced 3,300 people to evacuate early on Monday morning, including NBA star LeBron James.

'It's like I'm in hell': how it feels to flee a wildfire outside Los Angeles Read more

The California governor, Gavin Newsom, on Sunday declared a statewide emergency, as fire crews worked to control the Kincade fire in California’s wine country, and smaller blazes across the north of the state. In Vallejo, a fierce fire bedeviled commuters.

Nearly all of Sonoma county fell under evacuation orders and warnings as the Kincade fire grew to nearly 85 square miles. By Sunday night, the fire had destroyed 94 buildings and was threatening 80,000 buildings, state fire authorities said.

Several wineries in the Alexander Valley were among the properties that were left destroyed.

The evacuation order was the largest “anyone at the sheriff’s office can remember,” the Sonoma county sheriff’s department said on Sunday.

“We don’t take this lightly,” Sonoma county’s sheriff, Mark Essick, said. “We believe this the right decision for Sonoma county.

The unprecedented evacuations had started on Saturday, when about 90,000 people were placed under mandatory evacuation. Authorities expanded the evacuation zone overnight as the fire spread, forcing many to flee in darkness, and again on Sunday morning.

Essick said: “You cannot fight this. Please evacuate.”

Hundreds of people arrived at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa throughout the night and into Sunday morning. Some came from senior care facilities. More than 300 people slept inside an auditorium filled with cots and wheeled beds. Scores of others stayed in a separate building with their pets.

Some of those arriving in shelters on Sunday had earlier taken refuge in evacuation centers that were now in a fire zone.

Sunday’s evacuation orders also included parts of Santa Rosa, a city of 175,000 that was devastated by a wildfire two years ago. The Tubbs fire killed more than 20 people and left entire neighborhoods of the city scorched.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A firefighter walks by a house as it burns during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, California, on Sunday. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

On Sunday morning, the wind was spreading dry autumn leaves and oily shreds of eucalyptus through the city’s downtown.

Many residents of the Coffey park neighborhood had evacuated by Sunday morning but Ken Herland stood outside watering his yard and the new wooden fence around it.

Herland has only lived in this house since July. His home burned down in the north Bay fires in 2017. “We just put a new metal roof on the house, he said. “I’m not leaving. I left the last time.” But, he said, “this time feels worse.”

His daughter Jessica evacuated the horses at her ranch by the Pepperwood Preserve, which by Sunday was burning in places. She watched a neighbor’s video of the fire on her phone. “The ranch isn’t on fire yet,” she said. “So far we’re looking good. I’ll be hopeful until they tell me not to.”

It was unclear when people would be able to return to their homes. Although winds had slightly eased on Sunday morning, they remained fierce throughout the day.

The National Weather Service warned dangerous fire weather conditions would continue into Monday.

'Potentially historic': dangerous winds expected as fires burn across California Read more

In the San Francisco Bay Area, two grass fires briefly halted traffic on an interstate bridge, with flames coming dangerously close to homes in Vallejo. An ember from one fire possibly sparked the other.

Dramatic footage from the fires shared on networks and social media showed flames raging near the Carquinez bridge.

Craig Rose (@SmokeShowing911) Fire in Vallejo has burnt down to the water. There are Maritime Academy personnel actively fighting the fire. Fire burning actively under the Carquinez Bridge.#BREAKING #EMERGENCY #FIRE #Vallejo pic.twitter.com/BYbCbWnkgW

Another grass fire closed a stretch of interstate that cut through the state capital Sacramento as smoke obstructed drivers.

The fire and massive evacuation were driven by a “historic” wind event that meteorologists had warned of. The seasonal winds, called “el diablo” winds in northern California, tore through Sonoma county at 100mph , tossing embers erratically and making fire containment ever more challenging for responders.

“I’ve been in the business 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Steve Anderson, a forecaster in the San Francisco office of the NWS.

A special kind of hell: fires, smoke and heat turn LA into a deadly paradise Read more

Anderson noted that during the 2017 wildfire season, which until that point had been the most destructive on record, gusting winds reached 90mph and lasted for four to six hours. In this case, winds have blown between 80 to 90mph for the past 12 hours, and were expected to continue for through most of the afternoon, he said Sunday morning.

Cal Fire said a firefighter and two civilians were overrun by the flames in Sonoma on Saturday, forcing the firefighter to shield the civilians with his fire shelter. All three were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, Cal Fire said.

Concerns about the winds prompted PG&E to cut power to more than a million homes in northern California, just two weeks after the company had imposed an earlier round of blackouts.

PG&E said the new blackouts were affecting about a million homes and businesses in 36 counties. Electricity is expected to begin being restored by Monday, but some customers may be without power until Wednesday because electrical lines have to be inspected before power can be restored.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Authorities expanded the evacuation zone overnight, as the fire spread. Photograph: Peter Dasilva/EPA

Authorities have not yet confirmed what sparked the Kincade fire, but PG&E said a 230,000-volt transmission line near Geyserville malfunctioned minutes before that blaze erupted on Wednesday night.

PG&E acknowledged a tower malfunction prompted a strategy change for determining when to kill high-voltage transmission lines, Andrew Vesey, the utility’s chief executive, said on Friday.

“Any spark, from any source, can lead to catastrophic results,” Vesey said. “We do not want to become one of those sources.”

The possible link between the wine country fire and a PG&E transmission line recalled last year, when most of the town of Paradise burned, killing more than 80 people in the deadliest wildfire in a century. State officials concluded a PG&E transmission line sparked that fire.

In southern California, a wildfire on Thursday destroyed 18 structures in the Santa Clarita area north of Los Angeles. Nearly all the 50,000 residents ordered to evacuate because of the Tick fire were allowed back home after Santa Ana winds began to ease.

“It has become normal for us,” said Brenda Taylor, 46. She said her family has had to evacuate eight or nine times due to fires in the last two decades. “This is life out here,” she said.

Sheriff’s officials said human remains were found within the wide burn area, but it was unclear if the death is connected to the blaze.

As of Sunday evening, the Tick fire was 65% contained.

Early Monday, a brush fire near the Getty Center grew quickly and was moving west, according LA officials.

The LA fire department called the fire “a very dynamic situation due to high winds” and issued mandatory evacuation orders affecting 3,300 homes in western Los Angeles county. Los Angeles Lakers star James tweeted that he had to evacuate his home because of the fires.