
Firefighters are battling flames near power lines on San Bruno Mountain despite electricity being cut for 1.5 million people in California in a bid to prevent wildfires.

Video of the area shows a helicopter dumping water on flames near power lines and electricity towers on the mountain ridge.

It's unclear if the electrical equipment near the blaze had been shut off. PG&E officials didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

Earlier this week, the company announced that up to 2 million people may be affected by power outages in the next few days due to 70mph wind gusts. Cutting the power is PG&E's attempt to prevent wildfires from breaking out.

Another fire erupted in Southern California as strong Santa Ana winds buffet the region.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department says the blaze broke out in Fontana Thursday afternoon.

Officials say one home is burning and others are threatened. The department says firefighters are trying to protect buildings, but the heavy winds are hampering their progress.

The Sheriff’s Department says evacuations are underway in the area, which is about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. It's unclear how many people are evacuating.

Just before 1am Thursday morning, Moraga-Orinda officials ordered evacuations for a fast-moving fire in the hills near St Mary's College.

Scroll down for video

Firefighters (pictured at the scene, Thursday afternoon) are battling flames near power lines on San Bruno Mountain despite electricity being cut for 1.5 million people in California in a bid to prevent wildfires

Video of the area shows a helicopter (pictured) dumping water on flames near power lines and electricity towers on the mountain ridge

It's unclear if the electrical equipment (pictured Thursday afternoon) near the blaze had been shut off

Cutting the power in certain areas in California is PG&E's attempt to prevent wildfires from breaking out. Pictured is the blaze that erupted Thursday afternoon

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) says the flames consumed about 60 acres in a little over two hours. Moraga police ordered evacuations in the town's Sanders Ranch neighborhood and residents were told to take only essential items.

'Due to the rapid spread of the fire on steep slopes near several homes, evacuations were ordered using the Community Warning System and an evacuation center established at St Monica’s Church,' a statement from the Moraga-Orinda Fire District reads.

By 3.30am, firefighters had the fire at 60 per cent containment and by 11am, the fire was at 80 per cent containment. About 150 firefighters responded to the scene.

So far, the fire has not caused any injuries or damaged any structures. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The community in Contra Costa County is part of Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E) ongoing pre-emptive electricity shutdowns.

Californians played a waiting game with the winds Thursday as PG&E watched the weather before deciding whether to restore power to an enormous portion of the state blacked out on purpose.

The state's largest utility pulled the plug to prevent a repeat of the past two years when wind-blown power lines sparked deadly wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes.

Ahead of the outages, announced earlier this week, Californians rushed to stock up on flashlights, batteries, bottled water, ice and coolers, took money out of ATMs and filled their gas tanks.

Just before 1am Thursday morning, Moraga-Orinda officials ordered evacuations for a fast-moving fire (pictured, Thursday morning) in the hills near St Mary's College

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) says the flames consumed about 60 acres (pictured early Thursday morning) in a little over two hours

Moraga police (first responders pictured Thursday) ordered evacuations in the town's Sanders Ranch neighborhood. Residents were told to take only essential items

So far, the fire has not caused any injuries or damaged any structures. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Firefighters are pictured at the scene early Thursday morning

Meanwhile, about 1.5 million people are without power in California. The blackouts began Wednesday, hitting more than 600,000 homes and businesses north of San Francisco Bay, in the wine country, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills. This graphic shows the area where the Moraga fire is currently burning in comparison to outages across the state

The unpopular move that disrupted daily life - prompted by forecasts calling for dry, gusty weather - came after catastrophic fires sent PG&E into bankruptcy and forced it to take more aggressive steps to prevent blazes.

The blackouts began Wednesday, hitting more than 600,000 homes and businesses north of San Francisco Bay, in the wine country, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 85 people and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise.

Late Wednesday night, after a full day of delays, PG&E began cutting power in the Bay Area, excluding the city of San Francisco.

As many as 2 million people could be affected if the company continues to cut power in certain areas.

Utility spokeswoman Melissa Subbotin says the company continues to watch the weather and has not yet decided on cutting power to more people.

She says the utility has already restored power to 126,000 residences and homes.

By 3.30am, firefighters had the fire at 60 per cent containment. About 150 firefighters responded to the scene

So far, the fire has not caused any injuries or damaged any structures. The cause of the fire remains under investigation

Winds gusting as high as 70mph in places were forecast to begin hitting Southern California later Thursday

PG&E has warned that they might have to do without power for days after the winds subside because 'every inch' of the power system must be inspected by helicopters and thousands of groundworkers and declared safe before the grid is reactivated.

The electric company took drastic action because of hot, dry Diablo winds sweeping into Northern California, said Scott Strenfel, PG&E's principal meteorologist.

They were also part of a California-wide weather system that will produce Santa Ana winds in the south in the next day or so, he said.

'These (weather) events historically are the events that cause the most destructive wildfires in California history,' Strenfel said.

The power outages have angered residents, prompting authorities to ask the public to be kind to frontline utility workers.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a PG&E truck had a window shattered by a bullet Tuesday evening on Colusa County. The driver wasn't hurt.

It wasn't clear whether the truck was targeted. The shooting occurred hours before the power shutoffs began.

Security was also increased at a PG&E office in Oroville after an angry customer threw eggs at a window.

The shut-offs could be just a glimpse of what lies ahead for California as climate change contributes to more ferocious blazes and longer fire seasons.

The community (pictured) in Contra Costa County is part of Pacific Gas and Electric's (PG&E) ongoing pre-emptive electricity shutdowns

First responders are seen making sure that residents evacuate their homes Thursday morning

A car drives through a darkened Montclair Village as Pacific Gas & Electric power shutdowns continue in Oakland, California

'It's just kind of scary. It feels worse than Y2K. We don't know how long,' Tianna Pasche of Oakland said before her area was powered down.

'My two kids, their school situation keeps moving every second. It's not clear if we need to pack for a week and go out of town or what to do. So I'm just trying to make sure we have water, food, charging stations and gas.'

But she added: 'If it saves a life, I'm not going to complain about it.'

The University of California, Berkeley canceled classes for a second day because the campus had no electricity. Oakland closed several schools.

Winds gusting as high as 70mph in places were forecast to begin hitting Southern California later Thursday.

'There is a #RedFlagWarning that has expanded towards the central valley and is issued for most of Northern CA and the southernmost portion of CA from today until late Thursday evening, and even into Friday for some areas, due to strong winds/low humidity,' Cal Fire confirmed tweeted.

Cal Fire also warned that fire danger this fall is predicted to be 'extreme'.

Blackouts began Wednesday (noted above), hitting more than 500,000 homes and businesses north of San Francisco Bay, in the wine country, the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills, where a November wildfire blamed on PG&E transmission lines killed 85 people and virtually incinerated the town of Paradise

A lone shopper walks through the aisles of a darkened supermarket to purchase supplies on Wednesday (pictured)

Businesses in California (pictured) were forced to shut their doors and throw out perishable supplies in preparation of PG&E's power shutoff that began Wednesday just after midnight

Daniel Almanza of Bayside Cafe, which was among businesses to lose power due to PG&E's public safety power shutoff, calls a supplier from the office of the restaurant in Sausalito, California on Wednesday

Armando Espinoza delivers paper products to a cafe in downtown Sonoma, California, where power is turned off, on Wednesday

Carlos Lama of Bayside Cafe, which was among businesses to lose power due to PG&E's public safety power shutoff, uses an LED lamp and light from his phone at the counter of the restaurant in Sausalito, California, Wednesday

Elon Musk vows to install 'Powerpack' batteries at some electric car charging points in California that have been cut off due to wildfires Elon Musk says Tesla will supplement charging stations downed by planned blackouts in California with the company's 'Powerpack' battery technology. According to a tweet sent out by the tech entrepreneur on Thursday, Tesla plans to ship the energy storage units - essentially large batteries capable of holding and delivering electricity - in 'just a few weeks' while Musk sorts out the permits for the move. The units will only be shipped to the company's supercharging stations, of which there are dozens in the the San Francisco Bay Area alone. While the packs will work to keep stations up and running, motorists will still presumably have to pay to charge their vehicles at the station, same as before the blackouts. Tesla says its stations cost between $0.13 to $0.26 per minute depending on the location. 'All Tesla Supercharger stations in regions affected by California power outages will have Tesla Powerpacks within next few weeks. Just waiting on permits,' he tweeted. If delivered, those Powerpack would help to keep charging stations in California online amid widespread utility shutdowns in California. Musk also mentioned that the company is working to outfit its charging stations with solar power so that they can remain live even when facing utility issues. 'Also adding Tesla Solar to our Supercharger stations as fast as possible. Goal is 24/7 clean power with no blackouts,' Musk tweeted. The promise by Musk comes after Tesla owners were given a warning on Tuesday via their cars' computer system and corresponding app to charge vehicles prior to the planned blackouts. Advertisement

Southern California Edison warned that it might cut power to nearly 174,000 customers in nine counties, including Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.

San Diego Gas & Electric has notified about 30,000 customers they could lose power in back-country areas.

While many people said the blackouts were a necessity, others were outraged - the word that Gov Gavin Newsom used in arguing that PG&E should have been working on making its power system sturdier and more weather-proof.

'They're in bankruptcy due to their terrible management going back decades,' Newsom said in San Diego.

'They've created these conditions. It was unnecessary.'

Sumeet Singh, head of PG&E's Community Wildfire Safety Program, said the utility has more than 8,000 employees and contractors who have been clearing brush, inspecting power lines and putting power lines underground.

But he said the power grid wasn't built to withstand the changing weather.

Meanwhile, Cal Fire reports that the Cross Fire, which was first reported on Wednesday, in the Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, is at 90 per cent containment across 289 acres.

The Briceburg Fire, which was reported on October 6 in Mariposa County, is at 15 per cent containment over 4,400 acres.