Fresh evacuations in Sonoma county as Kincade fire spreads and wave of power blackouts begin across the state

Californians braced for power cuts and a “potentially historic” wind event on Saturday as a growing wildfire prompted fresh evacuations for 50,000 people in the northern Bay Area.

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The tumultuous Kincade fire spread to 25,455 acres in the wine-growing region of Sonoma county, with meteorologists warning of severe, windy conditions beginning Saturday night that could see gusts of up to 80mph. The entire communities of Windsor and Healdsburg, where one of the original evacuation shelters was set up, were ordered to evacuate.

The Sonoma county sheriff’s office said it is expected to be the biggest evacuation in the county in more than 25 years, with warnings to be prepared to leave reaching the coast. Traffic snarled roadways leading out of the communities of Windsor and Healdsburg as residents scrambled to close up their homes, find last-minute accommodations and transport their livestock to safety.

“Once we get that red-flag warning starting at 8pm and we get those high winds, we’re going to see some erratic fire behavior,” said the Cal Fire captain Stephen Volmer, a fire behavior analyst with the agency. “There is the potential for a lot of this fire-weakened timber to be falling down across power lines, across roads. There is also the potential for those long-ranged spotting issues that we have to ignite new fires.”

The National Weather Service described the conditions as “the strongest since the 2017 wine country fires and potentially a historic event given the strength and duration of the winds”. The Tubbs fire of that year killed 22 people.

The Kincade fire broke out late on Wednesday night and has so far destroyed nearly 50 structures. There have been no fatalities but a firefighter and two civilians were injured when they were overwhelmed by fire as they tried to evacuate from approaching flames, authorities said.

Meanwhile, millions across the state will have their power cut again as California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), said it would shut off electricity for the third time in as many weeks. PG&E said the power cuts would be implemented in stages through Saturday afternoon and evening for about 940,000 homes and businesses in 36 counties for 48 hours or longer throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, wine country and Sierra foothills. An estimated 2.35 million people are due to be affected, thousands more than previously predicted.

Two previous power shutdowns were done amid concern that gusty winds could disrupt or knock down power lines and spark devastating wildfires.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Kincade fire burned near Geyserville, California on 24 October. Photograph: Peter Dasilva/EPA

Another blaze that forced evacuations of 50,000 residents in suburbs north of Los Angeles grew to 4,615 acres overnight. The Tick fire, which started on Thursday, has destroyed nine homes and businesses while threatening 10,000 more, according to firefighters. While some evacuees were allowed back into their homes as of Friday night, certain mandatory evacuation orders still remained.

As of Saturday afternoon the Tick fire was 25% contained, while the Kincade fire was 10% contained.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has declared a local emergency to assist with battling the blazes, and thousands of firefighters have been deployed to both locations.

PG&E has a history of sparking wildfires throughout the state, including two of the deadliest disasters in recent California history.

Firefighters battling the Kincade fire discovered what appeared to be a broken jumper by a PG&E transmission tower that had lost power. Though PG&E had shut off power to the area as part of planned shutoff, the transmission lines remained energized, the utility said. The cause of the Kincade fire is still under investigation.

The power shutoff in Geyserville created a dangerous challenge when it came time to evacuate residents as the blaze crept nearer. Typically during evacuations, local authorities deploy reverse 911 calls to alert individual residents. With the power out, evacuees reported being awakened in the early hours by frantic knocks on their front doors.

Gavin Newsom has been highly critical of the investor-owned public utility and the shutoffs, calling the impact “unacceptable”.

“We gotta hold them accountable and we are going to do our best to get through these high wind events, and work Saturday, Sunday into Monday to get these lights back on and do everything in our power to make sure PG&E is never in a position where they are doing this to us again,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Play Video 1:09 Doorbell camera captures moment California family evacuate home as wildfire approaches - video

In San Diego county, where other small wildfires are burning, helicopters were forced to make the evacuation orders over loudspeaker because the power was shut off. San Diego runs its own utility and is conducting its own planned shutoffs during high-fire weather conditions.

Californians in the vicinity of the fires faced a weekend of smokey haze and bad air quality. Sonoma county, where the Kincade fire rages, advised residents to cancel plans and stay indoors.

In the Bay Area, with residents still leery after the heavy smoke event from last year’s Camp fire, officials warned residents to close windows and use masks. Local high school sporting events were canceled, while the University of California, Berkeley announced it was canceling all Saturday afternoon classes, as well as other indoor events and activities scheduled through Sunday.

Though nine wildfires are currently burning throughout the state, none have reached the level of death and destruction witnessed in the past few years. Nevertheless fears remain, especially among those who lived through the devastation of the previous fires. The Kincade fire was raging near the path of the 2015 Valley fire, which killed four people and burned through more than 76,000 acres.

The shadow of the Camp fire in Paradise, the deadliest in the state’s history which left 86 dead, wasn’t far off either. The senator and 2020 candidate Kamala Harris evoked the disaster in a tweet on Saturday.

Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) As devastating fires spread across California, an important lesson from the survivors in Paradise: we are strong and we will rebuild. Proud of this community for its continued resilience. https://t.co/10dqbEBEHw

The harsh fire weather conditions have spread beyond the state, kicking up flames in parts of Baja California, just across the border from San Diego in Mexico.

Mexican authorities say three people have died, with several fires forcing 1,645 people to evacuate their homes and burning more than 35,000 acres.

“This is the strongest Santa Ana wind related-fires ever struck Baja California in its history, due to the number of cities and houses affected and the number of people that have perished,” Antonio Rosquillas, the director of Baja California Civil Protection, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. The Santa Ana winds are extremely strong, dry winds affecting southern California and northern Baja California.

Susie Cagle and agencies contributed reporting