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| California Fires Update: Thousands Evacuated | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A fire that forced the evacuation of 50,000 people spread through canyons north of Los Angeles on Friday, jumping a freeway and threatening thousands of homes. | SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — A fire that forced the evacuation of 50,000 people spread through canyons north of Los Angeles on Friday, jumping a freeway and threatening thousands of homes. |
| Like the Kincade Fire, a blaze raging through the forests and vineyards of Northern California, the Tick Fire in Santa Clarita was driven by strong autumn winds. | Like the Kincade Fire, a blaze raging through the forests and vineyards of Northern California, the Tick Fire in Santa Clarita was driven by strong autumn winds. |
| The authorities ordered all public schools in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys to be closed on Friday, and the closing of a major freeway snarled rush-hour traffic. | The authorities ordered all public schools in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys to be closed on Friday, and the closing of a major freeway snarled rush-hour traffic. |
| Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said a limited number of people were allowed back into their homes late on Thursday. The Tick Fire has burned close to 4,000 acres and is 5 percent contained. | |
| Dangerous winds are forecast to continue on Friday in the Los Angeles area, challenging the hundreds of firefighters deployed to contain the Tick Fire, the National Weather Service said. | Dangerous winds are forecast to continue on Friday in the Los Angeles area, challenging the hundreds of firefighters deployed to contain the Tick Fire, the National Weather Service said. |
| Winds in the mountains will have gusts between 50 and 60 miles per hour and relative humidity will remain in the single digits, said Curt Kaplan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service who covers the Los Angeles area. | Winds in the mountains will have gusts between 50 and 60 miles per hour and relative humidity will remain in the single digits, said Curt Kaplan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service who covers the Los Angeles area. |
| “That’s going to cause extreme fire behavior with rapid rate of spread,” Mr. Kaplan said. | “That’s going to cause extreme fire behavior with rapid rate of spread,” Mr. Kaplan said. |
| Although the winds are set to subside on Friday evening, they are forecast to return on Sunday. | Although the winds are set to subside on Friday evening, they are forecast to return on Sunday. |
| “The combination of very dry conditions with strong winds and dry fuels — it’s just not a good combination,” Mr. Kaplan said. | “The combination of very dry conditions with strong winds and dry fuels — it’s just not a good combination,” Mr. Kaplan said. |
| The threatening weather conditions arriving over the weekend prompted the state’s largest electrical utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, to warn of another large-scale power outage that will affect areas north and east of San Francisco. | The threatening weather conditions arriving over the weekend prompted the state’s largest electrical utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, to warn of another large-scale power outage that will affect areas north and east of San Francisco. |
| Peak fire season is far from over in California but the wildfires this year have been less catastrophic as those of the past two years. Fewer than 300 structures have burned in wildfires so far this year compared with more than 23,000 in all of last year. And around 163,000 acres have burned this year, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency, compared with 1.6 million acres in all of 2018. | Peak fire season is far from over in California but the wildfires this year have been less catastrophic as those of the past two years. Fewer than 300 structures have burned in wildfires so far this year compared with more than 23,000 in all of last year. And around 163,000 acres have burned this year, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency, compared with 1.6 million acres in all of 2018. |
| Around midnight, police officers drove through Frank Cruz’s neighborhood near Santa Clarita, blaring sirens and announcing that all residents must leave, as high winds were fanning a quickly moving brush fire. | |
| By Friday morning, Mr. Cruz, and his wife, Cindy, who is seven months pregnant, were waking up in their car, in the parking lot of a Denny’s. Ms. Cruz said she thought there were so many evacuations because of an abundance of caution. | |
| After last year’s deadly fire season in California, she said, people “aren’t taking any chances.” | |
| With the Paradise Fire in Northern California claiming more than 80 lives last year, and the Woolsey Fire tearing a destructive path through Malibu and its environs, this year everyone — power companies, fire and law enforcement agencies, residents — is extra cautious. The authorities seem to be quicker to order evacuations at the first sign of fire. | |
| And residents, who in past years may have shrugged off evacuation orders, preferring to remain home and, if necessary, protect their houses, are heeding orders. They are readying their cars, packing them with valuables, just in case they get the order. | |
| “I think people are listening more,” said Mary Lindsey, 64, who on Friday morning was eating breakfast at a Red Cross center in a gymnasium at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. “In the past there’d be evacuation orders and people would blow them off. After last year, they aren’t doing that.” | |
| Ms. Lindsey’s husband, Charles, said the fire started in a canyon near their home and quickly burned through dry shrub land that had grown during the heavy rains earlier this year. | |
| “With the winds blowing, it moved fast,” said Mr. Lindsey, 68, his dog Ivy at his feet. “In the middle of the night, if you’re told to go, you go.” | |
| Only one shelter was opened Thursday, and only about 400 people showed up there, according to Roxanne Schorbach, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. (A second shelter, at a local high school, opened Friday.) The evacuees slept Thursday night on cots in the college gymnasium, many with their pets, and on Friday morning were eating breakfasts of pancakes and bagels and awaiting news. | |
| The Kincade Fire had destroyed 49 structures and burned 16,000 acres in Sonoma County as of Thursday night, according to Cal Fire. | The Kincade Fire had destroyed 49 structures and burned 16,000 acres in Sonoma County as of Thursday night, according to Cal Fire. |
| About 1,300 firefighters were battling the blaze, which was about 5 percent contained. | About 1,300 firefighters were battling the blaze, which was about 5 percent contained. |
| Evacuation orders covered 2,000 people, according to the authorities in Sonoma County. Wind gusts blew the fire through forests, leaving firefighters with little opportunity to stop or slow down the walls of flames after the fire began on Wednesday night. Sonoma County was ravaged in 2017, when the Sonoma Complex fires killed 24 and burned more than 170 square miles. | Evacuation orders covered 2,000 people, according to the authorities in Sonoma County. Wind gusts blew the fire through forests, leaving firefighters with little opportunity to stop or slow down the walls of flames after the fire began on Wednesday night. Sonoma County was ravaged in 2017, when the Sonoma Complex fires killed 24 and burned more than 170 square miles. |
| The power was on at an IHOP in Napa, and it became a refuge for some who lacked it at home. | The power was on at an IHOP in Napa, and it became a refuge for some who lacked it at home. |
| Barbara Tonsberg, 93, a former church organist and high school math teacher, was eating pancakes because there was not much to do with the electricity cut off at her home in nearby Angwin. | Barbara Tonsberg, 93, a former church organist and high school math teacher, was eating pancakes because there was not much to do with the electricity cut off at her home in nearby Angwin. |
| “Drying your hair doesn’t work too well without power,” Ms. Tonsberg said. “I’m tired of cold food, but there’s nothing you can do but deal with it.” | “Drying your hair doesn’t work too well without power,” Ms. Tonsberg said. “I’m tired of cold food, but there’s nothing you can do but deal with it.” |
| As she spoke, her son, Wayne, got a call on his cellphone. It was an automated message from PG&E. He was advised that the company could not predict when their power would return — and that it might go out again Saturday. | As she spoke, her son, Wayne, got a call on his cellphone. It was an automated message from PG&E. He was advised that the company could not predict when their power would return — and that it might go out again Saturday. |
| Pacific Gas & Electric said it was investigating whether its equipment had been involved in stoking the Kincade Fire. PG&E said it had become aware that a “transmission-level outage” occurred in the area around the time the fire began. | Pacific Gas & Electric said it was investigating whether its equipment had been involved in stoking the Kincade Fire. PG&E said it had become aware that a “transmission-level outage” occurred in the area around the time the fire began. |
| By early Friday morning, most utility customers across California had their power restored. | By early Friday morning, most utility customers across California had their power restored. |
| By late Thursday, just shy of 100 percent of the 179,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers who lost power had electricity. Most of the remaining customers without power were in Kern County, where high winds continued to blow. | By late Thursday, just shy of 100 percent of the 179,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers who lost power had electricity. Most of the remaining customers without power were in Kern County, where high winds continued to blow. |
| But the utility issued a fresh warning early Friday morning that meteorologists expected another round of high winds to affect Northern California, beginning Saturday. The company said the weather conditions and the time needed to restore any damaged equipment could leave a far larger number of customers without power for more than 48 hours. | But the utility issued a fresh warning early Friday morning that meteorologists expected another round of high winds to affect Northern California, beginning Saturday. The company said the weather conditions and the time needed to restore any damaged equipment could leave a far larger number of customers without power for more than 48 hours. |
| During his daily news conference, Bill Johnson, PG&E Corporation’s chief executive officer, said this weekend’s weather could bring the strongest winds of the wildfire season so far. | During his daily news conference, Bill Johnson, PG&E Corporation’s chief executive officer, said this weekend’s weather could bring the strongest winds of the wildfire season so far. |
| PG&E said it was trying to contact customers who might be affected by telephone, text and email. | PG&E said it was trying to contact customers who might be affected by telephone, text and email. |
| Southern California Edison reduced the number of customers it had blacked out to just over 21,000 but kept almost 400,000 customers under warning for possible power shut-off. | Southern California Edison reduced the number of customers it had blacked out to just over 21,000 but kept almost 400,000 customers under warning for possible power shut-off. |
| The Kincade and Tick fires in California are the latest in the state to force evacuations and threaten homes. Earlier this month the Saddleridge and Saddlewood fires swept across Southern California prompting the question: Is this the new normal? | The Kincade and Tick fires in California are the latest in the state to force evacuations and threaten homes. Earlier this month the Saddleridge and Saddlewood fires swept across Southern California prompting the question: Is this the new normal? |
| The total area burned in a single year by wildfires in the United States has exceeded 13,900 square miles — an area larger than the country of Belgium — only four times since the middle of last century. All four times have happened this decade, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. As a result, government agencies are preparing themselves to deal with fires that are increasingly seen as inevitable. | |
| Some times, it means setting fires on purpose — a practice known as prescribed burns — or trying to understand how wildfire smoke behaves to be better prepared to warn residents of the risks. | Some times, it means setting fires on purpose — a practice known as prescribed burns — or trying to understand how wildfire smoke behaves to be better prepared to warn residents of the risks. |
| [Read more: A Forecast for a Warming World: Learn to Live With Fire. ] | [Read more: A Forecast for a Warming World: Learn to Live With Fire. ] |