This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/us/california-fires-getty-kincade-tick-sonoma-county.html
The article has changed 20 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| California Fire Updates: Getty Fire Forces Evacuations in West Los Angeles as Kincade Fire Burns | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Read Sunday’s updates on the fires, and sign up here for our California Today newsletter. | Read Sunday’s updates on the fires, and sign up here for our California Today newsletter. |
| Even as a new fire broke out in West Los Angeles, prompting evacuations, the Kinkade fire continued to rage in the heart of Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. The blaze doubled in size during a 24-hour period, destroying nearly 100 buildings and testing an estimated 3,400 firefighters, public safety officials said Sunday night. | |
| The expansion brought the fire to nearly twice the size of San Francisco — and it was continuing to grow. | |
| The containment of the Kincade fire dropped from 10 percent to 5 percent from Saturday to Sunday night, according to Cal Fire, the state firefighting agency, which is expected to get a brief reprieve on Monday from high winds that have acted as a dangerous accelerant. More high winds are in the forecast Tuesday night into Wednesday. | The containment of the Kincade fire dropped from 10 percent to 5 percent from Saturday to Sunday night, according to Cal Fire, the state firefighting agency, which is expected to get a brief reprieve on Monday from high winds that have acted as a dangerous accelerant. More high winds are in the forecast Tuesday night into Wednesday. |
| The fire threatened 80,000 buildings across an expanding evacuation zone, which included a warning but not an order for part of neighboring Napa County. | The fire threatened 80,000 buildings across an expanding evacuation zone, which included a warning but not an order for part of neighboring Napa County. |
| Two firefighters sustained burns, one of whom was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, the authorities said. | Two firefighters sustained burns, one of whom was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, the authorities said. |
| Pacific Gas and Electric officials said the power company notified 500,000 customers in Northern California on Sunday that they might have their power shut off on Tuesday, with much of the same footprint affected as this weekend’s shut-offs. | Pacific Gas and Electric officials said the power company notified 500,000 customers in Northern California on Sunday that they might have their power shut off on Tuesday, with much of the same footprint affected as this weekend’s shut-offs. |
| Some customers might not have their power restored before the next shut-off, said Andy Vesey, the chief executive of PG&E, who noted during a news conference Sunday night that public safety was paramount. | Some customers might not have their power restored before the next shut-off, said Andy Vesey, the chief executive of PG&E, who noted during a news conference Sunday night that public safety was paramount. |
| “We look for the highest risk zones where we have the potential for catastrophic wildfire,” Mr. Vesey said. “We will not roll the dice when it comes to public safety.” | “We look for the highest risk zones where we have the potential for catastrophic wildfire,” Mr. Vesey said. “We will not roll the dice when it comes to public safety.” |
| Those potential shut-offs, which could affect 32 counties throughout the state, were announced within hours of the power cuts on Sunday that affected nearly 3 million people, the largest fire-prevention blackouts in California history. | Those potential shut-offs, which could affect 32 counties throughout the state, were announced within hours of the power cuts on Sunday that affected nearly 3 million people, the largest fire-prevention blackouts in California history. |
| The new round would be the fourth time this month that the company has intentionally turned off electricity to large numbers of customers, some of whom had power for only a few hours between earlier blackouts. | The new round would be the fourth time this month that the company has intentionally turned off electricity to large numbers of customers, some of whom had power for only a few hours between earlier blackouts. |
| PG&E’s policy of pre-emptively cutting power in the hope of preventing its lines and equipment from causing fires — as has happened several times in recent years — has angered customers, regulators and politicians. Leaders in the Democratic-controlled State Senate have organized a panel to review PG&E’s actions. | PG&E’s policy of pre-emptively cutting power in the hope of preventing its lines and equipment from causing fires — as has happened several times in recent years — has angered customers, regulators and politicians. Leaders in the Democratic-controlled State Senate have organized a panel to review PG&E’s actions. |
| Mr. Vesey said he had spoken to customers whose power had been shut off at a community resource center set up by the utility and acknowledged their discontent. | Mr. Vesey said he had spoken to customers whose power had been shut off at a community resource center set up by the utility and acknowledged their discontent. |
| “You’re right — what we do is not popular,” Mr. Vesey said during a news conference on Sunday night. “I will not tell you that people congratulated us. People are angry.” | “You’re right — what we do is not popular,” Mr. Vesey said during a news conference on Sunday night. “I will not tell you that people congratulated us. People are angry.” |
| [ The New York Times has photographers on the ground, documenting the Kincade fire and the struggle to contain it. Follow their work here. ] | [ The New York Times has photographers on the ground, documenting the Kincade fire and the struggle to contain it. Follow their work here. ] |
| As ash rained down and evacuation sirens sounded south of Windsor, a town where all residents have been ordered to leave, Cameron Dailey jumped on the hood of a pickup truck and craned his neck to see which way the fire was blowing. | |
| Mr. Dailey, 29 — a sous chef at Tips Roadside, a restaurant outside Santa Rosa — and some fellow employees spent the long and unpredictable weekend helping to run a generator-powered food truck near the fire line, serving burritos filled with tri-tip steak and pico de gallo to exhausted firefighters. | |
| “I’m down to keep cooking,” Mr. Dailey said on Sunday as fire engines and sheriffs’ SUVs raced past with their lights on. “Just tell me where to go.” | |
| Mr. Dailey and his co-workers still had power at home in the cities of Sonoma and Santa Rosa, but the situation was deteriorating in towns farther north. | |
| California National Guard troops, activated to help with the fire response, joined sheriffs’ deputies at some evacuation checkpoints near Windsor. Tan Humvees and soldiers in fatigues could be seen blocking some roads leading into the smoke-shrouded hills above the town. Streets that had been jammed with evacuation traffic on Saturday were mostly deserted by Sunday afternoon, though there were still cars parked in many driveways. | |
| A fast-moving brush fire broke out early Monday morning on the western side of Los Angeles, resulting in mandatory evacuations west of the 405 freeway. | |
| “What started out as an approximate 50-acre fire has now grown into 250 and growing,” Capt. Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said at a news conference shortly before 5 a.m., local time. “There’s approximately 3,300 homes that are under mandatory evacuation and we have approximately 500 firefighters on the ground and air battling those areas.” | |
| The Getty fire evacuations affected homes in neighborhoods including Brentwood, Mountaingate and West Los Angeles. | |
| Among the evacuees was the Los Angeles Lakers’ forward LeBron James. “Had to emergency evacuate my house and I’ve been driving around with my family trying to get rooms,” he said in a tweet. | |
| Capt. Scott said at least two homes had been damaged by the Getty fire, and no injuries had been reported. He added that the flames were moving west. As of 5:10 a.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an update, the “dynamic fire” had grown to 400 acres. | |
| Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Ivan Penn, Jacey Fortin and Lauren Hepler. |