A wildfire that has already destroyed 49 buildings continued to grow in size overnight Friday, as more than 2,000 firefighters battled to bring the blaze under control and two civilians fleeing the blaze were saved in a dangerous rescue.
The blaze in Sonoma County, named the Kincade Fire, had burned nearly 40 square miles by Saturday morning and was 10% contained, according to Cal Fire. In addition to the firefighters there were 10 helicopters, 179 engines and heavy equipment including 24 bulldozers on the scene. Of the structures burned, 21 were homes and 28 were outbuildings.
At least 2,000 people had already been evacuated, and more were ordered to leave their homes late Friday night.
Meanwhile, forecasters were warning of a potentially historic wind event in California that could lead to a critical wildfire danger, and utility providers were planning precautionary power outages that could affect millions of people across the state.
The Kincade Fire was first reported near Geyserville on Wednesday and subsequently exploded in size. Officials fear that this weekend's high winds could ground water-dropping aircraft and blow hot embers far ahead of the fire to spark new blazes.
"You can't fight a fire that's spotting ahead of itself a quarter of a mile, half a mile, in some cases a mile ahead of itself," Cal Fire Division Chief Jonathan Cox told the Associated Press.
Containment efforts took a dangerous turn on Friday when one firefighter had to deploy his personal fire shelter to save two residents trying to flee the blaze.
“While working on an active portion of the fire, the firefighter came across two civilians who were attempting to evacuate from the fire when fire activity intensified,” officials said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “At that point the firefighter was forced to deploy his fire shelter, where he shielded them from fire.”
Fire shelters are generally used as a last resort when there is no other way to escape the flames. The incident, which happened around 6:20 p.m. CDT Friday, left fire crews shaken, the Chronicle reported. The firefighter and the two civilians were taken to a hospital for evaluation but did not appear to have serious injuries.
The cause of the Kincaid Fire was under investigation, but there were some indications that a Pacific Gas and Electric power line may have sparked the blaze. The utility turned off power to some 200,000 customers ahead of the mid-week fire threat, but said a transmission line near the origin of the fire was still energized and it malfunctioned around the time flames broke out.
As the blaze grew in size, residents watched and waited. Tina Tavares clutched her dog Savannah outside a shelter Friday afternoon. She told the Chronicle she had evacuated from her home on Wednesday, and spent much of Friday praying.
“I can’t explain it,” the 70-year-old Tavares said. “It’s like you’re in a bad earthquake, the ground is opening up swallowing people and you’re seeing it and don’t know what to do.”
In October 2017, the Tubbs Fire burned nearly 58 square miles in parts of Napa and Sonoma counties. The fire killed 22 people and destroyed 5,636 structures.
At least half dozen other fires were still burning across California Saturday.
Two new fires that broke out Friday prompted evacuations. The Miller Fire near Valley Center, about 38 miles north of San Diego, burned three structures and damaged one other. The fire had burned about 37 acres as of Saturday morning and was 70 percent contained. Some 100 personnel, 4 helicopters and 10 engines were battling the blaze.
The Sawday Fire had burned nearly 100 acres and was also 70 percent contained. Evacuations were ordered on Friday but later lifted.
The Tick Fire in Santa Clarita, just outside of Los Angeles, started Thursday afternoon and triggered evacuation orders for 40,000 people. Most were allowed to return to their homes Saturday morning when the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station lifted evacuation orders. The blaze had burned about 7 square miles and was 25 percent contained.
All told, more than 50,000 Southern Californians were forced from their homes because of the aggressive fires, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Hundreds of schools were closed on Friday due to concerns over safety and air quality.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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