It’s fall, and California is once again on fire. Wildfires in both southern and northern California are threatening population areas and causing massive damage. In Sonoma County, the Kincade Fire has burned more than 66,000 acres, forcing 180,000 people to evacuate. In the southern part of the state, the Getty Fire is much smaller, at 500 acres, but burning rapidly in a heavily populated area—students at Mount St. Mary's University were forced to flee in the middle of the night—and it is uncomfortably close to the famed Getty Museum.
The Kincade Fire is only 5% contained and is threatening 80,000 structures, though so far, thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters—including inmates—it has only destroyed 96, 31 of them homes. Heavy winds are making the situation worse as firefighters battle to protect homes and entire towns. The fire forced the closure of a stretch of Highway 101 for part of the weekend, while fires in the Bay Area forced the closure of the Carquinez Bridge for part of Sunday. The wind in Sonoma County and surrounding areas is reportedly dying down and shifting direction for long enough to give firefighters a respite and chance to make some headway, but is expected to pick back up within a day or two.
Around 500 firefighters are battling the Getty Fire, which has already destroyed at least five homes. The 10,000 structures under mandatory evacuation orders include the home of NBA star LeBron James, who tweeted about his experience.
Millions of people are, have been, or will be without power as PG&E continues to take its failure to upgrade its infrastructure to prevent fires out on its customers. Dozens of families, minimum, have lost their homes, and at least two firefighters have been injured. And the fires are still burning.
The Los Angeles Times is making its fire coverage free.