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Wildfires in California are becoming increasingly complex. The fire is believed to have initially broken out on the night of October 10th in the Sylmar area of Los Angeles. Subsequently, dry weather and strong winds caused the fires to spread and spiral out of control.
As of October 29th, the Kincade Forest Fire had destroyed 124 homes and other structures, and threatened another 90,000. The blaze was 15% contained as it spread to parts of Sonoma County, a county described as picturesque and renowned for its wine production.
LeBron James, the famous basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers, the actor from the "Terminator" films, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former Governor of California, and many other celebrities have shared on Twitter that they have been forced to leave their homes due to the current situation.
The Soda Rock winery in Healdsburg, California, is engulfed in flames.
Robert Carvalho, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said: “We are exploring various options because the terrain here is very difficult for vehicles to access. There is a lot of steep terrain, requiring long walks, so we are continuing to assess the situation and plan our response.”
The terrain here is very difficult for vehicles to access.
Strong winds risk making firefighting even more difficult. Marc Chenard, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said, “Wind speeds in the southern region could reach 50-70 miles per hour, at times as high as 80 miles per hour in the Los Angeles mountain area.”
Strong winds made firefighting even more difficult.
To prevent strong winds from damaging equipment and causing more fires, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) – the state's largest energy provider – said it may have to temporarily cut power to around 940,000 customers. PG&E's latest power outage began early on October 29th and is estimated to leave 2.5 million people without electricity.
Southern California Edison (SCE), the primary power provider for much of Southern California, began cutting power to approximately 800 people on October 28 and announced that it expects to increase that number to another 400,000 as strong winds return. The company is also facing growing backlash from regulators and lawmakers.
“Schools have had to close. Nobody can go out to buy groceries. This area is really being hit hard and losing profits,” shared Eddie, a California resident. He has been off work for four days since the power was cut to the kitchen where he works and he is worried about losing his wages.
Traffic was severely affected due to the power outage.
The US National Weather Service warns that wildfires in California will continue to worsen due to dry weather conditions and strong winds that will persist from now until early next week, threatening forests and populated areas, which are currently under a red alert.
