The so-called Kincaid Fire in Sonoma County ignited Wednesday night and by Thursday morning, had devoured over 10,000 acres. Over 550 homes were placed under mandatory evacuation orders, according to county officials.
The National Weather Service said the Kincaid Fire was fueled in part by high winds, with gusts of up to 76 mph reported in some locations. The winds are expected to peak overnight and begin to taper off by Thursday, PG&E meteorologist Scott Strenfel said.
“Forecasts indicate the peak period of winds should end about noon Thursday in the Sierra Foothills, North Bay and San Mateo County, and around noon Friday in Kern County,” PG&E said.
Even though the high winds are expected to diminish in northern California, for the southern part of the state, the bad news is just beginning. As the winds shift to Southern California – more than 1.5 million people may be affected by power shutoffs – based on customer estimates and the average household size.
(Update 13, 12:04 am)#KincadeFire Photos by Evan Jacobs our resident photographer at around 11:30 pm this evening. pic.twitter.com/SUQxkoSz3G
— Sonoma County Scanner Updates (@SonomaScanner) October 24, 2019
More high winds by the weekend
Looking ahead to the weekend, another potential period of offshore wind pattern aims for Northern California on Saturday night. This could be the strongest wind event of the season, potentially stronger than the one earlier this month, Strenfel said.
“Things could still evolve,” he cautioned. Complicating things, the vegetation that fuels fires will be as dry as it has been at any time this year. “It could have the potential to be a very significant event.”
Southern California Edison said Wednesday night that it was monitoring more than 300,000 customers for a potential power shutoff that could begin Thursday. The potential coverage area includes such large communities as San Bernardino, Malibu, Irvine, Glendale and Palm Springs but not Los Angeles itself, which is served by a separate power company.
In San Diego, Sempra Energy estimated that 24,000 could lose power. The threat of wildfires was listed as critical across the state Wednesday with dry winds set to “ramp up considerably.” Thursday is expected to be the worst for storms across Southern California, the weather service said.
Is PG&E going too far?
There is a lot of frustration and fear as PG&E begins another round of power outages across northern California. This is the second massive blackout in two weeks. It said hot, dry winds and low humidity were creating a high risk of sparks and “rapid wildfire spread” from its long-neglected power lines.
For utility customers, the shutdowns have resulted in anger and frustration and a growing dislike for the utility company. The PG&E blackout that struck earlier this month drew outrage from residents and state officials who accused the utility of cutting service to more customers than necessary and failing to properly communicate its plans.
The company has since vowed to improve communications. But remember this – It was PG&E’s equipment that was identified as the cause of the Camp Fire in November 2018 that killed 86 people and destroyed the entire town of Paradise. It was the deadliest blaze in California history.
PG&E is in the midst of the largest bankruptcy proceeding in U.S. history, threatened by as much as $18 billion in potential liabilities from the role its power lines played in wildfires in the state in 2017 and 2018.
The utility has warned that it could take as long as 10 years to “harden” its transmission lines = calling it “a multi-year journey.” earlier this month. “We do think that this is the new normal that we need to be prepared for,” Ari Vanrenen, a spokeswoman for the utility, told NBC News during the blackouts earlier this month.