As the Kincade Fire and the Tick Fire burned, the Getty Fire broke out Monday morning on the west side of the 405 Freeway in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
The area of the Getty Fire is known for its high-value homes owned by celebrities. About 2,600 customers were without power in parts of Bel-Air, Westwood, and Brentwood said the LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP). NBA star LeBron James was among the many residents who evacuated.
Mandatory evacuations are in place for parts of the area. Students at Mount Saint Mary’s University, a private all-women’s Catholic school near UCLA, were among those evacuated, the university tweeted. “This is a very dynamic fire and all residents west of the 405 Freeway and south of Sunset need to be vigilant and stay informed following LAFD,” the fire department said.
VIDEO: @LACoFireAirOps Firehawk helicopters fighting wildfire on three fronts. Working to protect lives and property earlier in Santa Clarita, CA. #TickFire @LACoFDPIO (media ok to use with credit) pic.twitter.com/XZEOlS3ZxL
— LACoFireAirOps (@LACoFireAirOps) October 25, 2019
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the Getty Fire is undergoing an active arson investigation. “We’re not ruling out anything,” LA Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said. So far, the fire has burned 618 acres, destroyed eight homes and damaged five more. The Getty Fire is just one of 16 wildfires burning across the state, according to CNN News.
Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas told reporters firefighters were overwhelmed. “They had to make some tough decisions on which houses they were able to protect,” Terrazas said. “Many times it depends upon where the ember lands.”
The Kincade Fire is an inferno
By Monday morning, the Kincade Fire in Sonoma California had grown to over 66,000 acres. Two firefighters were injured fighting the blaze, Jonathan Cox of Cal Fire said during a press conference Sunday. One suffered minor burn injuries, but another suffered significant burn injuries and had to be airlifted to the UC Davis Medical Center.
Praying for all those affected by these California fires & prayers for our brave firefighters. Watching some of the footage & videos of people having to drive through these is pretty scary. #californiawildfires #CaliforniaFire #firefighters pic.twitter.com/F7VwFiRqfE
— Jennifer LaCharite (@JenLaCharite) October 28, 2019
To put the size of the Kincade Fire in perspective, it had grown to 103 square miles by Monday morning, up from 85 square miles Sunday night – making the fire more than twice the size of San Francisco.
The latest count shows that 96 structures have been destroyed and another16 structures have been damaged. Officials say nearly 80,000 structures are threatened.
The National Weather Service said there were “clearly challenging conditions on the firelines” on Sunday. The forecast calls for a lessening of the winds today, however, Tuesday will bring another extreme wind event and there is no rain in the forecast for the rest of this month.
SF Gate reported that the agency wrote on Twitter: “Lingering breezy to gusty winds will still occur over the highest peaks. Relative humidity will remain low. Near critical fire weather conditions will prevail.”
Firefighters’ efforts will be focused on containment before winds are forecast to pick up again Tuesday night. “Today when the wind shifts, it doesn’t give us that much of a calming sensation because in the northeast corner, it has not been wind tested yet,” said Steve Volmer, a fire behavior analyst with Cal Fire. “That’s the area of most importance that we are looking at today, because that’s the area where the wind is going to have the tendency to blow some of those embers across the line.”
On Monday morning PG&E has issued an “all-clear” to begin checking power lines and equipment in the shutoff areas and begin the restoration process. In the meantime, PG&E also officially issued yet another public safety power shutoff “watch” for most of California ahead of the predicted dangerous fire weather Tuesday and Wednesday.
