As the Kincade Fire burns in Sonoma County, California, a new wildfire has broken out in Los Angeles County, threatening an area known for its high-value real estate.
Thousands of residents have had their power intentionally shut off in an effort to prevent more blazes from sparking up.
- Watch Jason Carr's report above.
Here are the key points:
The wildfires
- The Kincade Fire has burned 74,000 acres in California's wine country and was 15% contained as of Tuesday morning.
- The blaze has destroyed at least 123 structures, including 57 homes, and placed nearly 200,000 households under evacuation orders.
- The Getty Fire ignited early Monday and has consumed 618 acres in northern Los Angeles County with 5% containment as of Tuesday morning.
- Some of the priciest neighborhoods on Earth are threatened by the blaze . Eight homes were destroyed and five damaged.
- Meteorologists have warned that strong winds Tuesday and Wednesday could push the fires into new terrain.
- Other blazes in Los Angeles County, the Tick Fire and the Saddleridge Fire, have burned thousands of acres but are mostly contained at this point.
- Read more: California preps for another round of Santa Ana winds…
PG&E cutting power
- Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that they will roll out proactive power shut-offs for the third time in less than a month, affecting about 605,000 customers.
- PG&E estimates an average of three people per "customer."
- PG&E hopes that by shutting off power during windy weather, it can prevent sparking more wildfires.
- The announcement came as some in the Bay Area were still without power from a weekend shutoff.
PG&E equipment causing fires
- PG&E said Friday that a broken jumper wire was found on a transmission tower near where the Kincade Fire broke out last week.
- Investigators determined earlier this year that transmission lines belonging to PG&E were responsible for the 2018 Camp Fire.
- The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive blaze in California history. It killed 85 people and destroyed nearly 19,000 structures.
- The company filed for bankruptcy protection in January, saying it faced an estimated $30 billion in wildfire liabilities.
- The company estimated it would have $10.5 billion in liabilities for the Camp Fire.
Megafires More Frequent Because Of Climate Change And Forest Management [article]
- Last year, scientists who study fires said that both climate change as well as how people manage forests have created environments for large fires to thrive.
- The global average temperature is more than 1 degree Fahrenheit higher than before the Industrial Revolution.
- In a dry climate like the Western U.S., more heat equals more drying.
- Jennifer Balch, fire economist at University of Colorado: "It doesn't take much. With just a little bit of drying you get a substantial increase in the amount of burning."
- The number of large fires across the Western U.S. has increased five-fold since the 1970's, according to Balch.
- Over the last century, forests have become choked with overgrowth, making them ready to burn, says U.S. Forest Service ecologist Malcolm North.
- North says that this is because forest managers have been putting out every fire they could, even small, natural fires.
- Regulatory hurdles have also limited how much federal and state managers can do controlled burns, according to North.
- Dry weather and strong winds due to climate change, combined with forest overgrowth, have made it possible for what would have been small fires in the past to now grow into monster fires.