This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
Published on October 28, 2019, a statewide emergency was declared by Gov. Gavin Newsom as California faced a crisis of wildfires and power outages.
For the third time in a month, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) had shut off power in the area to prevent its equipment from sparking fires in dry, windy weather. However, this move only added to the residents' frustration, as they felt that the blackouts put them in greater danger, not less.
The Kincade fire, which has been raging for four days, has spread to 30,000 acres and was only 10 percent contained on Sunday, according to Cal Fire. The fire has destroyed 79 buildings, including 31 homes, and has been driven by dry conditions and winds gusting to 80 miles an hour or more.
Fire officials warned that the wind can send embers flying up to a mile away, touching off spot fires that can grow quickly. As a result, officials went house to house overnight, knocking on doors to inform residents of new evacuation orders.
The evacuation zone now stretches across Sonoma County, from towns like Carmet on the Pacific coast, through the Alexander Valley wine country and toward Napa Valley in the northwest. The intentional blackouts extend even further, through all of Marin County, north of San Francisco, and officials warned that they could expand this week.
