CBS News: Powerful winds could fan devastating wildfires
Powerful new winds could bring more devastation to parts of California already ravaged by wildfires. Crews battling the massive Kincade Fire in Northern California’s wine country fear the wind could fan the flames.
The wildfire has burned an area more than twice the size of San Francisco and destroyed nearly 60 homes. Six days after the fire first ignited, firefighters were scrambling to put out hot spots in hopes of getting an upper hand before wind gusts reaching as high as 50 mph kick up again, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
“The wind will carry burning materials sometimes miles ahead of the fire,” Cal Fire spokesman Rhett Pratt said, “so we’re having to go around and one by one deal with those and mitigate those dangers as they pop up, which is always a difficulty, it being dynamic and not just a set fire line.”
In Southern California, where high winds fueled the Getty Fire in the early morning hours Monday, authorities are manning their fire lines with additional personnel. Their concern is predicted gusts of up to 80 mph.
“I’ve asked my command staff to do everything possible to ensure that the line is as cold as possible before those winds kick up,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said. With the wind expected to pick up in Northern California, California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, warned it could conduct its third power cut in less than a week; nearly 4 million people could be in the dark.
ABC News:
Getty Fire: Firefighters continue efforts to prevent rekindling
BRENTWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A day after the Getty Fire erupted along the 405 Freeway near the Getty Center, firefighters remain on guard to prevent the blaze from rekindling ahead of a major Santa Ana wind event Tuesday.
Firefighters worked overnight to spray homes in the Brentwood area and other neighborhoods to stamp out any existing embers. Many homes in Brentwood were seen red-tagged, charred and unrecognizable.
Fire officials said it’s critical to get ahead of the coming Santa Ana wind event, which is expected to arrive in the Southland Tuesday night. Forecasters say this round of wind may be the strongest of the season so far.
At a Tuesday morning press conference, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the fire had increased slightly in size to 656 acres and remained at 5% containment.
LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas, who also spoke at the press conference, said crews are on alert ahead of the wind event.
“Our goal today will be to increase containment as much as possible. That is our primary objective,” he said. “Embers are known to travel for miles…We are very concerned about tonight’s wind event.”
The Getty Fire erupted at 1:30 a.m. Monday along the 405 Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass, prompting the mandatory evacuation of thousands of residential and commercial structures. The blaze destroyed at least eight homes – North Tigertail Road – and damaged multiple structures.
MORE: See full list and map of evacuation area, road closures due to the Getty Fire
“We know we’re going to have a major wind event tonight at about 11 o’clock that’s going to last until Thursday. We’re doing everything we can to wrap our arms around this fire to be able to prevent a potential of those strong gusty Santa Ana winds, pushing this fire, rekindling a lot of the fire and blowing embers a mile to two miles down range,” said Assistant Chief Jaime Moore with Los Angeles Fire.
PHOTOS: Getty Fire burns in West Los Angeles
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