A fire broke out along the foothills of Oakland on Friday, burning at least seven homes and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, fire officials said.
Friday's fires came as forecasters issued red flag warnings for fire danger across large swathes of the state until Saturday. The cause of the Auckland wildfires was not immediately clear.
Record-setting fires burn hundreds of acres in California, force evacuations and injure multiple firefighters
Oakland Fire Department spokesman Michael Hunt said he did not have an exact number of evacuees, but estimated several hundred residents were told to leave the area.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Crews were called to the area around 1:30 p.m. for a vegetation fire. The fire spread to 13 acres (5.26 hectares) within three hours, and crews were able to stop it from progressing, according to the Oakland Fire Department.
A grass fire burns on Interstate 580 in Oakland, California, Friday, October 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
The fire broke out near Highway 580, which connects the San Francisco Bay Area with central California, causing traffic jams as people tried to leave the area and sending smoke drifting across the city of 440,000.
State highway officials temporarily closed lanes on westbound I-580 as several California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection aircraft dropped retardant and officials urged people to avoid the area, California Highways said. This was revealed by Road Patrol Sgt. Andrew Barclay said.
The smoke was visible from 3 to 5 kilometers away. Fire trucks and ambulances struggled to weave through traffic in the westbound lanes of the freeway, driving toward the blaze with sirens blaring to keep vehicles out of the way. Frustrated by the traffic, some drivers exited the roadway through the on-ramp while others drove onto the shoulder of the highway. Heavy traffic jams continued on side streets as well.
The fire occurred in the Oakland Hills, where a 1991 fire destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people.
A red flag warning of fire danger is in effect until Saturday, extending from the central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area to northern Shasta County near the Oregon border.
Red flag warnings have also been issued for parts of Southern California where another wildfire is burning toward a home in the Rolling Heights area of Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The fire was called around 3 p.m. in the foothills of Hacienda Heights, and firefighters were on the ground and in the air trying to stop the 5-acre (2-hectare) blaze from spreading to nearby homes, the department said. . No evacuation orders have been issued.
California power companies cut power to 19 counties in the state's northern and central regions after fall's notorious Diablo winds – hot, dry and gusty winds – made power lines vulnerable to wildfires. I cut it off.
Approximately 16,000 customers were without power Friday when Pacific Gas and Electric went out.
The fire started as a vegetation fire near the highway and spread uphill, Oakland Fire Department spokesman Michael Hunt told The Associated Press.
A temporary evacuation center was set up at a nearby elementary school.
Diablo winds, which are common in the fall, make the air very dry and reduce relative humidity levels, leaving plants dry and flammable. The name “Diablo” means “devil” in Spanish, and was informally given to the hot winds that blow inland toward the coast near the San Francisco area as high pressure builds up to the west.
Diablo winds can produce sustained winds up to 35 mph (56 kph) in many areas, with gusts of more than 65 mph (104 kph) along mountain peaks, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected that there will be gender. Strong winds are expected to continue throughout the weekend.
A total of about 20,000 customers could experience temporary power outages over the next few days, PG&E said in a statement Friday.
The National Weather Service predicts dry, warm, gusty northeasterly winds from the interior of Southern California into Southern California for the valleys and mountains of Los Angeles County, parts of the Inland Empire, and the San Bernardino Mountains from the Santa Anas. A red flag warning was issued. Coastal and Offshore Winds move in the opposite direction to the normal onshore currents that bring moist air from the Pacific Ocean into the region.
Winds near Los Angeles are not as strong as they are in the north, with gusts of 25 to 40 mph (40 to 64 kph) possible in mountains and foothills, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Los Angeles regional office. It is said that there is.
The strongest winds were recorded in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains, with gusts of 45 to 55 mph (72 to 88 kph) on Friday, with some gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph). It is said that
Meanwhile, light snow fell on some mountain peaks around Lake Tahoe Friday night, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada. Temperatures near freezing are expected to return Friday night into Saturday.
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Wind sensors on two mountains west of Lake Tahoe recorded winds of 75 mph and 104 mph (120 kph and 167 kph) on Friday, the National Weather Service said, with strong winds continuing overnight and weakening by Saturday morning. announced that it is expected.
The agency also issued the first ice warning of the season from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday along the eastern Sierra front, from south of Carson City through Reno to California's Lassen, Sierra and Plumas counties. Temperatures may drop to record lows. 20 seconds Fahrenheit (-5 degrees Celsius).
