Highway 24 Fire Destroys Lafayette Tennis Club; Evacuation Orders Lifted
Evacuations orders issued in Lafayette on both sides of state Highway 24 in response to a fast-moving wildfire were lifted Sunday evening, according to city officials.
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Evacuations orders issued in Lafayette on both sides of state Highway 24 in response to a fast-moving wildfire were lifted Sunday evening, according to city officials.
The Sonoma County sheriff announced Saturday that the towns of Healdsburg, Windsor and their unincorporated areas would be evacuated as flames from the expanding Kincade Fire driven by "Diablo winds" continued to advance.
People who live and work in Lafayette were in the dark Saturday night after PG&E shut off their power during the latest round of public safety power shutoffs.
A red flag warning was in effect Saturday night through Monday morning for "dangerously strong offshore winds and critically low humidity," according to the National Weather Service. Residents were warned such conditions could cause "extreme fire behavior."
The Santa Rosa City Schools district, largest in Sonoma County, has canceled all classes Monday due to dangerous weather and fire conditions, power shutoffs and nearby evacuations, officials said Saturday.
The effort to control the remnants of the Kincade Fire, just ahead of the next wind event Saturday, is a situation one Sonoma County supervisor described as similar to being in the eye of a hurricane.
The potential high winds this weekend have PG&E warning that another round of power shutoffs may hit nearly every county in the Bay Area starting Saturday night, affecting 400,000 customers.
The Muir Fire, burning since Thursday near Slide Ranch between Stinson and Muir beaches, is fully contained and state Highway 1 has reopened, the Marin County Fire Department said.
The Muir Fire between Stinson and Muir beaches in Marin County is holding at 58 acres and 50 percent containment as of Friday morning, the Marin County Fire Department said.
A vegetation fire closed down all lanes of Highway 1 from Pigeon Point Road to Gazos Creek Road in San Mateo County Thursday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A fast-moving wildfire burning in rural Sonoma County, intensified by 70 mph winds, grew to 10,000 acres early Thursday, forcing hundreds from their homes near Geyserville, Cal Fire said.
Multiple agencies have contained a two-alarm fire to a single structure in San Anselmo Wednesday afternoon, according to authorities.
A sizable chunk of San Mateo County remains in the potential impact area from PG&E's Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), but the area seems to be shrinking, according to city officials.
A brush fire burning in the Brentwood area has been contained after growing to 150 acres, CalFire officials said Monday evening.
A critical deadline for wildfire victims is approaching but many of those eligible for the help may not know it.
Crews worked to gain ground on a wildfire burning Thursday night in Lake County.
Arson investigators say the cause of a wildfire that threatened 140 structures in Moraga early Thursday morning appears to have been accidental in nature.
This time last week the Bay Area was preparing for an unprecedented power shutdown. It did not go well, and chances are the next large-scale PG&E shutdown will look very much the same.
California's top utility regulator blasted Pacific Gas and Electric on Monday for what she called "failures in execution" during the largest planned power outage in state history to avoid wildfires.
California will ban smoking on state parks and beaches starting next year under legislation signed by the governor. The law also bans disposing cigar and cigarette waste at parks and beaches.
Expect more preventative power blackouts in California as the climate gets hotter and drier and the wildfire season gets nastier and longer, scientists say.
Pacific Gas & Electric says it has restored power to 97 percent of the customers it deliberately blacked out because of weather-related fire concerns.
PG&E officials announced Thursday afternoon that improving weather conditions in areas impacted by the Public Safety Power Shutoff had improved enough for an "all clear" to be issued for crews to begin safety inspections.
Fire crews are fighting a three-alarm brush fire burning on San Bruno Mountain in the area of Brisbane late Thursday morning, triggering a voluntary evacuation in the area.
Amid the unprecedented power shutoffs by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a Bay Area lawmaker is seeking to restrict such outages.
