In a wine-growing region north of San Francisco, the "Kincade Fire" began on Wednesday night, burning more than 2,000 hectares.
Violent fires were raging on Thursday, October 24 in various areas of California, both in the north and in the south of the state, where the flames burned thousands of hectares and forced the evacuation of at least 50,000 people.
In a wine growing area north of San Francisco, the "Kincade Fire" came on the night of Wednesday and spread at full speed, burning more than 2,000 hectares with squalls exceeding 120 km / h. Some 500 firefighters helped by helicopters and water bombers tried in vain to circumscribe it Thursday. "We run after him almost to try to follow him"Amy Head, a spokeswoman for California firefighters, told local media.
"Leave immediately"
Some 2,000 people received an evacuation order in the small town of Geyserville and the vineyards that border it, including one owned by American director Francis Ford Coppola. There were reports of several houses destroyed by the flames, but no official report was available in the early evening. "If you are in Geyserville, leave immediately", the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office urged on Thursday morning. "This fire is moving quickly, please stay tuned for evacuation orders"asked on Twitter the California Senate Representative Mike McGuire.
Many residents of Geyserville have barely had time to gather some business before seeing the flames surge. "We thought the fire was three kilometers away, but we did not take into account the wind", told the Los Angeles Times Dwight Monson, 68.
The local authorities have not yet determined the cause of the incident, but the electricity supplier PG & E reported an incident on one of its lines near the point of origin of the incident. "Kincade Fire", just seven minutes before the fire, reported Thursday local media.
Red alert
The California authorities had placed the state on red alert to fires and several other fires broke out Thursday during the day, especially in the south, again fanned by strong winds.
A fire hit the outskirts of the city of Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, covering in a few hours about 2,000 hectares of scrub and threatening homes. Several buildings caught fire, according to the rescue.
California has been facing drought for several years and is currently experiencing high temperatures and high winds that are particularly prone to fire.
Electricity was cut to some 180,000 customers in northern California on Thursday to prevent high-voltage power lines from sparking like those that have caused several destructive forest fires in recent years. PG & E is thus held responsible for the Camp Fire which ravaged the small town of Paradise in northern California in early November 2018, leaving 86 dead and tens of thousands displaced.
Further south, other operators have warned that they are likely to cut off power to some 300,000 customers as a precaution.
